2.6.4.

2 Integral Bank Pad Abutment

In an integral bank pad abutment, an end-screen wall is cast around the ends of the girders
and this wall sits directly on the soil beneath. A typical arrangement is shown in figure 2.21 .
Guidance on the type of deck joint to use is given in section 4.7.4 of the Bridge manual.
Finally, even though the porous block work and drainage system is not currently used in New
Zealand, designers should consider the benefits of reducing water pressure build-up and
reduction of potential durability issues in future bridge design.

Because the expansion and contraction of the deck causes the foundation to slide and rotate
on the soil, the design bearing resistance of the soil has to be reduced. This type of abutment
is better suited to situations where the soil is non-cohesive (or where cohesive material has
been dug out and replaced with non-cohesive material).
 2.6.4.3 Semi-Integral Abtmen

In a semi-integral abutment an end screen wall is generally provided across the end of the deck, with the girders supported on
bearings in front of the wall. A typical arrangement is shown in figure 2.22. This form of abutment can be used either with
revetment slopes in front of the abutment or behind a retaining wall. It is particularly suitable where there is a reinforced earth
retaining wall. However, replacement of the bearings will require jacking and because of concerns about the forces involved and
the movement at the interface with the soil, it is a less favoured solution (Iles 2010).
A semi-integral abutment is only suitable for up to about 1 5 0 skew because with larger skews the lateral component of earth
pressure exerts large transverse forces on the bearings.
With semi-integral construction, the end-screen wall is usually connected to endplates across the ends of the girders. The end-screen
wall will act as torsional restraint to the girders and as a trimmer beam. Some form of restraint to the main girders, either within the
wall or in front of it, will be required for the construction condition.
With wide ladder decks, there is potentially a similar concern about excessive vertical deflection of the end-screen wall as noted
above for the end cross girders in non-integral bridges but usually the wall is sufficiently stiff for deflections to be small