Chapter 2
Manuals and Specifications for Demolition
Publication: Bridge Demolition Engineering: Best Practices
Abstract
Most new bridge projects and bridge rehabilitation projects require partial or complete demolition of existing bridge structures. Government owners are increasingly adopting bridge demolition criteria, as documented in Bridge Demolition Practices. Private owners, such as the railroads and the National Park Service, have some documented requirements for bridge demolition and removal. This chapter lists several available references and guidelines for bridge removal. There are no current design codes that specifically address the analysis of bridges for or during demolition operations. As such, it is a common industry practice to extrapolate from existing design codes using the guidance of sound engineering judgment for analysis. There are two AASHTO documents that are typically used for bridge demolition: the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications and the AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation. AASHTO also has a construction specification, which provides limited requirements for demolition. At least 26 states have some requirements related to bridge demolition that are mentioned in the states' standard specifications.
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References
AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials). 2002. Standard specifications for highway bridges. 17th Ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
AASHTO. 2017a. Construction handbook for bridge temporary works. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
AASHTO. 2017b. Guide Design specifications for bridge temporary works. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
AASHTO. 2020. LRFD bridge design specifications. 9th ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
AASHTO. 2018. Manual for bridge evaluation. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2019. Building code requirements for structural concrete, ACI 318-19. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
AISC (Americn Institute of Steel Construction). 2023. Steel construction manual. 16th ed. Chicago: AISC.
AREMA (American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association). 2023. Manual for railway engineering. Lanham, MD: AREMA.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). 2015. Engineering for structural stability in bridge construction. FHWA-NHI-15-044. Washington, DC: FHWA.
FHWA. 2023. “State specifications.” Accessed December 2, 2023. https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/specs/state-specifications.
Garlich, M., and S. Miller. 2011. Development of a bridge construction live load analysis guide. WisDOT ID No. 0092-10-13. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation.
Garlich, M., and J. Simpson. 2019. Bridge demolition practices. NCHRP Synthesis 536. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, National Research Council.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Bridge Demolition Engineering: Best Practices
Pages: 7 - 15
Editors: Josh Crain, P.E., S.E., Lisa Briggs, S.E., Sam Kevern, P.E., S.E., and Chris Tollefson, P.E.
ISBN (Print): 978-0-7844-1619-8
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8536-1
Copyright
© 2024 by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published in print: Feb 6, 2024
Published online: Feb 7, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Architectural engineering
- Bridge design
- Bridge engineering
- Bridge management
- Bridge tests
- Bridges
- Building management
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Construction methods
- Demolition
- Design (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Field tests
- Maintenance and operation
- Project management
- Standards and codes
- Structural engineering
- Tests (by type)
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
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