Kasese District Local Government

Stone arch bridges

A strong & cost effective technology for rural roads

A practical manual for Local Governments

Foreword
This manual was developed based on the
experience of the Belgian Technical
Cooperation (BTC) supported Kasese District
Poverty Reduction Programme (KDPRP) in
Western Uganda, during the period 2009-
2013. The programme piloted stone arch
culverts and bridges in rural areas, where low Table of contents
labour costs and high cost of industrial
building materials favour this technology. The 1. Chapter 1: Introduction to stone arch bridges .............................. 2
construction of stone arch bridges in Uganda, 1.1 Background and justification. ...................................................... 2
Tanzania & Rwanda has demonstrated its 1.2 The stone arch bridge technology ............................................... 3
overall feasibility in East Africa. 1.3 Advantages & limitations. ........................................................... 5
1.4 Stone arch bridges: implications of labour-based technology. ... 7
How to use this manual 2. Chapter Two: Design of stone arch bridges ................................... 8
The purpose of this manual is to provide 2.1 Quick scan – site assessment ...................................................... 8
supervisors of stone arch bridge works with 2.2 Planning and stakeholders involved. ........................................... 9
an easy step by step guide. The stepwise 2.3 Design .......................................................................................... 9
approach ensures adherence to quality 2.4 Site conditions and arch types. ................................................... 9
requirements and construction methodology 2.5 Calculation of the flow and the bridge span ............................. 11
The main target audience of this manual is 2.6 Bridge dimensions ..................................................................... 12
the road works supervisors and engineers Roman arch bridge ..................................................................... 12
employed by District Local Governments in Segmental arch bridge................................................................ 13
East Africa. However, the manual remains Culverts....................................................................................... 14
relevant in the context of many other 2.7 Calculation of the quantities of materials. ................................ 15
developing countries. 2.8 Drawings .................................................................................... 15
3. Chapter Three: Construction of stone arch bridges .................... 16
Acknowledgements 3.1 Principle: wedging - only compression forces ........................... 16
3.2 Steps of construction process ................................................... 17
Many people and institutions contributed to
3.3 Selection of construction materials........................................... 33
this manual: the KDPRP steering committee,
3.4 Implementation modalities and site management ................... 35
Local Authorities at District and Sub County
3.5 Common construction mistakes. ............................................... 38
levels, the District Executive Committee and
3.6 Training of masons .................................................................... 40
the Chief Administrative Officer, William
3.7 Promoting the technology. ........................................................ 40
Kanyesigye. Special thanks goes to Paul
4. References and further reading ................................................... 41
Dequeker, Belgian architect, for having
5. Table of Annexes .......................................................................... 42
shared his broad experience in Congo with Cost estimates, drawings, Memorandum of Understanding
us. The manual was written by Eng. Sophie Technical Specifications, Assessment Checklist.
Grigoletto and Steven Hollevoet. The draft
was reviewed by the Kasese District Works
department, Alphonse Katswamba , Dave
Renno, Ruediger Behrens (GIZ) and Neil
Noble of Practical Action. Neil also produced
some of the technical drawings.
Jonas Geeroms edited some diagrams.
BTC Uganda and the BTC junior programme
made this work possible.

This document has been produced in printed from, DVD, and as an online version
of BTC http://intranet.btcctb.org and Practical Action http://practicalaction.org
2013

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 1. Chapter One: Introduction to stone arch bridges
1.1 Background and justification.
Stone arch bridges are amongst the strongest in the world. The technology has stood the test of time.
The Romans built stone arch bridges and aqueducts with lime mortar more than twenty centuries
ago. Arches and vaults were also the determining structural design element of churches and castles
in the Middle Ages (fig 1&2). There are stone arch bridges which have survived for hundreds and even
thousands of years, and are still as strong today as when they were first constructed (see fig. 5).

th
Fig 1: Vaults built in churches 14 century Fig 2: Ancient stone arches street
Santiago de Compostela cathedral, Spain medieval town of San Gimignano, Italy
Picture: courtesy Wikipedia.

The main reason that western countries moved away from stone arch bridges is because of the high
labour costs involved in their construction. In industrialised countries, it is cheaper to use pre-stressed
concrete rather than employ a lot of masons and casual labourers. In the economic environment of
East Africa and the majority of developing countries, with low labour costs and high costs of industrial
building materials, stone arch bridges provide a more affordable and practical option.

