Current Practice Sheet

Balanced Cantilever Bridges

Introduction
The technique of building bridge decks as
balanced cantilevers about the piers provides an
efficient and economic solution for medium and
long span bridges. Balanced cantilever deck
construction was introduced in the early 1950s
and since has provided a spectacular way to build
concrete box girder bridges with spans up to
300m using only minimal falsework and
temporary works. With this technique the
balanced cantilevers are formed by either casting
the deck in-situ in short sections using form
travellers or from precast segments lifted into
place with cranes or gantries. The technique has
also been extended into cable-stayed and arch
bridge construction.


Principles
With balanced cantilever construction the deck is usually built out simultaneously either side of a
pier in a balanced manner. The technique may also be used with asymmetrically cantilevers with a
prop or counterweight reducing the out-of-balance forces in the pier. Initially, the substructure, piers
and abutments are built ready for the deck construction to begin. The section of deck above the pier
is completed first, either by casting the concrete in-situ on falsework locally around the pier, or by
placing a precast pier segment in position. Additional sections of deck are then cast in-situ or precast
and placed in pairs on either end of the previously completed deck. Each new section of deck is
supported by the prestressing cantilever tendons or reinforcement in the deck. The cantilevers are
extended out in a balanced manner until the mid-span is reached. Cantilevers from adjacent piers are
then joined together with an in-situ concrete stitch and prestressing tendons installed to make the
deck continuous. At end spans adjacent to abutments, the end cantilever is extended out using
temporary supports or falsework as indicated in the following figure. Finally, the remaining
permanent prestressing tendons are installed to complete the bridge.


Balanced cantilever construction using form
travellers for cast in-situ segments

The end spans are usually 60 ~65% of the length of the adjacent spans to provide a reasonable
distribution of moments and forces along the bridge and to prevent uplift in the abutment bearings.
With a constant depth deck the span to depth ratio is usually about 20, although on some projects
this has been increased to over 30 for aesthetic or clearance reasons or reduced to 12 for economic
reasons. For spans over 60m, the decks are usually haunched, with a reduced depth at mid-span to
reduce the weight. For haunched decks the span to depth ratio at midspan is usually about 35 and at
the pier about 16.


Construction

a) In-situ using form travellers
The form travellers are supported off the
previously completed length of deck,
cantilevering out to support the formwork for
the next section. The deck sections are
usually cast in 4~5m lengths with the
complete box section cast in a single pour.
After each pour it is usual for a prestressing
tendon to be installed through the top slab
and anchored on the end face of the new
segment to support it in place. Alternatively
temporary prestressing bars or the permanent
reinforcement in the box may be used to
support several segments before the
permanent cantilever prestressing tendons are
installed. These cantilever tendons support
the deck during the construction stages and
provide the permanent prestress in the
completed structure.

A typical cycle time for construction of an in-situ section of deck is 7 days. This has been reduced on
some projects by precasting parts of the deck or by prefabricating the reinforcement cages.

b) Precast segments
For longer bridge lengths, precast segmental construction
provides a quicker and more economic solution. Each
segment is precast in purpose built factories before being
delivered to site and lifted in to position. Segments are
placed by crane, lifting frame or gantry, with the segments
fixed in position with epoxy glue and prestressing
tendons. Segment lengths are typically up to 3.6m to suit
highway transportation restraints and to limit lifting
weights.

With precast segmental construction erection rates of up to
6 segments a day, 3 on each cantilever, have been
achieved when matched with a suitable permanent works
design. A typical cycle time for erecting a segment is 4
hours with a typical 60m span being erected within 7 days.

Casting segments in form traveller
Precast segments being erected by crane

c) Stability
Balanced cantilever construction is frequently adopted with integral piers to provide inherent
stability to the deck. Where bearings are used, or with very slender piers, it may be necessary to
support the deck with temporary props or a tie-down arrangement to provide sufficient stability
during construction.

Design
During the construction stages the design of the deck and substructure are checked to cater for the
temporary works and other construction loads applied. The structure is checked for at least one
segment out-of-balance to match the construction sequence. In addition, it is usual to consider an
out-of-balance dead load, with the concrete 2.5% heavier on one side of the balanced cantilever, and
wind loading on the deck including upward wind under one of the cantilevers. Differential
horizontal wind loading on the two cantilevers may give rise to significant twisting of the pier which
should also be checked.

Typical construction loadings include:

construction equipment (typically taken as 1 ~2T on the cantilever tip).
construction live load (typically taken as 0.5 kN/m
2
) applied to deck to give most adverse
effect.
for in-situ construction, weight of form traveller at the end of the cantilever, typically
between 40 ~120T for spans between 50m and 200m
for precast segmental construction, a segment lifting beam of up to 5T and a stressing
platform of 6T applied at the ends of the deck.
for precast segments erected with a lifting frame fixed to the deck, typically between 20~50T
depending on the size and weight of the segment being lifted, applied to the end of the
cantilever
for precast segments erected with a gantry, typically 200~400T for spans between 50m and
120m distributed between the piers.

Balanced cantilever construction sequence causes a large redistribution of moments from the as-built
to the long-term condition due to creep of the concrete. This affects both the dead load and the
prestress forces. This is often beneficial as it helps balance the prestress tendon layout over the piers
and in mid-span.

Concluding remarks
Balanced cantilever construction produces economic and elegant structures. The reduction in
temporary works and simplicity of construction frequently makes it the preferred solution for longer
span lengths.

References
HEWSON NR, Prestressed Concrete Bridges: Design and Construction. Thomas Telford,
London, 2003
PODOLNY W AND MULLER J .M, Construction and Design of Prestressed Concrete Segmental
Bridges. J ohn Wiley & Sons, New York, 1982.
SCHLAICH J AND SCHEEF H, Concrete box-girder bridges. International Association for Bridge
and Structural Engineering, Zurich, 1982.