Guardrails for use on historic bridges : volume 1—replacement strategies.

Details

• Creators:
  Frosch, Robert J. ; Kreger, Michael E. ; Clauss, Adam J.
• Corporate Creators:
  Purdue University. Joint Transportation Research Program
• Corporate Contributors:
  Indiana Department of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bridge Deck Overhang Bridge Decks Bridge Railing Rehabilitation Bridge Railings Historic Bridge Guardrails Historic Bridge Railings Historic Bridges
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/IN/JTRP-2016/33
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Indiana ; United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Purdue University. Joint Transportation Research Program
• Abstract:
  Bridges that are designated historic present a special challenge to bridge engineers whenever rehabilitation work or improvements are
  
  made to the bridges. Federal and state laws protect historically significant bridges, and railings on these bridges can be subject to
  
  protection because of the role they play in aesthetics. Unfortunately, original railings on historic bridges do not typically meet current
  
  crash-test requirements and typically do not meet current standards for railing height and size of permitted openings. The primary
  
  objective of this study is to develop strategies that can be used to address existing railings on historic bridges and to develop solutions
  
  that meet current design requirements. In addition to the modification, selection, and design of the bridge railing, the bridge deck is also
  
  impacted by changes made to the railing. Due to increased force levels recently required by AASHTO, deck overhangs require significantly
  
  more reinforcement than for past practice. These increases are being realized on all bridge decks and may pose particular challenges for
  
  the attachment of railing to historic bridges. Therefore, a secondary objective of this project is to investigate the design of the deck
  
  overhang and determine whether reduced amounts of reinforcement are possible. For Volume 1 (Replacement Strategies), three phases
  
  of research were conducted. First, an overview of current practice for addressing historic bridge railings was performed. Second, an
  
  investigation was conducted to document historic bridge railings in Indiana. Finally, rehabilitation solutions were developed to address
  
  the specific bridge railings found in Indiana. Based on this research, three retrofit strategies were developed which include an inboard
  
  railing, curb railing, and a simulated historic railing. These rehabilitation solutions can be used to address historic bridge railings not only
  
  in Indiana, but across the country. For Volume 2 (Bridge Deck Overhang Design), experimental testing of half-scale and full-scale
  
  overhang specimens was conducted, and the results were analyzed. Failures of in-service bridge railings were also evaluated. Based on
  
  this research, recommendations are provided for the more efficient and economic design of bridge deck overhangs. These
  
  recommendations are applicable not only for historic bridges, but for all concrete bridge decks.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  SPR-3714
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:7a239b64b91ac3342e6a2e5ace78de9d039c1072f7bfae1ccf7a265ff6a902b4
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32416/dot_32416_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 26.11 MB ]