INTRODUCTION

A bridge is an arrangement made to cross an obstacle in the form of a low ground or a stream or a river or over a gap without closing the way beneath. The bridges are required for the passage of railways, roadways, footpaths and even for the carriage of fluids. It is quite evident that the development of the science of bridge engineering has taken place with the development of human civilization. In the beginning, the men used fallen trees or wooden logs to function as bridges. The bridges serve as the most useful links on the land connecting big towns and cities and hence, in case of war or calamities, the destruction of bridges stops the mobility of army or essential goods. The site of a bridge should therefore be properly selected with respect to strategic considerations and all proper precautions and measures should be taken to maintain the bridges in the perfect working order. The construction of bridge in a road or rail project is the costliest part and hence, it calls for the utmost economy. It takes the longest time for completing and requires careful planning, considerable amount of forethought and detailed study of various aspects. It may also be noted that the bridges across rivers and streams are the most vulnerable because any major damage to the structure can completely upset the total communication system. It is for this reason that no undue risk can be taken in their design and construction. The economy in bridge construction as well as its long life can be successfully achieved only by the use of proper materials, effective supervision and economic method of construction.

HISTORY

The earliest construction of permanent bridges started around 4000 B.C. The lake dwellers of Switzerland are said to be the pioneers of timber-trestle construction. The Indians also developed the prototype of the modern suspension bridge at about the same time. The Arthashastra of Kautilya mentions the construction of dams and bridges a Mauryan bridge near Girnarwas surveyed by James Princep. The bridge was swept away during a flood, and later repaired by Puspagupta, the chief architect of Emperor Chandragupta I. The bridge also fell under the care of the Yavana Tushaspa, and the Satrap Rudradaman. The use of stronger bridges using plaited bamboo and iron chain was visible in India by about the 4th century. A number of bridges, both for military and commercial purposes, were constructed by the Mughal administration in India. The science of bridge engineering developed with varied degrees in different countries. Some of the Roman bridges in Italy are among the fine bridges of the past. In the eighteenth century, France was the most powerful country of continental Europe and because of its prosperity and taste in art, it has produced numerous and the finest bridges during this period. It is really a pleasure to see the existing century bridges in France. The bridge over the river Nile built by Means, the king of Egypt about 2650 B.C. was the earliest bridge on record. After five centuries, another bridge was built by Queen Semiramio of Babylon across the River Euphrates. The oldest existing arch dating back to about 350 B.C. and consisting of 20 pointed arches each of 7.5m span is at Khorsbad in Babylonia. The Roman arch bridges date back to 200 B.C. The ChaoChow Bridge situated at a distance of about 350 km from Beijing is supposed to be built around 600 A.D. and is perhaps the longest single span of 37.4 m vehicular bridge at present. Timber gave place to iron as building material in eighteenth century. The first iron bridge of 30.5 m span was built in 1779 over the Severn in Coalbrookdale, England.

CLASSIFICATION OF BRIDGES
The bridges can be classified by many ways with respect to particular quality or condition. Following are such various classifications of the bridges:
CRITERIA
FLEXIBILITY OF

