 CHAPTER 2

SITE SELECTION AND INVESTIGATION.

GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION AND

LOAD CAPACITY EVALUATION OF

HIGHWAY BRIDGES.
1.SITE SELECTION AND INVESTIGATION.
Characteristics of an ideal site for a bridge

 It should be a straight reach.

 There should have steady river flow.
 Should have a narrow channel with firm banks.
 Should have suitable high banks above HFL.
 The site should have hard rock or other in-erodible strata.
 Economical approaches.
 Proximity to a direct alignment of the road.
 Absence of sharp curves in the approaches.
 Absence of expensive river training works.
 Avoidance of excessive under water construction.
 DATTA COLLECTION FOR A
BRIDGE
General data collection
 Name of the river or stream and
identification mark,
 location of the nearest GPS bench mark with
its RL.
 Present and anticipated future volume of
traffic and nature of the road.
 Basic construction data
 Navigational requirements.
 Liability to earthquake disturbances.
 Nearest availability of construction resources.
 Means of transport to bridge site.
Basic hydraulic data.
 Size, shape and surface characteristics of
catchment area.
 Intensity and frequency of rainfall.
 Storage capacity of catchment area.
 Detail of H.F.L, L.W.L and afflux.
 Basic ground data
 Bearing capacity of soil.
 Specific weight of soil.
 Angle of internal friction of soil.
 Soil profile along probable bridge site.
Basic preliminary data
 An index map.
 A contour survey plan.
 A site plan.
 A L.S and C.S of the river.
 Soil profile and catchment area map.
SITE INVESTIGATION
Objective of the site investigation
Mainly to select a suitable site for a bridge construction.
A suitable bridge site is governed by,
 Engineering,
 Economics ,
 Demands of traffic,
 Conditions of stream, and
 Aesthetics.

 The success of a bridge project depends on the

thoroughness of the information furnished by the officer in
charge.
NEED FOR INVESTIGATION

 To select a suitable site for the construction.

 To do the final design of selected bridge.

 To know before hand the construction

obstructions.
PRE INVESTIGATION DATA COLLECTION

 Route location maps,

 Topographical maps and river cross sections.
 Geotechnical and geological information from
neighboring works.
 Aerial and terrestrial photographs,
 Location of existing bridges over the same
river and performance during floods.
 Utility locations maps,
 Wild life / vegetation distribution maps.
CHECK LISTS COVERAGE BY A BRIDGE
ENGINEER WHILE INVESTIGATION AND
VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE SITE.
 Topography,
 Vegetation,
 River and flood characteristics,
 Surface geology,
 Seismic information,
 Obstructions,
 Degree of exposure to weather,
 Available services,
 Availability of labors.
 Availability of materials,
 Facilities available for housing,

 Soil profiles along L.S,

 Present and anticipated traffic,

 Availability, quality and location of nearest

quarries .
 Velocity of flow and water current etc.
 INVESTIGATION REPORT.
It comprises of,
 Data collection as per visual inspection.

 Drawings as per data collection.

 Need for the bridge.

 Model studies conducted for river training and

protection works.
 Criteria adopted for design of bridge components.

 Cost - benefit ratio analysis.

 List of activities to be paid special attention during

construction.
 2.GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS.

GEOMETRIC REQUIREMENTS.
APPROPRIATE STANDARDS AND COMBINATIONS
OF GEOMETRIC DESIGN ELEMENTS SHOULD
FULFILL THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES:

 Topography, land use and physical features

 Environmental considerations

 Road safety considerations

 Economic and financial considerations

 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS TO BE MADE FOR
BRIDGE DESIGN

 Structural types, span lengths, and materials shall be

selected with due consideration of projected cost.

 The cost of future expenditures during the projected

service life of the bridge should be considered.

 Regional factors, such as availability of material,

fabrication, location, shipping, and erection
constraints, shall be considered.
 If data for the trends in labor and material cost
fluctuation are available, the effect of such trends
should be projected to the time the bridge will
likely be constructed.

 Cost comparisons of structural alternatives

should be based on long-range considerations,
including inspection, maintenance, repair, and/or
replacement.
 SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

 Consideration shall be given to safe passage of

vehicles on or under a bridge.

 The hazard to errant vehicles within the clear

zone should be minimized by locating obstacles at
a safe distance from the travel lanes.
MINIMUM DIMENSIONS
The minimum dimensions listed in Table below
shall be used in bridge design and construction.

Dimension
Footing depth  0.25 m
Stem and Head wall/ballast wall of abutment thickness  0.25 m
Bearing shelf of abutment or pier  0.40 m
Wing wall thickness  0.20 m
Pier columns in water, thickness  0.50 m
Pier walls thickness  0.30 m
Concrete deck depth, excluding any provision for grinding and  175 mm
sacrificial surface
Concrete deck for pedestrians bridge  150 mm
 WIDTH OF BRIDGE DECK
The width of the bridge should correspond with
the roadway or carriageway width as determined
according to the ERA Geometric Design Manual-
2002.

Application Width (m)

Two-lane in “urban” area 10.30

Two-lane in “rural” area 7.30

Single Lane 4.20

Pedestrian Overpass 3.0

 Design Depth of Superstructure and Free Board
Height .
The clear height of roads shall normally be 5.1 meters for
underpasses.
Design depth of superstructure is the thickness of the
superstructure excluding the pavement thickness.
The waterway below the superstructure must be designed to
pass the design flood and the floating debris carried on it.

