TYPES OF BRIDGE SUPERSTRUCTURES
By: Yohannes Gudeta
Classification of Bridges
• Bridges can be classified on the basis
of the following characteristics;
• Construction material as Steel, Concrete, Timber or
combination of any two or more.
• Span length as short, medium or large.
• Structural forms as Slab, T-Girder, Box Girder, Arch,
Suspension etc.
• Span type as single or multi-span.
• Super structure as slab bridge, Girder Bridge, Arch
Bridge, Cable stained Bridge, Suspension Bridge.
Types of Bridge Superstructures
➢ Culvert
➢ Slab Bridge
➢ Girder Bridge
➢ Truss Bridge
➢ Arch Bridge
➢ Cable Stayed Bridge
➢ Suspension Bridge
Culverts
❖ Span range: up to 6 meters
❖ Purpose: for cross drainage works
❖ Mostly the streams are dry during most of the
months of a year
❖ Four major types
» Pipe culverts
» Box culverts
» Arch culverts
» Slab culverts
Pipe Culvert
Culverts (Pipe Culvert)
❖One or more pipes may be used; Exact number of
pipes are decided based on discharge
❖The diameter of pipe is > 300 mm.
❖Preferred when the discharge in the stream is low
(say, about 10 m3/sec)
❖Components of pipe culvert:
❑ Concrete bedding
❑ Construction at the ends
❑ Earth cushion
❑ Material of pipe
Box Culvert
Culverts (Box Culvert)
❖ Used for square or rectangular openings with
spans up to about 4m.
❖ The height of vent rarely exceeds 3m.
❖ The top of the box section can be at the road
level or can be at a depth below road level.
❖ Components of box culvert:
Concrete foundation bedding, Wing walls, Earth
fill, Barrel of box section…..
Box Culvert With Head & Wing Wall
Pre-Cast Box Culvert
Arch Culvert
Culverts (Arch Culvert)
❖ Material: most of arch culverts are made of stone
❖ Span range: from 2m to 4m
❖ Requires the components similar to the other
types.
Slab Culvert
Culverts (Slab Culvert)
❖Economical for shorter spans and the construction
method is also easy to complete without much
difficulty.
❖Span range: Up to 6m
❖It should be designed as a one way spanning slab.
❖The components of Slab Culvert: deck slab,
abutments, wing walls, concrete foundations for
abutments, and bedding concrete
Slab Bridge
Slab Bridge
❖Single span slab bridges - most common bridges in
Ethiopia.
❖Economical for spans from 1 m to 18 m.
❖Above 15 m they should preferably be pre-stressed.
Skew Slab Bridge
RC T-Girder Bridge
RC T-Girder (T-Beam) Bridge
❖Used for a single span bridge, or non-continuous
girders for a multi-span bridge, in earthquake
areas.
❖Span ranges: between 10 - 25 m.
❖Diaphragms are used at sufficient intervals to
improve the resistance of the main girders against
lateral torsion buckling.
❖Components of the superstructure: Deck slab-
Interior panels, overhanging part, longitudinal
girders, diaphragms or cross girders, curb, post,
handrails.
Box Girder Bridge
❖RC hollow box girder bridges: span range 25 to 30
meters.
❖Closed box shape provides torsion rigidity
❖Particularly suitable for grade separators, where the
alignment is normally curved in plan
❖Cross section can be of a single cell or multi-
cellular, rectangular or trapezoidal
❖Depth can be varied conveniently along the length
as in continuous deck or in balanced cantilever
layout
Box Girder Bridge
Box Girder Flyover
Box Girder Flyover
Steel Girder Bridges
Plate Girder Bridge
Concrete Girder Bridges
Continuous Girder Bridge
Continuous Girder Bridge
❖Girders/deck are/is continuous over the supports
but not monolithic with the supports
❖Girders may be of RC or PSC or truss type
❖Suitable when unyielding supports are available
❖The spans can be equal, but usually the end spans
are made about 16 to 20 % smaller than the
intermediate spans
Continuous Girder Bridge
❖The decking can be in the form of slab, T beam or
box section.
❖As the bending moment is more in the support
portion, a haunch profile.
❖The length of haunch portion is generally 0.2 to
0.25 of the span.
