AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

1. Investigation for Bridge Such as pier, abutment, wing wall, pedestals, bearings, back wall
1.1. General Introduction and etc.

A bridge is an elevated structure that crosses over a river, depression, Bridge Terminologies and Nomenclatures
bay or other obstructions and permitting the smooth and safe passage
of vehicles, trains and pedestrians. Bridge engineering is one of the Wearing Surface: The wearing surface (course) is that portion of
fascinating fields in civil engineering calling for expertise in many the deck cross section which resists traffic wear. In some instances
areas: structural analysis and design, geotechnical, traffic projection, this is a separate layer made of bituminous material, while in some
surveying, runoff calculation and methods of construction. other cases it is an integral part of concrete deck.

Bridges are a complex engineering problems and expensive civil Approach: The section of overpass roadway which leads up to and
engineering structures. The cost per meter of a bridge is high in away from the bridge abutments is called the approach or approach
comparison to the road. If the bridge fails, the transportation system roadway
will not be in a position to give function. Therefore, bridge designer
Deck: The deck is the physical extension of the roadway across the
has control over the capacity, cost and Safety.
obstruction to be bridged. Example, a reinforced concrete slab,
stiffened steel plate and etc.
1.2. Elements of Bridge Project
Wing Wall: Is a side wall to the abutment back wall or stem
As is the case with any profession, bridge engineering possesses its designed to assist in confining earth behind the abutment. On many
own unique language which must first be understood by the designer structures,
in order to create a uniform basis for discussion. Bridge structure is
classified in to two parts: Super structure and Sub structure. Abutments: Abutments are earth retaining structures which
 Super structure comprises all the components of a bridge above support the superstructure and overpass roadway at the beginning
the supports such as slab, floor system, posts, main girder, truss and end of a bridge.
and railings.
 Sub structure consists of all elements required to support the Piers: Piers are structures which support the superstructure at
superstructure and the loads from the overpass roadway- intermediate points between the end supports (abutments).

Lecture Note Prepared By: Yohannes Gudeta 1

 AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Bearings: Bearings are mechanical systems which transmit the Tandem: Two closely spaced axles usually connected to an
vertical and horizontal loads of the superstructure to the substructure, under-carriage, which aids in distributing the load equally.
and accommodate movements between the superstructure and the
substructure. 1.3. Design Philosophy and Specification
Pedestals: A pedestal is a short column on an abutment or pier under
General Design Requirements as Per ERA Design Manual
a bearing which directly supports a superstructure primary member.

Back Wall: A back wall, sometimes called the stem, is the primary Economical Span: Span determination is usually dictated by the
component of the abutment acting as a retaining structure at each hydraulic requirement. However, there are conditions where
approach. lengthen spans are chosen for the sake of road alignment. For a
given span the most economical span is the length at which
Footing: As bearings transfer the superstructure loads to the superstructure cost equals to substructure cost.
substructure so in turn do the abutment and pier footings transfer loads
from the substructure to the subsoil or piles. A footing supported by Hydraulic Requirements: Bridges are designed to accommodate
soil without pile is called a spread footing. A footing supported by design discharge at design flood level. When a river has a wide
piles, is known as a pile cap. flood plain, the economical solution may be using short span bridge
with proper scour and erosion protection for the embankment,
Piles: When the soil under a footing cannot provide adequate support abutments and piers. Piers should be located in such a manner that
for the substructure (in terms of bearing capacity, overall stability, or they can provide the required lineal waterway and navigational
settlement), support is obtained through the use of piles, which extend clearance. The alignment of piers and abutments should, if possible,
down from the footing to a stronger soil layer or to bedrock. be set parallel to the direction of flow during maximum flood.

Vertical Clearance/ Free Board: Vertical clearance is the minimum Free Board Height: The waterway below the superstructure must
distance between the structure and the underpass. be designed to pass the design flood and the floating debris carried
on it. The free board allows for uncertainty in determining DFL also.
Waterway afflux: The vertical increase of water due to vertical The minimum free board above the design water level is given in
supports. table below unless refined hydraulic analyses have been made.

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 AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Table: 1.1. Free Board Span length should be:

 For simple spans: the distance from center to center of
Discharge (m3/s) Vertical Clearance/Free board (m) supports but need not exceed clear span plus thickness of
0 to 3.0 0.3 slab.
3.0 to 30.0 0.6  For members that are not built integrally with their supports:
30.0 to 300 0.9 the clear span plus the depth of the member but need not
> 300 1.2 exceed the distance between centers of supports.
Furthermore, Span length should give the placing of the piers
For arched structures, the clearance shall be measured at the quarter regardless of type or dimensions selected at a later stage. It is
points of the span. The clear height of roads shall normally be 5.1 normally measured at the alignment and given as stations.
meters for underpasses. Light superstructures (i.e. timber, steel trusses,
steel girders, etc.) above roadways shall have a clearance height of at Theoretical span length: Is the distance between the centers of
least 5.3 m. bearings. At the abutments or at special wide piers it will be better
to give the dimension from face to face of the pier or abutment
Underpasses for pedestrians and bicycles should not be less than 2.4 m
front wall.
height. For cattle and wildlife underpasses should be designed as the
normal height of the actual kind of animal plus 0.5 m and for horse- Width of Bridge Deck: The width is to be measured between the
riding the clear height should not be less than 3.4 m. Bridges above inside of the railings or the curbs. Total width of bridge is defined
railways shall have a clearance height of at least 6.1 m if not otherwise as the distance between the inside of the outer railings including
stated to facilitate future electrification. walkways, island/refuge and similar. If the width will vary along
the bridge all dimensions should be given. A listing of bridge
Free (Clear) Opening: Is the face-to-face distance between supported configurations and corresponding widths are given in the following
components. It shall be measured perpendicular to the supports. If the table.
supports are not parallel, the free opening is the least distance between Table: 1.2. Bridge Width
them. Application Width (m)
Total (Overall) Bridge Length: Is the distance between the rear ends Two-lane in “urban” area 10.30
of the wing walls or abutments. It shall be measured parallel to the Two-lane in “rural” area 7.30
alignment between the rear ends of the wing walls or abutments. Single Lane 4.20
Pedestrian Overpass 3.0

