LE-5 Bridges

LEARNING ELEMENT OBJECTIVES

BRIDGES
Remember that:
- bridges are expensive and their construction requires various types of skills. Engineering advice and an approved design should
always be provided before the construction of a bridge is started;
- the foundation of the bridge is extremely important. The abutments (and piers, if these are built) should be founded on a solid
layer of soil (or rock) which cannot be undermined by scour;
- timber used for bridges should be well treated with wood preservative;
- wing walls provide protection against erosion and support the road embankment;
- seepage holes are provided in the abutments to allow water drainage from the road embankment behind the abutment;
- running strips are often provided to protect timber bridge decks and to give a smooth riding surface;
- kerbs are provided to prevent vehicles from sliding off into the water;
- places where high wear can be expected should be extra protected with roofing felt, rubber or plastic.
Construction
- Set out the centre-line of the bridge and the positions of the abutments (and piers).
- Re-channel the water flow so that you have a dry working space. Construct first one abutment, then the piers (if any) and then the
other abutment.
- Excavate the foundation as deep as possible. Try to reach a hard, solid soil layer or bed-rock. In soft soil, when ground water is
encountered, continue the excavation until no longer possible. Then provide a 1.50 m wide layer of stones/rubble up to the ground
water level. (Remember that generally this type of foundation will be sufficient only when small bridges are concerned. Bridges
with larger spans, supporting greater loads may require piling to provide sufficient support to the foundations.)
- Provide a base of concrete (at least 10 cm thick) on top of the (levelled) layer of stones. This concrete layer provides a dry and
strong base for the masonry abutment.
- Construct the abutment (or pier) to the required height. Do not forget the seepage holes in the abutments!
- Lay the girders. Place the tops of the girders at the same level using hardwood wedges or mortar. Place suitably sized pieces of
strong plastic or rubber between the timber and masonry at those places where high wear may be expected.
- Spike the transverse decking planks to the girders. Leave a small space between these plants to allow for swelling.
- Bolt the planks for the running strips to the transverse decking. Depending on the width of these planks, two or three should be
laid next to each other so that the running strips are wide enough to be used by vehicles of different sizes.
- Bolt the kerbs to the decking.
After you have learned this element you should be able to:
- identify different types of bridges;
- describe how the foundation and superstructures of small bridges should be constructed;
- describe the denomination and function of the various parts of the bridge.
Bridges are used to provide all weather crossings over streams and rivers. Since they are usually the most costly type of water-
crossing, they should only be constructed on higher class all weather roads where the future traffic density is expected to justify
the costs of the structure. The following types of bridges are commonly encountered on rural roads:
- single and multi-span bridges with wooden, steel or reinforced concrete girders;
- masonry arch bridges (figure 4);
- bailey bridges.
Less common are floating bridges and suspension bridges. All bridges need to be designed according to the length of the span to be
crossed, the characteristics of the river and the expected traffic load. This learning element will discuss the basic principles of the
construction of a girder bridge.

Fig 19
Figure 19 shows the nomenclature of the bridge components.
Foundation
Abutments and piers
The supports on each bank of the river for the bridge superstructure (the girders and the deck) are known as abutments. In case of
wide rivers, the bridge superstructure will have some intermediate supports known as piers. The clear distance between two
supports is called a span. Therefore, a bridge without piers will have only one span, a single-span bridge, while a bridge with piers
will be called two-span, three-span or, in general, multi-span bridge.

Fig 20
The number of spans should be as small as possible, because, the greater the number of piers, the more the flow of water under
the bridge will be obstructed. However, the bigger the span, the stronger the girders need to be. For spans bigger than 10 metres it
will, therefore, be necessary to make cost comparisons.
To get an idea of the nature and thickness of the subsoil layers at the place of the foundation a few trial pits should be dug.
When large bridges have to be constructed the advice of the geology department on the bearing capacity of the foundation soil
layers is necessary.
Although in minor structures the pressures on the foundation are usually not that high, a good foundation is still extremely
important. The stability of the bridge depends on a solid foundation which cannot be undermined by scour. It is, therefore,
essential to found the abutments and piers either on rock or into a layer of soil beneath the river bed. This layer should have a
sufficient bearing capacity and should be resistant to erosion.
If such a layer cannot be found, the abutment/pier will either have to be supported by piles or by a 60-100 cm thick foundation
layer of a well compacted granular material laid at least 1 metre below the maximum depth of scour. Remember that at a bridge,
the speed of water usually increases, so that the scour is increased as well.