TYPES OF BRIDGES FIXED SPAN BRIDGE MOVABLE BRIDGE

SUPERSTRUCTURE

POSITION OF

DECK BRIDGES

THROUGH BRIDGES

BRIDGE FLOOR

SEMI-THROUGH BRIDGES

INTERSPAN

SIMPLE BRIDGES

RELATIONS

CONTINUOUS BRIDGES CANTILEVER BRIDGES

TYPE OF

ARCH BRIDGE

SUPERSTRUCTURE

BOW-STRING BRIDGE RIGID FRAME BRIDGE SUSPENSION BRIDGE

MATERIALS OF

CEMENT CONCRETE BRIDGES MASONRY BRIDGE STEEL BRIDGE TIMBER BRIDGE

CONSTRUCTION

METHOD OF CLEARANCE

BASCULE BRIDGE CUT-BOAT BRIDGE LIFT BRIDGE SWING BRIDGE

FOR NAVIGATION

OF SERVICE

TRAVERSING BRIDGE

UTILITY PERIOD

TEMPORARY BRIDGE PERMANENT BRIDGE


MAIN FUNCTION

ROAD BRIDGE RAILWAY BRIDGE

ROAD-CUM-RAILWAY BRIDGE PIPE-LINE BRIDGE

OF BRIDGE

METHOD OF

RIVETED BRIDGE WELDED BRIDGE

CONNECTIONS ADOPTED

PIN-CONNECTED BRIDGE

CULVERT

LENGTH

MINOR BRIDGE MAJOR BRIDGE

OF SPAN

LONG SPAN BRIDGE

DEGREE OF

DETERMINATE BRIDGE INDETERMINATE BRIDGE

REDUNDANCY

LEVEL OF

OVER BRIDGES UNDER BRIDGES

CROSSING

ALIGNMENT OF

STRAIGHT BRIDGES SKEW BRIDGES

BRIDGE

LOADING ON

CLASS AA CLASS A CLASS B

THE BRIDGE

Bridges may be classified by how tension, bending, compression, and shear are distributed through their structure. Most bridges will employ all of the principal forces to some degree, but only a few will predominate. The separation of forces may be quite clear. In a suspension or cable-stayed span, the elements in tension are distinct in shape and placement. In other cases the forces may be distributed among a large number of members, as in a truss, or not clearly discernible to a casual observer as in a box beam.

Beam

Bridge

Beam bridges are horizontal beams supported at each end by substructure units and can be either simply when the beams only connect across a single span or continuous when the beams are connected across two or more spans. When there are multiple spans, the intermediate supports are known as piers. The earliest beam bridges were simple logs that sat across streams and similar simple structures. In modern times, beam bridges can range from small, wooden beams to large, steel boxes. The vertical force on the bridge becomes a shear and flexural load on the beam which is transferred down its length to the substructures on either side. They are typically made of steel, concrete or wood. Beam bridge spans rarely exceed 250 feet (76 m) long, as the flexural stresses increase proportional to the square of the length (and deflection increases proportional to the 4th power of the length). However, the main span of the Rio-Niteroi Bridge, a box girder bridge, is 300 meters (980 ft).The world's longest beam bridge is Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in southern Louisiana in the United States, at 23.83 miles (38.35 km), with individual spans of 56 feet (17 m). Beam bridges are the most common bridge type in use today. A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss. This truss is a structure of connected elements forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges.

Truss bridge

Cantilever

bridge

Cantilever bridges are built using cantilevershorizontal beams supported on only one end. Most cantilever bridges use a pair of continuous spans that extend from opposite sides of the supporting piers to meet at the center of the obstacle the bridge crosses. Cantilever bridges are constructed using much the same materials & techniques as beam bridges. The difference comes in the action of the forces through the bridge. The largest cantilever bridge is the 549-metre (1,801 ft) Quebec bridge in Quebec, Canada. Arch bridges have abutments at each end. The weight of the bridge is thrust into the abutments at either side. The earliest known arch bridges were built by the Greeks, and include the Arkadiko Bridge. With the span of 220 meters (720 ft), the Solkan Bridge over the Soca River at Solkan in Slovenia is the second largest stone bridge in the world and the longest railroad stone bridge. It was completed in 1905. Its arch, which was constructed from over 5,000 tonnes (4,900 long tons; 5,500 short tons) of stone blocks in just 18 days, is the second largest stone arch in the world, surpassed only by the Friedensbrucke (Syratalviadukt) in Plauen, and the largest railroad stone arch. The arch of the Friedensbrcke, which was built in the same year, has the span of 90 m (300 ft) and crosses the valley of the Syrabach River. The difference between the two is that the Solkan Bridge was built from stone blocks, whereas the Friedensbrcke was built from a mixture of crushed stone and cement mortar. The world's current largest arch bridge is the Chaotian Bridge over the Yangtze River with a length of 1,741 m (5,712 ft) and a span of 552 meters (1,811 ft). The bridge was open April 29, 2009 in Chongging, China.

Arch bridge

Tied arch

bridge

Tied arch bridges have an arch-shaped superstructure, but differ from conventional arch bridges. Instead of transferring the weight of the bridge and traffic loads into thrust forces into the abutments, the ends of the arches are restrained by tension in the bottom chord of the structure. They are also called bowstring arches.

