Comparative Performance of Timber Bridges
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 113, Issue 7
Abstract
Eighteen timber bridges built in the late 1960s and early 1970s are inspected to determine the performance of their various components. In general, the bridges are in excellent structural condition. Glulam decks provide effective “roofs” over stringers as shown by relatively low moisture content readings in the stringers. The findings support the use of dry use design stresses for stringers but not for decks.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
American Institute of Timber Construction, “Modern Timber Highway Bridges—A State‐of‐the‐Art Report,” AITC, Englewood, Colo., 1973.
2.
American Institute of Timber Construction, “Glulam Bridge Systems—Plans and Details,” AITC, Englewood, Colo., 1974.
3.
ASCE, Committee on Wood of the Structural Division, “Bibliography on Timber Bridge Design,” Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 101, No. 1, Jan., 1975, pp. 1–10.
4.
Bruesch, L. D., “Forest Service Timber Bridge Specifications,” Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 108, No. 12, Dec., 1982, pp. 2737–2746.
5.
Eslyn, W. E and Clark, J. W., “Wood Bridges—Decay Inspection and Control,” Agriculture Handbook 557, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1979.
6.
Gutkowski, R. M., “Glulam Bridge Dowel Systems,” Journal of the Structural Division, ASCE, Vol. 105, No. 8, Aug., 1979, pp. 1712–1716.
7.
Gutkowski, R. M., and Williamson, T. G., “Timber Bridges—Developments and Trends in North America,” Final Report of the 11th World Congress of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineers, 1980.
8.
Gutkowski, R. M., and Williamson, T. G., “Timber Bridges: A State‐of‐the‐Art Report,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 109, No. 9, Sep., 1983, pp. 2175–2191.
9.
Gutkowski, R. M., and Williamson, T. G., “Research Needs in Heavy Timber Structures and Bridges,” Proceedings of the National Society of Foresters Workshop on Structural Wood Research—Needs, Priorities and Directions, Oct., 1983.
10.
Hurlbut, B. F., “Basic Evaluation of the Structural Adequacy of Existing Timber Bridges,” Transportation Research Record 647, Transportation Research Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1977.
11.
McCutcheon, W. J., and Tuomi, R. L., “Procedure for Design of Glued‐Laminated Orthotropic Bridge Decks,” Research Paper FPL 210, Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wis., 1973.
12.
McCutcheon, W. J., and Tuomi, R. L. “Simplified Design Procedure for Glued‐Laminated Bridge Decks,” Research Paper FPL 233, Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wis., 1974.
13.
Tuomi, R. L., “Erection Procedure for Glued‐Laminated Timber Bridge Decks with Dowel Connectors,” FPL Report 263, Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wis., 1976.
14.
Verna, J. R., Graham, J. F., Shannon, J. M., and Sanders, P. H., “Timber Bridges: Benefits and Costs,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 110, No. 7, Jul., 1984, pp. 1563–1571.
15.
Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, Agriculture Handbook No. 72. Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wis., 1974.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 1987 ASCE.
History
Published online: Jul 1, 1987
Published in print: Jul 1987
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.