Earthquake & Bridge Technology

Chapter # 3 Investigations & Planning for Bridges

INSPECTION OF BRIDGE:-

AIM OF BRIDGE INSPECTION:-

 To determine whether the bridge structurally safe or not.

 If it is not safe then to decide the action to be taken to make it safe.
 To identify the problem at the earliest possible stage.
 If the situation demands to be impose speed restriction on the bridge till the repair of
the bridge.
 If the situation demands to be imposed load restriction on the bridge till the repair of
the bridge.
 To record the status of the bridge.

SELECTION OF BRIDGE SITE:-

An ideal site for a bridge across a river should have following characteristics.

I. At bridge site the reach of the stream should be straight.

II. The site should be geologically sound i.e. it should be away from fault zone, & should
have unyielding, non-erodible foundation for abutments & piers.
III. At the site there should be suitable high banks above high flood level on each side.
IV. There should be no sharp curve in the approaches.
V. The approaches should be economical. They should not be very high or long liable to
flank attacks of the river during floods. They should be free from obstacles such as
hills, frequent drainage crossings, built up areas, or trouble some land acquisition etc.
VI. Avoidance of excessive under water construction work
VII. The site should be reasonable proximity to a direct alignment of the road to be
connected.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE BRIDGE INSPECTION:-

1. Routine Inspection.
2. Detailed Inspection.

1. Routine Inspection:-

The routine inspection needs to look after the general examination of structure at regular
interval at the spots any defects or repaired immediately. The routine inspection is generally
carried out for short span bridges.

 It is usually carried out before the start of monsoon season.

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2. Detailed Inspection:-

In detailed inspections examinations of all super-structure & sub-structure is carried out

detailed inspection in carried out with the help of standard instruments.

 Generally it’s carried out once in two (2) years.

 Trouble spots to be changed during detailed inspection.

Foundation Settlement & Movement Material Dis-investigation:-

 In majority of cases the visual inspection of the bridge inspection is very difficult.
 Similarly movement of the settlement may be deviation from the proper geometry of
the bridge.
 The movement of the foundation can be checked by changing in alignment of the
bridge this in-deeds lateral movement of pier.

Dis-investigation of Foundation Material:-

1. Open or shallow foundation.

2. Deep foundation / Pile foundation.

 In case of open foundation dried season some portion for the foundation may be
visible in may bridge such portion may easily checked.
 If the foundation examined indicated sine of detrition then the foundation should be
examine by excavation of soil around the foundation.
 Such excavation should be avoided in the section where water table in high.
 In such cases the ideal timing is when the water table at the lowest position.

LAYOUT OF BRIDGE:-

Factor effecting for section of Layout of Bridge.

a. Grade of Alignment. b. Geographical conditions of the area.

c. Government requirement. d. Public requirement.
e. Commercial Influence. f. Adjacent property consideration.
g. Commercial feature of the bridge structure. h. Future expansion.
i. Time consideration. j. Stream characteristics.
k. Foundation characteristics. l. Construction facilities available.
m. Erection consideration. n. Maintenance & repair consideration.
o. Environmental impact. p. Aesthetics etc.
In short, the location of a bridge at any particular site depends upon the following factor:
a. Local demands b. Administrative requirements and

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c. As a part of a road project.

a. Grade of Alignment:-

Grade alignment is very important in bridge construction if the grade alignment of a bridge is
very high it will cause inconvenience in travelling of vehicle. Due to this road accident ratio
may be increase.

b. Geographical Conditions of the Area:-

It should be free from fault zone no excessive erosion of soil may be occurred.

c. Government Requirement:-

It should be economical & public should be facilitate.

d. Public Requirement:-

Before layout the of the bridge public demand exist or not.

e. Commercial Influence:-

Abridge should be increase the commercial activity of the area.

f. Adjacent property consideration:-

The layout of the bridge should be in a such a manner that distraction of adjacent property
should be minimum.

DRAWING TO BE PREPARED:-

Following drawings should be prepared at the time of investigations:

Index Map:-

The index map should be drawn to a scale of 1/50,000. It is a rough & basic drawing of the
area. This maps shows town & existing communication lines.

Contour Map:-

It is the topography of the area. It shows the elevation of different point the site with the help
of this map we can judge the slope of the area which is very important to drain out the flood
area.

Site Plan:-

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The site plan should be drown on a suitable scale. It should show the detail of the site. The
site plan should include the following detailed.

I. Name of stream.
II. Nearest Market.
III. Outline of banks & river at High Flood Level (H.F.L) & Low Flood Level (L.F.L).
IV. Direction of flow.
V. The alignment of existing approaches & also alignment of purpose approaches.
VI. Position & reduce level of bench mark.
VII. Location of trial pits.
VIII. Location of Nallahs, walls & Buildings, out crops of rock & other possible
obstruction in the road alignment.

Cross Section Map:-

It provides reduce level of different point along the width. The horizontal & vertical scales
may be adopted as 1/1000 & 1/100 respectively. The cross section show the following
detailed.

I. Name of road & its chain-age distance.

II. The river bed line with a level above the highest flood level.
III. The nature of sub soil.
IV. The position of low water level, ordinary flood level, & highest flood level.
V. Maximum discharge at the bridge site.
VI. Average velocity of flow at the bridge site.
VII. In case of tidal stream lowest & highest level of tidal.

Longitudinal Section:-

It shows different reduce level at different point along the length. It should be drawn to a
horizontal scale of 1/2500 & vertical scale 1/100. Longitudinal section show the following
information ordinary.

I. Site of the bridge.

II. Highest flood level (H.F.L).
III. Ordinary flood level (O.F.L).
IV. Low water level (L.W.L).
V. Bed level at suitable interval along the center line of the deep water channel.

Catchment area Map:-

It is the area which provides the water to a particular site. In this map the hilly & plan area
should be computed separately then in this area we will estimate the amount coming to the
site for this amount of water we collect the data for hundred (100) years.

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Soil Profile:-

Data obtained from sub soil exploration must show the following detailed.

I. Location of sub soil exploration.

II. Level of water table.
III. Thickness & composition of soil layer.
IV. Depth of hard soil layer.

Writing of Report:-

While writing the report, following points should be kept in mid:

 The report should be brief & to the point with neat sketches wherever possible.
 If more than one site need consideration, the officer incharge should give his order of
preference with reasons.
 For economy as well as speed it is necessary that the scope should be limited to actual
requirements.
 Sketches should be drawn to show configuration of the river & its tributaries for a
distance of five to ten times its width on either side, rough levels, alignment & levels
of approaches, positions of hill, Nallahs, temples etc.

RECOMMENDED PRACTICE FOR SITE EXPLORATION & SOIL

INVESTIGATION FOR BRIDGE:-

General Consideration.

Preliminary Investigations.

Layout of Boring.

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