Bridge Design Manual

Section 1.03 – Loads and Load Factors

Chapter 1
General Design Information

Section 1.03 – Loads and Load

Factors

Introduction This section defines the loads and load factors to be used in
structural analysis and design. The loads and load factors from the
AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specification will be used unless
noted.

Load The following load modifying factors (ηi) will be used for all
structures designed under the LRFD Specifications unless noted
Modifying below.
Factors Ductility - ηD

All bridges and box culverts will use ηD = 1.0.

Redundancy - ηR

Structural components whose failure is expected to

cause the collapse of the bridge are considered
fracture-critical and are deemed as non-redundant.
These components may include pin and hanger
systems, tension members in trusses, floorbeams,
two-girder system bridges, and simple span metal
pier caps.

The typical girder bridges and box culverts

designed by the Bridge Program have multiple
loads paths and, therefore, will use ηR = 1.0. For
structures without multiple load paths, consult with
Bridge Program Staff for the appropriate value of
ηR

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Section 1.03 – Loads and Load Factors

Operational Importance - ηI

The importance of a structure will depend on many

factors, which may include:

• Roadway Classification
• Feature Intersected
• Span Lengths
• Number of Spans
• Structure Length
• Detour Length
• ADT and Percent Trucks
• Defense Route
• Seismic Classification

For all girder bridges and box culvert designs, use

ηI = 1.0. The Design Squad Leader should consider
the above mentioned factors and if they feel the new
structure should be considered operationally
important, they should discuss the use of a larger
factor with the Bridge Program Staff.

The following load factors (γ) will be used for structures designed
Load Factors under the LRFD Specifications.
• γEQ shall be assumed as 0.5 for Extreme Event I Load
Combination
• γ & γ shall be taken as follows:
SE TG
 0.0 for strength and extreme event limit states
 1.0 for service limit states if live load is not
considered
 0.5 for service limit states with live load

Multiple Apply multiple presence factors as noted in the LRFD

specification.
Presence
Factors
Design All new bridges and culverts, which carry traffic on Interstates &
Ramps, US, and State highways, will be designed for HL93
Vehicular Live loading using the LRFD Design Code.
Load
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Section 1.03 – Loads and Load Factors

All new Local and Off-System bridges and culverts will be

designed for HL93 loading using the LRFD Design Code.

For rehabilitations and widenings, the design vehicle should match

that truck for which the structure was originally designed. For
older structures designed by LFD or ASD, the minimum design
load should be HS20.

All new bridges with sidewalks will be designed assuming that the
Pedestrian Load sidewalk may be removed in the future. Therefore, the vehicular
live load (HL-93) will be placed assuming 1’-8” wide curbs, and
no pedestrian live load will be applied. The weight of the
sidewalk(s) will be included as a superimposed dead load.

Dynamic Load The Dynamic Allowance shall be applied only to the design truck
or design tandem.
Allowance

Vehicular The 600 kip load as specified in Article 3.6.5.1 will be applied to
all structures not meeting the requirements of Article 3.6.5.1 and
Collision Force the functional classification of the roadway being crossed is not a
local rural or urban roadway.

The magnitude of the load may be reduced based on the following

criteria:

 Design speed
 Average Daily Traffic (ADT)
 Percent trucks using the roadway
 Engineering judgment based on site specific data

Any reduction of the collision force must be approved by the State

Bridge Engineer.

Columns placed behind retaining walls do not need to be designed

with the collision force.

Stream Pressure The design high water elevation and velocity for the purposes of
stream pressure calculations shall be based on Q100.
For structures where the pier is aligned with the stream flow the
lateral stream pressure applied to the side of the pier will be based
on an angle of 5° to allow for a change in the direction of flow
over the life of the structure.

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Section 1.03 – Loads and Load Factors

The stream flow pressure distribution shall be rectangular. In cases

where the corresponding top of water elevation is above the low
beam elevation, stream flow loading on the superstructure will be
investigated. The pressure acting on the superstructure shall be a
uniform distribution.