Discharge Q (m3/s) Vertical clearance (m)

0 - 3.0 0.3
3.0 - 30.0 0.6
30 to 300 0.9
 300 1.2
 SPAN DETERMINATION.

 The span can be determined by the availability of

good foundation for intermediate piers.

 The central span can be kept larger than the end

spans.

 A large span reduces the number of piers but

increase the thickness of RCC slab and girder.

 Small spans involve a large number of piers but

reduces the cost of girder and slab etc.
 ECONOMICAL SPAN.
 The cost of superstructure for one span is equal to
the cost of sub-structure of that span, such a span
is an economical span.
 For small road bridges and culverts,

 RCC slab bridge, L = 1.5 H

 Masonry arch bridges, L = 2.0 H
 Where,
 L = Economical span,
 H = Total height of pier or abutment from its
bottom of foundation to its top in meter.
 MINIMUM CLEARANCE ABOVE WATER, ROADS AND
RAILWAYS
 For arched structures, the clearance shall be measured at the
quarter points of the span.
 Light superstructures (i.e. timber, steel trusses, steel girders,
etc) above roadways shall have a clearance height of at least
5.3 m.
 Underpasses for pedestrians and bicycles should not be less
than 2.4 m.
 . Bridges above railways shall have a clearance height of at
least 6.1 m.
 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-riding the clear height should not be less than 3.4 m.
Cross fall and Embankment Slope.

 For adequate dewatering while minimizing the use of

materials for the bridge deck, a crossfall of 2% (1 to
50), as well as longitudinal slope/grade of 1% (1 to
100), should be provided.

 Drain outlets should be placed away from

bearings, footpaths and other sensitive details.
A scour protection of at least 1.0 m2 should be
placed under each outlet.
 Embankment slopes above the design water level (DWL)
should be protected from scour/erosion with at least 0.5 m
of stones sized 0 - 100 mm (d50  70 mm), if no
calculation of scour is made. The maximum allowable
slope inclinations for some sorted friction soil materials
are shown below.

Slope material Max. slope H:V (angle) Design Water Velocity

(m/s)

Gravel (d50  70 mm) 1.7 : 1 (30)  2 m/s

Boulders (d50  300 mm) 1.4 : 1 (35)  2 m/s
Boulders (d50  300 mm) 1.7 : 1 (30)  2 m/s
 ACCESSIBILITY FOR INSPECTION AND
MAINTENANCE

 In box girders and similar structures, an interior

height of at least 1.0-m should be provided.
 At bearings 1.0m from the ground to lower side
of beams should also apply.
 Beams or girders with a stem deeper than 1.6 m
should normally be provided with a platform for
maintenance and inspection.
 ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN CRITERIA

 All structures including bridges should be

designed according to the principle of material
recycling.

 The impact on nature should be minimized

during design by selecting material with well
known physical and chemical parameters, not
only during the construction time, but also during
the whole lifetime of the bridge and later when
replaced.
Consideration on bridge materials.

The material should be satisfy the following

design objectives.

 Functional,
 Structural,
 Economic,
 Aesthetic and
 Durable.
 3. LOAD CAPACITY EVALUATION OF
HIGHWAY BRIDGES.
GENERAL
Since fully loaded lorries run on every road in
Ethiopia, from minor feeder-roads to trunk roads
and highways, there should be only one traffic
load applied throughout the country,

For new bridge construction, the HL-93 load

consisting of a “Design Truck" and a lane load at
the same place, shall be specified.
 Traffic Load

 The design vehicle live load for Ethiopia is

therefore the HL-93 load, which also includes a
lane load of 9.3 kN/m.

 The "design tandem" for Ethiopia represents

exceptional loading and is recommended as 2
nos. of 110 kN axles, excluding Dynamic Load
Allowance .
DESIGN TRUCK
DESIGN TANDEM
 LOADS ON AREAS OTHER THAN TRAFFIC LANES

If bridge walkways and islands/refuges are not

fully separated from the roadway, they should be
regarded as a part of the roadway and designed
for the same load
ACCIDENTAL LOADS
Collision loads
To prevent collisions at underpasses the piers
should preferably be placed at least 10 m away
from the traffic lane or be protected by a
protection wall.
 Other Loads
 The extreme daily temperature range varies
between 20C and 40C, but is close to 30C for
most places in the country, and this value is used
in the EBCS (Ref. 3).

 Regarding wind loads the total impact of Wind

load on a common bridge structure is limited to a
few percent of all loads and 40 m/s (145 km/h) is
selected as the design value.
 DEFLECTION

In the absence of other criteria, the following

deflection limits shall be considered for concrete,
and/or steel construction:

 Vehicular load, general : Span/500

 Vehicular and/or pedestrian loads : Span/800
 Vehicular load on cantilever arms : Span/300
 Vehicular and/or pedestrian loads : Span/400
 On cantilever arms
 Uplift of a free end of the bridge deck :  5 mm.
 DESIGN WORKING LIFE

 Concrete,stone and steel bridges shall be

designed for 100 years working life.

 Concreteand Steel culverts with an opening

or diameter less than 2.0 m and all timber
bridges shall be designed for 50 years
working life