Constructability Considerations for Balanced Cantilever Construction
Publication: Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 8, Issue 1
Abstract
Constructability considerations are of importance in segmental bridge construction as the occurrence of failures of bridge superstructures under construction has highlighted. For a safe and economical construction process, the interactions between construction loads and the permanent structural system, depending on the chosen erection method, need to be evaluated. Segmental bridges can be constructed with methods like balanced cantilever construction, where individual spans are counterweighted about their substructure support. Time-dependent material properties like strength of the newly cast concrete, as well as shrinkage, creep, and relaxation influence the structural system resistance. Resulting stresses in the unfinished bridge structure during construction can even exceed the final stresses during service. This paper makes an educational contribution by illustrating these concepts with the case study of the Wilson Creek Bridge in Virginia. This five-span, cast-in-place bridge was constructed using balanced cantilever construction. Two form travelers were used to construct cantilever arms about the pier tables until the full span was finally connected at midspan; casting cycle duration for a single segment was 7 days. The contractor implemented major constructability changes in both the design and the construction of the bridge to facilitate a more economical construction process.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Anon. (1988). “Zilwaukee Bridge.” Concr. Int., 10(5), 68–75.
Barber, E. H. E., Bull, F. B., and Shirley-Smith, H. (1971). Report of Royal Commission into the Failure of West Gate Bridge, C. H. Rixon, Government Printer, Melbourne, Australia.
Barker, R. M., and Puckett, J. A. (1997). Design of highway bridges: Based on AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications, Wiley, New York.
Bishara, A. G., and Papakonstantinou, N. G.(1990). “Analysis of cast-in-place concrete segmental cantilever bridges.” J. Struct. Eng., 116(5), 1247–1268.
Construction Industry Institute (CII). (1986). Constructability: A primer, Publication 3-1, Bureau of Engineering Research, The Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex.
Fletcher, M. S.(1984). “In-situ free cantilever concrete bridges.” Highways and Transportation, 31(11), 10–18.
Liebenberg, A. C. (1992). Concrete bridges: Design and construction, Longman's, London.
Lucko, G. (1999). “Means and methods analysis of a cast-in-place balanced cantilever segmental bridge: The Wilson Creek Bridge case study.” MS thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va.
Mathivat, J. (1983). The cantilever construction of prestressed concrete bridges, Wiley, New York.
Matt, P., Voumard, J.-M., Marti, P., and Thürlimann, B.(1988). “Main river span of the Gateway Bridge.” Concr. Int. 10(5), 34–43.
Menn, C. (1990). Prestressed concrete bridges, Birkhäuser, Basel, Switzerland.
Podolny, W., and Muller, J. M. (1982). Construction and design of prestressed concrete segmental bridges, Wiley, New York.
Shiu, K.-N., and Russell, H. G.(1987). “Effects of time-dependent concrete properties on prestress losses.” Can. J. Civ. Eng., 14(5), 649–654.
Troitsky, M. S. (1994). Planning and design of bridges, Wiley, New York.
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). (1997). “Proposed bridge on Smart Road over Wilson Creek and Route 723 Montgomery County—0.3 km E. of NS RWY, Project IVHS-060-101, B603. Plan drawings, Structure and Bridge Div., Richmond. Va.
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). (1998). Proposal of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Transportation. Order No. A81, Contract No. C00016931C02, Richmond, Va.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 8 • Issue 1 • February 2003
Pages: 47 - 56
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 31, 2001
Accepted: Feb 4, 2002
Published online: Jan 15, 2003
Published in print: Feb 2003
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.