Ice Loads The friction angle φf between the pier nose and the ice is defined
by the following equation.
-1
φf = tan μ
However, the coefficient of friction μ cannot be established with
great certainty. The Alberta Research Council uses μ = 0.18 and
the Alyeska Pipeline Co uses μ = 0.10.

For most design cases φf = 0.0 (which is conservative) should be

used unless the loads become unrealistic in which case the
following values should be μ = 0.10 and φf = 5.7°.

Changing the nose geometry β will have a bigger effect than

changing φf .

β is defined as follows:

β=180° β
β=100°

Note when β= 180 Ft = 0.15F

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Seismic Loads The seismic loads and analysis shall be based on the AASHTO
Guide Specification for LRFD Seismic Bridge Design.

If the route that the structure is on services an emergency facility

(hospital, fire station, etc.) or a major transportation facility and the
detour for the emergency facility is greater than one mile the
structure should be classified as critical. If the structure carries
utilities (water, gas, and power) and these utilities would be
considered essential in the case of an earthquake or other
emergency, the structure should be considered critical. All bridges
that are classified as critical will be considered Important for ηΙ
purposes.

All structures whose deck slab will be exposed to traffic will be

Dead Loads designed for a future wearing surface (fws) of 25 psf. All
structures whose deck slab will have an asphalt wearing surface
placed during original construction do not need to be designed for
any additional future wearing surface.

All new girder structures will be designed for an additional dead

load of 15 psf to account for the use of stay in place (SIP) deck
forms. The SIP load is assumed to act on the girder bays only, no
permanent deck forming on the deck cantilevers.

The following unit weights should be used when determining dead

loads:

Material Unit Weight (kcf)

Concrete 0.150
Steel 0.490
Soil 0.120 (unless noted in Geology
Report)
Wood 0.050
Asphalt 0.145
Water 0.0624

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Section 1.03 – Loads and Load Factors

For RAILING DEAD LOADS, the use of the following table is

suggested.

Dead Load Approximate Center of

Railing Type (plf) Gravity
Steel Bridge Rail (TL-3) 35 8" from FF curb
Steel Bridge Rail (TL-4) 45 8" from FF curb
Corrugated Beam Type Railing 40 7" from FF curb
Concrete Bridge Barrier Rail 372 11" from FF rail
Standard Pedestrian Railing 40 4" from RF sidewalk
Pedestrian Safety Railing 35 5" from RF sidewalk
Splash Boards 30 Attached to front face of
pedestrian safety railing

The front face curb or sidewalk thickness for new structures and
rehabilitation projects should be 6”.

For girder structures, the weight of diaphragms, splices, stiffeners,

etc., should be included as part of the applied dead load. For steel
structures, this can be approximated by using 40 plf for interior
girders and 20 plf for exterior girders.

Distribution of deck loads will be in accordance to the following

based on the structure type.

Non-composite structures - Use tributary area for

distribution of stage 1 loads (DC). For bridges without
sidewalks, distribute stage 2 loads (DC & DW) equally to
all girders. For bridges with sidewalks, distribute stage 2
loads (DC & DW) by transverse continuous beam.

Composite structures - Use tributary area for distribution

of stage 1 loads (DC). For bridges without sidewalks,
distribute stage 2 loads (DC & DW) equally to all girders.
For bridges with sidewalks, distribute stage 2 loads (DC &
DW) by transverse continuous beam.

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Section 1.03 – Loads and Load Factors

Temperature All of Wyoming is assumed to be in the cold climate region.

Ranges The base construction temperature for bridge structures is 60
degrees Fahrenheit. The base construction temperature is the
assumed temperature at which the structure is initially built. All
temperature related movements should be determined based on the
difference between the base temperature and the limits of the
temperature ranges listed below.

The Following temperature ranges and load factors will be used in

the design of steel and concrete structures.

Steel Girder Bridges

• Base Temperature Range = -30° F to 120° F
• Bearing and Expansion Joint Design
• Temperature Range = -50° F to 130° F
• This range incorporates the 1.2 load factor

Concrete Girder Bridges

• Base Temperature Range = 15° F to 95° F

• Bearing and Expansion Joint Design
• Temperature Range = 5° F to 105° F
• This range incorporates the 1.2 load factor

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