RES2023-05: Design and Application of Stormwater Conveyance from Bridge Decks

RES2023-05

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) recently changed its standard for bridge deck drainage, as the previous approach (catch basins) was suspected of contributing to the "bump at the end of the bridge" issue (Camp et al., 2021), because of inadequate drainage or loss of material by erosion (Briaud et al., 1997). The new standard consists of a side-inlet located next to the roadway at the end of the bridge, connecting to a riprap-lined flume or chute that runs down the embankment; it acts as a lateral weir or spillway and is quite similar to a curb-opening inlet but opened at the top. The hydraulic performance (capture efficiency, bypassed flows, water spreads and depths on the pavement, flow depths and velocities in the flume, potential for embankment erosion, etc.) of this new drainage standard under a range of bridge conditions (longitudinal slope, cross-slope,number of lanes or width, etc.) and rainfall intensities is not fully known yet; as a result, there are no specific calculation approaches or engineering recommendations for the placement of the flume and configuration of its inlet. A preliminary literature search found a vast body of research on over-topped riprap design (e.g., Abt et al., 2013; Najazfadeh & Oliveto, 2020), which is directly applicable to ensuring stable conditions in the flume. Thus, the research team propose that the main problem, in this case, has to do with quantifying how stormwater flowing over the bridge deck and approach slab interacts with the design and placement of the inlet and flume, for a range of bridge conditions, under design intensity. This would allow for developing a design method and proposing engineering recommendations for the placement and configuration of the drainage system to minimize water depths and spreads on the deck, thus decreasing traffic interruptions, risk of hydroplaning or skidding, as well as splash and spray, which can reduce visibility

• Record URL:
  • https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/research/researchsummary/res2023/RES2023-05_One_Pager.pdf

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $337,975.00
• Contract Numbers:

  RES2023-05

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Tennessee Department of Transportation

  James K. Polk Building
  Fifth and Deaderick Street
  Nashville, TN  United States  37243-0349
• Project Managers:

  Peck, Wesley

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Memphis

  Center for Intermodal Freight Transportation Studies
  3815 Central Avenue
  Memphis, TN  United States  38152
• Principal Investigators:

  Meier, Claudio

• Start Date: 20220901
• Expected Completion Date: 20250531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: Energy and Environment
• Subprogram: ADS
• Source Data: fed

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Bridge design; Drainage; Flumes; Riprap
• Identifier Terms: Tennessee Department of Transportation
• Geographic Terms: Tennessee
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Design; Hydraulics and Hydrology;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01942007
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Tennessee Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: RES2023-05
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 8 2025 2:40PM