Technology choice Adapted to following economic context Typical example

Reinforced/ • High labour costs • Industrialised countries.
pre-stressed concrete bridges • Low cost of industrial building materials • Highway contractors.
• Low labour costs • Rural areas in developing countries.
Stone arch bridges
• High cost of industrial building materials • Community road projects

Each financial year, districts and lower local governments are faced with funding constraints while
the challenges in the rural transport sector are overwhelming. The limited available road funds are
spent on costly public procurement of a few structures and road repair while most of the grassroots
requests remain without support. Rural roads are often designed with an insufficient number of
culverts due to the high cost of concrete culverts. It causes inadequate drainage and premature
erosion, leading to increased maintenance costs of the road network. On the other hand, due to
budget constraints, timber bridges are constructed with a limited lifespan of 4-10 years and the
need for constant repairs. The adoption of stone arch bridges enables districts and lower local
governments to improve the access to social services and markets of more village communities at
70% lower investment costs. Stone arch bridges offer a low-cost but strong technology that is
appropriate for rural areas in developing countries.
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 Fig 3: Eroded road due to insufficient Fig 4: Timber log bridges have limited span
drainage capacity of the culverts (10 to 12m) and lifespan (4 to 10 years).

1.2 The stone arch bridge technology

Arch bridges are among the oldest types of bridges.
Dating back to ancient China, Rome and Persia, this
bridge structure has been in use for thousands of
years. Because of the strength, many ancient bridges
can still be seen today in cities of Europe and Asia. The
Romans were the first to fully realize the potential of
arches for bridge construction and built many
spectacular arch bridges, over 2000 years ago (fig 5)!

For local masons first exposed to arches, the concept

remains abstract and shaky. The structure is
completely unstable until the two spans meet in the Fig 5: Roman stone arch bridge built over the Tagus
middle and the arch is closed. From a layman’s River at Alcántara, Spain between 104 and 106.AD
(Total length: 194m, longest span: 28m)
perspective, it is hard to see how a bridge merely built
Picture: courtesy Wikipedia.
with stones will support heavy traffic. However, the
structure is ultimately rendered robust by the
wedging principle of the stones that distribute the
load as compression along the whole arch to the
foundations. Tensile stresses are omitted.

While there is quite some variety in arch bridge construction, the basic structure does not change.
They can be architecturally different; but they are structurally the same. The simplest shape of an
arch bridge is a semicircular design with abutments on each end. Its structure distributes
compression through its entire form and diverts weight onto its two abutments. Tensional force in
arch bridges, on the other hand is virtually negligible. Arch bridges do not need additional supports
of reinforced steel. They are particularly suitable for building in stone because each of the elements
in the arch will be under compression (fig 6).

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 Fig 6: Load distribution in a semi-circular arch: the
weight on top of the arch is diverted to the abutments
through the arch. The arch is almost entirely under
compression without any tensile stresses.

Single stone arch bridges can cover

spans up to 20 meters. For larger
spans, steel and pre-stressed
concrete is required. Steel arches
typically span between 50 and 250
meters, but West Virginia's New
River Gorge Bridge built in 1977 has
an impressive span of 518 meters
(fig 7).

Fig 7: New River Gorge Bridge, a steel arch bridge West Virginia, USA
Picture courtesy Wikipedia.

The construction of arch bridges all follow the same basic principle (fig 8), which is simple but
requires some experience and training to ensure strong and long lasting structures. Stone arches
are built over a temporary wooden formwork which holds the masonry in place during construction.
The temporary form is needed since the structure is not stable until the arch is closed. The
paragraph 3.2 gives more details about the different steps of the construction

Temporary wooden formwork which is

removed once the arch is closed.

Arch with stones placed according to

the radius of the semi circle.

Abutment with stones laid flat with a

good bond

Fig 8: Basic elements of arch bridge construction. The arch is constructed symmetrically over a temporary
formwork. Note that the arrangement of the stones differs entirely between the arch and the abutment. Stones of
the abutments are placed in a flat and horizontal position while the ones forming the arch follow the radius of the
circle. This arrangement is the key principle for the stability of the bridge.

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1.3 Advantages & limitations.
When compared to concrete bridges, stone arch bridges offer several advantages.

A larger proportion of locally available resources

are used in stone bridges as they can be built with
local labour and stones. In contrast, raw materials
and machines have to be imported for the
construction of concrete bridges and specialized
technical expertise is required. Compared to
expensive aggregates, local stones are a strong,
affordable material and they are often available in
the vicinity (10-15 km) of the construction site.
There is no need for expensive steel bars,
aggregates, concrete or galvanised pipes that have Fig 9: Construction of a multiple-arch culverts with
to be hauled over long distances. stones found in the vicinity

As regards to the construction cost, concrete bridges require more capital and equipment (poker,
concrete mixers). The cost of additional man-days required for the construction of stone arch
bridges in rural areas is usually much lower than the higher cost of industrial materials and
equipment used in concrete bridges as the table below illustrates.