Continuous Truss Girder Bridge
Advantages of Continuous Girder Bridges over Simply
Supported Girder Bridges
❖Less number of bearings over the piers
❖Reduced width of pier, thus less flow obstruction and
less amount of material
❖Requires less number of expansion joints due to
which both the initial cost and maintenance cost
become less
❖Rigidity quality over the bridge is improved
❖Lesser depth of girder, hence economical
❖Better architectural appearance
❖Lesser vibration and deflection
Disadvantages of Continuous Girder Bridges
❖Not suitable on yielding foundations
❖Analysis is laborious and time consuming
❖Poor earthquake resistance.
Rigid Frame Bridge
Rigid Frame Bridge
❖Structures consisting of a number of parallel girders
(or slab instead of girders) which are rigidly
connected to the supporting columns or piers
❖Usually the decking and substructure are cast
monolithically
❖Mostly used for short bridges passing over other
highway or railway underneath
Integral Abutment (Rigid Frame) Bridge
Advantages of Rigid Frame Bridges
❖No bearings are needed at the supports
❖The rigid connections result in more stable supports,
than possible with independent piers of comparable
dimensions
❖Due to the slender dimensions, the supporting piers
or columns cause least obstruction for the flow of
traffic below the bridge
❖Better aesthetic look
Arch Bridge
❖Pleasing appearance and aesthetic appearance
❖Span range of 35 to 200 meters
❖Has been applied up to 552 meters as in the case
of Chaotianmen Bridge in China
❖Best suited to deep gorges with steep rocky banks
which furnish efficient natural abutment to receive
the heavy thrust exerted by the ribs
❖This thrust tends to reduce the bending moment at
any section of the arch
Arch Bridge
Chaotianmen Bridge (Trussed Arch), China
Sydney Harbor Bridge
Stone Arch Bridges
Stone Arch Bridge
Concrete Arch Bridges
RC Arch Bridge
Old Abay River Bridge
Steel Deck Arch Bridges
Steel Through Arch Bridges
Arch Bridge
Steel Truss Bridge
Steel Truss Bridge
❖Span range of 100 m to 500 m
❖Two major structural advantages,
a) The primary forces in the members are axial
forces (stress resultants are less), and
b) Reduced self-weight when compared to solid
web systems
Steel Truss Bridge
❖Further structural classifications
a. Cantilever truss bridge
b. Continuous truss bridge
c. Arch truss bridge
d. Suspension bridge with steel truss deck
e. Through type
f. Semi through type
g. Deck type
Simple Steel Truss Bridges
Cantilever Truss Bridges
Moveable Steel Truss Bridges
Omo River Bridge (Truss Girder-Through Type)
Steel Truss Bridge
Cable Stayed Bridge
Cable Stayed Bridge
❖ Span range of 200 to 900 m
❖ Main Components:
(a) inclined cables, (b) towers and (c) orthotropic
deck; apart from piers, abutments and foundation
❖ The cables connecting the deck and towers permits
elimination of intermediate piers facilitating a larger
width for purposes of navigation
Cable Stayed Bridge
❖Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of steel used for
cables is around 1600 Mpa.
❖High carbon fiber cables having UTS of about 3300
Mpa are under development
❖Carbon fiber cables have negligible corrosion and
possess high fatigue resistance
Cable Stayed Bridges
Cable Stayed Bridge (Viaduct)
New Abay River Bridge (Cable Stayed Bridge)
Cable Stayed Bridge
Cable Stayed Bridge
Suspension Bridge
Suspension Bridge
❖Currently the only solution for spans in excess of
900 m
❖Consist of two large or main cables that are hung
(suspended) from towers
❖The main cables of a suspension bridge drape over
two towers, with the cable ends buried in enormous
concrete blocks known as anchorages
❖The roadway is suspended from smaller vertical
cables that hang down from the main cables
Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge (World’s Longest
Bridge-1991m
Suspension Bridges
Suspension Bridge
Suspension Bridge
Swing Bridge
Swing Bridge
❖ Has primary structural vertical support, locating
pin and support ring at or near to its center,
about which it can pivot horizontally
❖ In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a
road over a river or canal for example, allows
road traffic to cross
❖ The bridge structure rotates for approximately
90º about the pivot point
Swing Bridge (Open for Traffic)
Swing Bridge (Open for Navigation)
Vertical Lift Bridge
Tower Bridge-London (Vertical Lift Movable Span)
Movable Bascule Bridge (Open for Navigation)
Movable Bascule Bridge (Open for Traffic)
Thank You
Questions