Suspension bridge

Suspension bridges are suspended from cables. The earliest suspension bridges were made of ropes or vines covered with pieces of bamboo. In modern bridges, the cables hang from towers that are attached to caissons or cofferdams. The caissons or cofferdams are implanted deep into the floor of a lake or river. Sub-types include the simple suspension bridge, the stressed ribbon bridge, the under spanned suspension bridge, the suspendeddeck suspension bridge, and the self-anchored suspension bridge The longest suspension bridge in the world is the 12,826 foot (3,909 m) Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan.

Cable-stayed

Cable-stayed bridges, like suspension bridges, are held up by cables. However, in a cable-stayed bridge, less cable is required and the towers holding the cables are proportionately shorter. The first known cable-stayed bridge was designed in 1784 by C.T. Loescher] The longest cable-stayed bridge bridge over the Yangtze River in China. is the Sutong

bridge

According to the road engineers, the bridges are classified on the linear waterway as follows: 1) Culverts (Up to 6m) 2) Minor bridges (6 to 30 m) 3) Major bridges (over 30m) According to the Indian Railways, the bridges are classified as follows: 1) Major bridges : Total waterway more than 18m or having any span of clear water way of 12m or over. : Total waterway less than 18m or having any span of clear waterway less than 12m. : Those major bridges having total waterway of 18m and more.

2) Minor bridges

3) Important bridges

DATA COLLECTION

PRELIMINARY DATA TO BE COLLECTED: The careful investigation at the preliminary stage avoids many expensive errors at a later stage. Hence, the investigation process should be carried out diligently and with extreme care to avoid the occurrence of serious mistakes in the bridge project. Following data should be collected and suitably analyzed by the engineer-in-charge of the investigation of a bridge site: Availability of electric power; Availability of materials of construction; Availability of skilled and unskilled labor for different jobs of bridge construction; Characteristics and hydraulic data of stream or river; Details of public utility services such as telephone cables, water supply lines, etc. to be accommodated in the bridge cross-section; Details of existing bridges on the same river; Facilities required for housing labor during bridge construction; Location of the nearest G.T.S. bench mark with its reduced level; Means of transport to carry the materials; Name of the river and location of the bridge site; Navigational requirements; Need for large scale training works; Possibility of earthquake disturbances Present and future traffic; Reasons for constructing the bridge; Safety and aesthetic considerations; Subsoil conditions; etc.

SELECTION OF BRIDGE SITE: Following are the factors to be carefully considered while selecting the ideal site for a proposed bridge: Connection with roads: The bridges are constructed to connect the roads on either side of the river. The bridge site should therefore form a proper link between the roads on either side of a river. The bed of approaches connecting ends of bridge with the roads should be dry and hard. The approaches at the bridge site should be such that they do not involve heavy expenditure. The approaches should avoid the cutting across the built-up area or religious structures because the acquisition of the land and structures will be expensive, time-consuming and sometimes may cause social problems. Firm embankments: The embankments on the upstream side and downstream side of bridge site should be firm, high, permanent, solid, straight and well-defined. Such embankments are not disturbed at the time of heavy floods and they do not allow the course of river to alter. Foundations: The nature of soil at the bed of river at bridge site should be such that good foundations are available at reasonable depths for the substructures of bridge. The site subject to minimum scour preferably is chosen. Materials and labor: The site of the proposed bridge should be located that the materials and labor required for the reconstruction of bridge are easily available. The transport charges for materials and labor at bridge site should be minimum. Right angle crossing: At bridge site, the direction of flow of water should be nearly perpendicular to the centre-line of bridge. Such a crossing is known as the right-angle crossing or square crossing or normal crossing and it is desirable to have such a crossing as far as possible because of the following facts: It grants a smooth flow of water. It permits the construction of segmental wing walls and return walls with minimum sharp angled structures and thereby, the formation of eddies and cross currents are avoided,

It provides the shortest length of the bridge span as well as the length of the pier and abutments.