Cost in Ush Cost in US$ Cost saving arch

Construction
2012 2012 technology
Bridge box culvert - public procurement span 4m 116,000,000 44,000
Stone arch bridge - forced account span 4 m 20,000,000 8,000 83%
Reinforced concrete bridge – public procurement span 8m 250,000,000 95,000
Stone arch bridge - forced account span 8 m 39,000,000 15,000 84%
Culvert 3 lines 75 cm diameter - public procurement 28,000,000 11,000
Triple culvert 80 cm diameter - forced account 5,900,000 3,000 79%
Examples of cost comparison stone arch/concrete bridges, rural Uganda 2012- 1 US$= 2.650 Ush.

The weight of the stone arch culverts reduces the risk of floods washing them away. The
interconnecting arch and the heavy weight also prevent the tilting and sliding exerted by the
backfilled soil mass - typical technical challenges related to concrete bridge abutments. Moreover,
stone culverts cannot be stolen and resold, unlike galvanised or concrete pipe culverts.

Compared to bridges made from tree logs, the stone arch bridges are more durable. They do not
need to be re-built every 3 to 5 years. This makes the investment and community effort more
effective, while the safety standard and traffic load capacity increase drastically.

However, concrete bridges will be the right technology choice where labour costs are high and
where large spans are involved. The maximum single span of stone bridges is usually less than 20
meters. For larger single spans, the volume of stone masonry becomes too massive and reinforced
concrete is a better option.

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 SUSTAINABILITY STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
CRITERIA
• No need for expensive equipment • More expensive where labour and local
• Long lifetime stones are expensive.
ECONOMICAL
• Low cost
• Easy to maintain at local level
• Stronger • No traditional skills for arches, requiring
TECHNICAL
• Adjustable to local conditions prior training of masons
SOCIAL/ • Technology manageable at community • New technology requires a change of mind-
POLITICAL/ level. set and the sensitisation of the community
CULTURAL and local governments.
• Use of local materials, reduced use of
ENERGY • Higher energy cost than timber bridges due
industrial materials and dependence on
BALANCE to use of cement but lifespan also 30 times
long distance transportation
longer.
• Limited use of timber as forests are
• borrow pits for stone and sand might affect
under threat.
landscape and accelerate erosion but same
ECOLOGICAL • Maintains the beauty of the landscape as
applies to concrete bridges.
natural stone blends in well with the
environment.

There are some limitations to constructing stone arch bridges. It is important to assess the local
context to make sure a stone arch bridge is the right solution. Where the cost of labour is high or
where large quantities of stones cannot be found in the vicinity, the construction cost of a stone
arch bridge could exceed the one of a concrete bridge. Another challenge is the capacity building of
local craftsmen and contractors. Where no stone masonry tradition exists, masons need to be
trained to master this technology and adhere to technical specifications.

Fig 10. Vocabulary of arch bridges

1. Wing wall
2. Head wall
3. Spring
4. Key stone


5. Ring stone
6. Abutment
   7. Shoulder
 
 


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1.4 Stone arch bridges: implications of labour-based technology.

Apart from the requirement of crossing a river, job creation is one of the objectives that this kind of
construction can meet perfectly. The beneficiary community can indeed be integrated in the
construction of stone arch bridges. Unemployment is usually high in rural areas of developing
countries. Due to the high labour input required for the construction of stone arch bridges, seasonal
employment can be increased. As the construction is simple, low-skilled labour can be used to
implement the work. Unskilled workers from the villages collect stones and sand, masons build the
bridges, and village carpenters make the simple scaffolding that is needed. It promotes
employment, focusing on people and their skills rather than machines and imported diesel.

Fig. 11: The community can be involved in the construction of a stone arch bridge.

This approach enables also the involvement of the rural communities and district councils during
the planning and execution of road works and results in a greater sense of ownership, self-reliance
and community cooperation. The execution of the works can be delegated to village road
committees. Villages can potentially access donor and government funding for road works through
the matching of local resources. This approach favours the adoption of stone arch bridge
technology by communities and also by local governments. The allocation of road funds based on
effective community contribution is a more just principle than electoral campaign considerations
based on patronage networks.

Involving the community in the construction process is usually also one of the main challenges of
the construction project. Successful bridge construction depends on a committed leadership and
whether the bridge was identified as a top community priority. Without these preconditions, it is
difficult to mobilise the community on a voluntary basis, especially where public procurement
demonstrated a wasteful use of resources in the past.

Next to the “force on account” approach, stone arch bridges can also be tendered through the
public procurement system and contracted to construction firms. Still cost advantages will be
important, as steel and concrete unit costs of conventional bridges are replaced by the much lower
unit costs for stone masonry.