High-Strain Dynamic Load Testing at the Bahia-San Vicente Bridge: Evaluation of Results against Design Values

The Bahía-San Vicente Bridge, with a length of 1,990 meters between abutments, is located in the Chone River estuary in the central part of the Ecuadorian coast. The bridge site is characterized as an estuarine environment formed by alluvial deposits with depths between 25 and 85 meters overlying weathered rocks. The design team decided to build the bridge foundations with open-end steel pipe piles, mainly supported by skin friction. To verify the installed capacity of the piles, high-strain dynamic load tests were carried out. This article assesses the results obtained from the load tests conducted, which have shown considerable increases in the capacity of the piles as a function of time, due to thixotropic characteristics of subsurface materials. Additionally, the results are compared with the load capacity estimated during the design phase, which has allowed setting specific parameters for the soils of the region, for use in future designs.