Fig 21
Most failures of bridges occur because the foundation was not dug deep enough. Abutments and piers can be constructed of
concrete, masonry, gabions or timber.
When timber piles are used in combination with a concrete abutment/pier, the piles should be located under the lowest water
level, because they will soon start rotting if they are exposed to air.
When timber abutments are combined with timber piles, all exposed beams should be protected by several layers of wood
preservative (creosote or other).
After the piles have been cut off at the same level the tops have to be soaked in wood preservative before the cap or crossbeam is
laid.

Fig 22
This cap (usually 25 30 cm) is fastened to the piles with long spikes hammered through a pre-drilled hole of a slightly smaller
diameter as the spike. These spikes should be hammered at least 25 cm into the pile. Wing walls are constructed at both ends of
the abutment to support the earth fill of the road and to provide extra protection against erosion. The angle with the line of the
abutments is usually 45 per cent, but can be different if warranted by the circumstances.

Fig 23
When concrete or masonry abutments are constructed, it is recommended that seepage holes are provided. These openings allow
the water left behind in the earth fill behind the abutments to drain off. As a result water cannot press on the inside of the
abutment after excessive rainfall or floods have occurred. The backfilling behind the abutment with a gravelly material or rubble
further improves this drainage (figure 23).
Superstructure
Bridges have to be designed to support different types of loads:
(1) The dead weight of the superstructure (the girders, transverse decking, running strips, etc.) and, where applicable, snow.
(2) The live load of the traffice (for rural roads usually not more than 10 tons).
(3) The impact of the live load (bouncing of traffic, effects of braking).
(4) Wind.
The size and number of girders to be used depend on:
- the span to be crossed;
- the design load(s);
- the material used (steel, pre-stressed or reinforced concrete, timber).
When timber is used care should be taken that it is a durable (resistant to insects and rotting) type. Also the bending strength
should be high. The effective life of girders which are either under-designed or of a species of wood with insufficient bending
strength is very short. Such girders will bend excessively under a load that will not break them. This results in considerable friction
and wear at the points where they rest on the cap or the abutment. Rot begins at this point and the timber is soon useless.
Excessive bending also causes the floor planks of the transverse decking to move up and down and to wear out very quickly. A 5
metre span, single lane bridge, designed to carry trucks of a maximum weight of 12 tons (8 ton front axle load and 4 ton rear axle
load) should have 30 30 cm hardwood girders spaced not more than 60 cm apart. Round (36 cm) or rectangular (20 40 cm)
girders can also be used.
These sizes are mentioned only to give an idea of the approximate requirements. All bridge designs should be checked by a
qualified engineer. It is extremely important that timber beams are free of cracks and rot and that they are treated with a suitable
wood preservative before they are used.
When timber caps are applied the girders should be fastened to the caps with spikes or toe nails. Before this is done it should be
checked that the tops of girders are at the same level, so that the floor planks of the transverse decking will rest evenly on each
girder. Adjusting the level of the girders can be done with hardwood wedges (or mortar when the girders rest on a
masonry/concrete abutment).
Fig 24

Sectional elevation

Elevation
7.5 cm thick planks of a length equal to the width of the bridge are often used for the transverse decking. These planks are spiked
to the girders. Between the planks a small space is left to allow for expansion due to swelling.
An alternative and better transverse decking can be provided by using 5 10 cm planks, laid on edge to make a deck of 10 cm thick.
As each of these planks is laid, it is nailed to the one next to it, so that we have, in effect, a solid deck of wood 10 cm thick instead
of a number of individual planks. This makes a very stiff floor and helps to keep down vibration and movement in the structure.
These planks need only be long enough to be supported by two girders. Quite often short planks of this size can be purchased quite
cheaply, so that for a similar or lesser price a transverse decking of 10 cm thickness can be provided instead of one 7.5 cm.
To protect the deck and give a smooth running surface for the cars, running strips or running planks are provided. Figure 25 shows
running strips bolted to a 7.5 cm thick transverse decking. Running strips should be bolted, not spiked, to the decking, because the
spikes would soon work themselves loose. Kerbs are bolted to the decking to prevent vehicles from sliding off into the water. They
also serve to provide a stronger floor, since the floor planks are prevented from working themselves loose.

Fig 25
A suitable size for kerbs is 15 15 cm.
It is good practice to provide an extra protection at the places where high wear may be expected. These are especially the places
where the transverse decking is laid on the abutment or caps. Roofing felt, rubber or a suitable plastic can provide this protection.