The skew or slanting bridges are not desirable and they are usually avoided for the following reasons: It is difficult to construct the skew bridges, especially the skew arch bridges. The depth of bridge foundations is likely to be more as foundations are to be subjected to the scour. The design of skew bridges is complicated. The maintenance of skew bridges is difficult. The passage of water under the skew bridges is not smooth and whirls or currents are produced. The piers of skew bridge have to resist excessive water pressures.

Straight stretch of river: The River should have a straight stretch over reasonable long distance on the upstream side and downstream side of the bridge site. Such a straight stretch of river ensures smooth and uniform flow of water and it allows smooth navigation. The curved stretch of river is not desirable as it creates problems during construction and maintenance of bridge. Velocity of flow: It is very important to check that the velocity of flow at bridge site is proper. If velocity of flow is less than a particular value, the silting will occur and on the other hand, if it is more than a particular value, the scouring will occur. As a matter of fact, the velocity of flow at bridge site should be between the range of non-silting and non-scouring velocities. Width of river: It is quite evident that the width of river indicates length of bridge. It is desirable to have minimum width of river at the bridge site. The smaller the width of river, the cheaper will be the bridge.

The conditions stated above are for an ideal site of a bridge. But in practice, it is difficult to obtain a site which full fulfill all these conditions. Hence, every case has to be studied independently and out of a number of alternatives, that site is to be recommended which satisfies most of the conditions for an ideal site.

STAGES OF INVESTIGATION: The investigations for important or very major bridges are carried out in the following three stages: Reconnaissance or technical feasibility stage: In this stage, the entire length of the entire length of the river within the area to be interconnected has to be studied so as to find out a number of probable sites satisfying the various considerations for locating a bridge. The numbers of factors satisfied by each site are noted and those sites which satisfy most of the favorable factors are selected for further considerations in the next stage. The factors to be studied in this stage can be mentioned as follows: Estimating the benefits that will accrue from the likely traffic to pass over the bridge; Gathering data about the behavior of the river at such sites by studying the valuable reports; Holding discussions with local knowledgeable people; Making an assessment of construction problems; Study of available maps; Studying the existing pattern of traffic; Visits to various possible sites so as to understand local features; etc. It should be possible at this stage to narrow down the choice to three or four alternative sites for the proposed bridge. Preliminary or techno-economic feasibility stage: In the second stage, an attempt is made to bring out in full detail the comparative merits and demerits of the various alternative sites which are considered feasible in the first stage. The study of such a table would help in choosing the best site of the bridge. It is also necessary to work out the estimated costs of various alternative sites and such estimation should be done carefully so that final cost may be within a range of plus or minus 15 per cent of the final cost. For this purpose, some minimum field measurements are taken and detailed study maps of the area is made.

The details to be obtained for each site should be tabulated with respect to the following aspects: Construction and maintenance problems; Distance from important city or town; Expected duration of construction; Length of approaches; Length of bridge; Nature of flow at site; Nature of foundation strata; Rate of return or benefit cost ratio; Saving in detours involved, if any; Total construction cost of bridge; Volume of anticipated traffic; etc. Depending upon the length of the river to be covered, the technoeconomic feasibility study can generally be completed in a period of about four to five months. Detailed survey and project report stage: Out of possible alternatives, the final selection of bridge site is made and in this stage, full investigations with respect to all items are carried out for the selected site. The detailed studies are made for ground survey, hydrological data, soil exploration, period of construction, volume of traffic, structural design, detailed estimate, return on investment, construction schedule, etc. Finally, the project report containing large number of drawings and necessary details is prepared in such a shape that the sanction to the project can be issued; funds can be allotted; field organization can be set up; and the work regarding the preparation of tenders can be immediately started. In case of very major bridges, it is necessary to carry out the model studies because it is difficult to predict behavior of the river after a structure is put up across it. A scale model prepared in a hydraulic research station is helpful in forecasting the behavior of the river due to obstructions caused by embankment on either side and by piers.

BRIDGE ALIGNMENT: After the site of bridge is decided, the next step is to set out of align the center-line of bridge. Following aspects of the bridge alignment should be carefully studied: Alignment on curve: In hilly areas, it is not possible to avoid the alignment of bridge on a curve. In such cases, it is necessary to adopt R.C.C or steel girders for the superstructure and it should be seen that the axis of each pier is nearly parallel to the centre-line of river. Control of highest flood level: The highest flood level or H.F.L. of river plays a great role in fixing the height of the bridge. It is possible to control H.F.L. either by diverging the extra flood water or by constructing a storage reservoir on upstream side of the river. It is found that with controlled H.F.L., the design of bridge with adverse alignment can be accurately made.

