Demolition Requirements for Bridge Construction Projects; Best Practices Guideline

Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) is generally used in scenarios where an already existing bridge must be removed and replaced in a short amount of time. While significant effort has gone into techniques and technology for the new structure, there has been little effort on the removal techniques of the existing structure. Currently there are two primary documents used in bridge construction: the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) load and resistance factor design (LRFD) Bridge Design Specification addresses the minimum bridge design requirements and the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications stipulate bridge construction aspects. There is very limited information available to guide both design engineers and contractors on how to approach deconstruction or the removal aspects of an existing bridge. The design and construction specifications provide very little direction on demolition and each state approaches this work very differently. The need for a national specification has been highlighted in the past year with two worker fatalities occurring in two separate instances due to the collapse of a bridge structure while undergoing demolition. The goal of this project is to determine the current state of practice and state of the art in bridge demolition (both conventional and accelerated) and develop a best practices guideline for bridge demolition. The work of this project will include a literature review and state department of transportation (DOT) survey (to better understand the current state of practice), development of a best practices guide, and identification of areas in bridge demolition that require further investigation.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747121

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)

  Florida International University
  10555 W. Flagler Street
  Miami, FL  United States  33174

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Principal Investigators:

  Garber, David

  Lee, Seung Jae

• Start Date: 20160601
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Bridge construction; Demolition; Guidelines; State of the art
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01601732
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747121
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 8 2016 5:28PM