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 AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Pedestrian Lane Width: Segregated pedestrian lane (footway) Minimum Dimensions: The minimum dimensions listed in table
protected by a barrier (railing) with end treatment having protection below (As specified in ERA manual) shall be used in bridge design
for both pedestrians and vehicles shall not be less than 1.5 m wide. To and construction.
be safe, a pedestrian walkway should permit two pedestrians to meet Table: 1.3. Minimum Dimensions of Bridge Components
comfortably, which translates to 2 x 0.6 m width plus 0.3m clearance
equals 1.5m. For safety considerations, the height of the railings along Component Dimension
the footways shall be 1.5m by means of a top rail made of steel pipes. Footing depth  0.25 m
Stem and Head wall/ballast wall of abutment thickness  0.25 m
Cross Fall: For adequate dewatering while minimizing the use of Bearing shelf of abutment or pier  0.40 m
materials for the bridge deck, a cross fall of 2% (1 to 50), as well as Wing wall thickness  0.20 m
longitudinal slope (grade) of 1% (1 to 100), should be provided. Pier columns in water, thickness  0.50 m
Sometimes this is not achievable at transitions to skews. In these cases Pier walls thickness  0.30 m
a close cooperation with the road designer should be established in Concrete deck depth, excluding any provision for  175 mm
order to find an acceptable solution. grinding and sacrificial surface
Concrete deck for pedestrians bridge  150 mm
Width of Edge beam of bridge deck  350 mm
Deflection: In the absence of other criteria, the following deflection Depth of Edge beam of bridge deck  400 mm
limits shall be considered for concrete, and/or steel construction: Thickness at the crown of arch barrels of stone masonry  500 mm

 Vehicular load…………………………………………Span/500
 Vehicular and/or pedestrian load………………………Span/800 Design Working Life: Concrete, stone and steel bridges shall be
 Vehicular load on cantilever arms……………………..Span/300 designed for 100 years working life. Concrete and Steel culverts
 Vehicular and/or pedestrian loads on cantilever arms...Span/400
with an opening or diameter less than 2.0 m and all timber bridges
 Uplift of a free end of the bridge deck ………………… 5 mm
shall be designed for 50 years working life.
(Ex: A span of 16.4m may not deflect more than 16400/500=32mm,
due to vehicular loads)

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Post Railing Guard Rail

Earth
Fill Approach Slab
Bearing Deck

Pier Shelf
Abutment
Water Level

Bed Level of
Foundation
River

Span length Alignment of Road

Free opening

Overall length of bridge

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 AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

1.4. Site Investigation and Selection  Firm Embankments: Firm, high and solid embankments at
the abutment sides could guard the bridge at the time of heavy
For selection of a suitable site for a bridge, the investigating engineer floods and they do not allow the course of river to alter.
should make a reconnaissance survey for about one km on the  Foundations: The nature of the soil at the bridge site should
upstream side and one km on the downstream side of the proposed be such that good, proper and economical foundation can be
bridge site and should journey along the road for about one km on provided for the bridge.
either side of the road from the bridge site in order to form the best  Material and Labor: Material and labor shall be available at a
suited and economical alignment of the road with the suitable bridge least possible expense on the site.
site by considering the topographical features and soil conditions.  Square Crossing: Square crossing is preferred as the
advantage has been stated earlier.
To the possible extent, it is desirable to align the bridge at right angles  Straight Reach of River: Straight reach of river ensures
to the river, i.e. to provide a square crossing, which facilitates smooth and uniform flow of water without any whirling. This
minimum span length, deck area and pier lengths, with accompanying does not cause much disturbance during construction and also
economies. Further, a square crossing involves simpler designs and does not cause much problems of maintenance.
detailing. Sometimes, a skew crossing which is inclined to the center  Velocity of Flow of Water: It is better if the bridge site is so
line of the river at an angle different from a right angle has to be selected that the velocity of water flow is to the acceptable
provided in order to avoid costly land acquisition or sharp curves on limit to avoid scouring and silting.
the approaches. A skew bridge usually poses more difficulties in  Width of the river: It is quite evident that the width of river
design, construction and maintenance. indicates length of the bridge. It is desirable to have minimum
width of river at the bridge site. The smaller the width of river,
Following are the factors to be carefully considered while selecting the the cheaper will be the bridge construction cost.
ideal site for a proposed bridge:-
Furthermore, once the engineer has identified a likely site for the
 Connection with Roads: The bridge site shall be such that, as bridge, he/she needs to obtain field information on the catchment
far as possible, the roads leading to the bridge on either side may area and run off, local terrain conditions and water levels, soil
have a shorter component along the obstruction. The bed of condition and profiles, navigational (like Baro River), and other
approaches connecting ends of bridge with the roads should be clearance requirements. The most complete survey data cannot
dry and hard. The approaches at the ends of the bridge site should adequately depict all site conditions or substitute for personal
be such that they do not involve heavy expenditure. inspection by someone experienced in bridge design.

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Lecture Note Prepared By: Yohannes Gudeta 7