Effects of silting and scouring: The necessary precautions should be taken along the bridge alignment to bring down the effects of silting and scouring to the minimum possible extent. Layout of approaches: If the existing road alignment is such that it results in an inclined alignment, the curved approaches may be adopted to form right-angle or square crossing. The layout of approaches is made with suitable curve radii so as to cause least inconvenience to the traffic using such approaches.

River training works: If necessary, the river training works should be carried out to form what are known as nodal points i.e., points of minimum displacement in a system of stationary waves, along the bridge alignment. A nodal point is defined as the location where the river regime does not normally shift. The natural nodal points are established by the river flow over the years. The channels of the river shifting its course at the nodal points will be minimum and thus, the stability of the

structure is insured. For this purpose, it is desirable to carry out experiments on models to decide the exact location of artificial river training works along the river. Skew bridges: As far as possible, the skew bridges should be avoided. However, if it is not possible to adopt the right-angle crossing, great care should be taken in the design and execution of skew bridges. The analysis and design of a skew bridge, especially when the skew angle is more than 15 degrees, are more complicated and rigorous than those of a right-angled bridge. The conditions which force the adoption of skew bridges are excessive cost of land, acquisition for approaches, existing road alignment, length of bridge, nature of flow, importance of bridge, etc. Following precautions should be invariably taken in the design of skew bridges: It is preferred to arrange the piers parallel to the axis of river. The entry and exit of water below the skew bridge should be smooth. The skew alignment should not be curved as it is difficult to construct and maintain the curved bridge. The additional force due to the centrifugal action will come into play in case of the curved bridge. The skew should be restricted to 30 degrees.

TRAFFIC REQUIREMENT OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES: Following are the requirements of traffic which are to be considered in the design of highway bridges: Alignment: The sitting or location of bridge should fit in with the general road alignment. It may require the adoption of skew bridges. It is the general practice to adopt the skew bridges of small angle for small bridges and to adopt square crossings with suitable approaches for long bridges. Central verge: In interest of safety and traffic flow, it sometimes becomes desirable to segregate or separate traffic flow of two directions by the provision of

central verge. The width of this strip should be kept low from the economic point of view. But it should not be less than 1200 mm. Footpath: The provision of footpaths on either side of the bridge will make movements of pedestrian safe on the bridge and it will result in the reduction of fatal accidents on the bridge. The width of the footpath will be decided by the volume of pedestrian traffic and importance of the bridge. For rural areas, the minimum width of footpath should be kept as 1500 mm and it should be suitably in the case of urban areas. The capacity of 1500 mm wide footpath can taken as 108 persons per minute and it should be increased at the rate of 600 mm for every additional capacity of 54 persons per minute. Lighting: The lighting on bridge should be carefully designed with respect to distance between adjacent posts, height of post, surrounding environment, importance of bridge, etc. Parapets and handrails: The provision of solid parapets or handrails should be made on either side of the bridge to grant safety to the bridge users and to define the width of bridge. Roadway width: The minimum roadway widths required for vehicular traffic are mentioned in codes. General roadway width for a two-lane bridge for vehicular traffic is 7.5m. Safety kerbs: It is desirable to provide a safety kerb of size about 600 mm x 225 mm on either side of roadway. Sight distance: The provision of enough site distance on the highway bridges will ensure the stopping of vehicles without collision. It is measured between points 1200 mm above the roadway along the centerlines of both the nearside and offside lanes of the bridge. It should be seen that the sight distance is not reduced below the minimum limit due to obstructions such as shrubs, piers, abutments, etc. This precaution is necessary especially in case of underpasses.

WATERWAY OF A BRIDGE:

The most important factor to be decided in the design of bridges is the determination of the waterway required for the bridge or culvert. The area under a bridge through which the water flows is called the natural waterway of a bridge. For important and big bridges, it should be designed to carry water at the time of maximum flood discharge. The length of bridge available between the extreme edge of a water surface at the highest flood level, measured at right angles to the abutment faces is known as linear waterway. Following is the relation between waterway, maximum flood discharge and permissible velocity: A= Q / V where A= waterway in m2 Q=Maximum flood discharge in m3 per second V=Permissible velocity in m per second. The linear waterway is obtained as follows: L=A / d Where L=Length of linear waterway d= Average depth of water at bridge site.

The value of linear waterway so obtained is provided under a bridge. If piers or intermediate supports are provided for the bridge, the sum total of spans between successive supports should be equal to the linear waterway. The natural waterway is thus the total of linear waterway and widths of supports of bridge.

To workout waterway of a bridge, it is necessary to arrive at a suitable value of maximum flood discharge of the river.

MAXIMUM FLOOD DISCHARGE: Wherever possible, the maximum flood discharge at bridge site is found out from at least two different methods and the higher of the two values is adopted as the discharge for designing the bridge. If the values by two different methods differ by more than 50% than maximum design discharge is limited to 1.5 times the lower estimate. This is due to the fact that from point of view of economy, it is not desirable to design the bridge for flood of extraordinary high intensity which will rarely occur due to reasons such as failure of dam or tank on the upstream side of bridge site. It is considered reasonable to design bridges for floods occurring once in 100 years and to design culverts for floods occurring once in 20 years. The design aspects should however ensure that the likely damages due to rarer floods are brought down to the minimum possible extent. Following are the two methods of calculating the maximum flood discharge: Direct method: In direct method, the area of cross section upto the H.F.L. and the velocity of flow are determined. The multiplication of area and velocity gives the maximum flood discharge. Following procedure is adopted to measure the area of crosssection upto the H.F.L. at bridge site: The information regarding height of the highest flood level is carefully gathered and it is confirmed, wherever possible, by flood marks. If there is railway track near the bridge site, the signs of the highest flood discharge would usually be available in the form of markings on railway cross-drainage works. However, in case of new road formation in undeveloped or sparsely inhabited areas, the engineer during investigation has to decide the height of the highest flood discharge by contacting elderly inhabitants of the area and by observing the river banks, deposits of debris on tree trunks, etc. Usually, three widths of river are selected. In addition to one at bridge site, one extra is selected on upstream side as well as on downstream side. The distance between the bridge site and the position of extra width is about 1600 m. Along the widths so marked, the levels of bed of river are taken. These levels are plotted to a scale and cross-sections are obtained. The hydrographic surveying is used for measuring the soundings which are vertical downward distances from the surface of water to the river bed. The soundings are located by observations entirely from boat or entirely from the shore or from boat as well as from shore. The sounding machines in the form of battery-operated and electronic echo sounders are now available. They directly measure the depth of water.

The height of H.F.L. is marked on the cross-sections. The areas of cross-sections upto H.F.L. are then worked out. If A1, A2 and A3 represent the areas of cross-sections 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3 respectively, the average area of cross-section is obtained as follows: Average area of cross-section=( A1+ A2+ A3)/3 Measurement of velocity of flow is done by the following

methods: By using Chezys formula, V=C (m i)1/2; where V=velocity of flow in m per second C= Chezys constant m= hydraulic mean depth i= slope of hydraulic grade line. By direct observation also the velocity is obtained by following some methods: The time taken by a surface float or velocity rod to travel from one line to the other is noted. The surface float is to be adopted for small rivers. The velocity rod is adopted for large rivers. The surface floats are made of light materials such as cork or drift wood and they are generally of diameter varying from 80 mm to 160 mm. The velocity rods are made of hollow metal tube or wood and they are generally of diameter varying from 30 mm to 50 mm. The velocity rods are provided with weight at their bottom so that they can float vertically with their top just above water surface. They are made of adjustable lengths to suit different depths of water. The velocity rods directly measure the mean velocity hence no correction is necessary, when they are used. But, when surface floats are used, they give surface velocity and hence, to obtain mean velocity a correction factor is applied which varies from 0.80.9.

Indirect method: There are two indirect ways of estimating the maximum flood discharge. They are rational method and by the use of empirical formulae.