Chapter Two: Investigation for Bridges

1. Introduction
2. Site selection DESK STUDY AND SITE
3. Site investigation
INVESTIGATION
4. Span determination

Sequence of stages Aims and benefits of a desk study:

• Initial stage: Desk Study • To collect, understand and interpret data
• Desk study of available data • To limit costs
• Site visit and visual assessment
• Aid in the Design Process
• Preliminary report and fieldwork plan
• Highlights problems early
• Main stage: Site Investigation
• Fieldwork • Low cost & cost effective
• Geological mapping if necessary • Provides information which would otherwise be difficult to
• Trial pits, trenches and boreholes obtain
• Geophysical survey if appropriate
• Lab testing, mainly of soils
• Geophysical survey
• Final Report
• Review stage
• Monitoring during excavation and construction

1
Sources of information
Walkover survey
• Maps
• Geological maps & Memoirs • Checklist
• Current OS Maps • Ground truth air photos
• Old Maps / Aerial Photos
• Land use
• Archive
• Physical features
• Historical Geotechnical Info.
• Geology
• Engineering Drawings
• Construction Records • Drift
• Libraries • Groundwater conditions
• Specialist Surveys
• Enviro Check, Landfill etc.
• Mining Records
• Ecological Survey
• Observational
• Site Visit / Walkover survey
• People (UU Ops, Construction Staff, Local Residents)

Desk study Site investigation

• Collect the information • SITE INVESTIGATION is the exercise of undertaking a
• Highlight potential problems
planned sequence of exploratory holes, with associated
field and laboratory testing, in order to bring our
• Design site investigation understanding of the ground at a site, to an acceptable
level of confidence for a particular project.
• SCOPE of investigation is developed from the Desk Study
review.

2
Site investigation boreholes Cable (percussion) rig
• Percussion drilling
• soils/soft clay rocks
• core recovery

• Rotary coring
• soil or rock >100m deep
• core recovery

• Rock probing
• rotary percussion rig
• soil or rock
• no core recovery

Field testing Auger rotary drilling

• SPT : Standard Penetration Test
• no. of blows/300mm penetration

• Permeability Test
• Vane tests
• Cone Penetration Tests ( Dutch Cone Soundings )
• In-Situ Density Test

3
2.1 Introduction 2.1 Introduction contd,..
Investigation of bridge is to select suitable site Site Selection Based on
which satisfy :
• The proposed roads alignment
1. Economy
2. Safety,Traffic, • The local terrain and site conditions
3. The stream and Aesthetics Demands
• The required design life the bridge

• The likely traffic volumes

• The resource available

2.2 Site Selection contd… 2.2 Site Selection

Selection of bridge site , ideal site 1. Preliminary survey to select more
1. Straight and perpendicular, avoid skew alternatives(office Works)
2. Narrow, minimize cost and with firm banks • Use road alignment
3. Uniform flow, no turbulent flow, reduce scoring • Map, Hard Copy or Softcopy in Google Map to
4. high stable and bank calculate catchment area
5. Good soil foundation
6. If possible no under water construction

4
 Factors that most often need to be
confirmed by field inspection are:
2.2 Site Investigation
Designers should visit to inspect • high-water marks or profiles and related
• High water marks frequencies.
• Selection of roughness coefficient • selection of roughness coefficients,
• Flow concentration
• evaluation of apparent flow direction and
• Observation of land use
diversions,
• flow concentration (main stream),
• observation of land use and related flood
hazards, and
• geomorphic relationships and soil conditions

FIELD SKETCHING AND PHOTOS Bridge Inspection Form

Check List of Site Investigation
• 1 FIELD VISIT INVESTIGATION FORM
•
• • PROJECT:…………..................................................………………......……………… Date: …................………. Inv. by
……….........................…………………………….........................… Site Situated @ STA: .................……….
•
• • WATERWAY: Name: .............................................................................. Direction of flow: ....................................
•
• High Water Mark:... ...................... Level: +...............Side Slopes: ..................................degrees: ............ Diversions/ Flow concentration / Flood Hazards year, level:
.............................................................................................
• % Grade of Stream: ......... Channel, Base: ……(m) Height of Banks:…...... (m) Manning's Value n=.................. Crossing angle (estimated): …………degrees Meandering:
……………………………………(show figure below) Bottom/Base material............................................................ Material on channel side: ......................... n=..........
• Up or Downstream Restriction (debris/sedimentation/scour/soil mtrl.): ............................................................................
•
• ..............................................................................................................................................................................................
•
• • STRUCTURES : Bridges/ Buildings upstream and downstream: ............................................. @ M up/down:....... Type:
..........................................................................................Piers: Type: ............................................................
• Abutment Types: ........................................Width: ...............(m) Size of Spans: ................................................... Clear Height: ……(m) @............; ............m@..............;
.............m@ .............; Total water width at HWL:............(m);
• (Overflow? Year? Level: +...) .............................................................................................................................................
•
• • MISC. Land Uses upstream and downstream: .............................................................................................................. Vegetation (Location, Type, Name):
................................................................................................................................... Wildlife (Paths, Traces, Type, Name):
...............................................................................................................................
• • Soil Conditions: .......................................................................................................... at Roadway STA: ..................... Sample no: ............. @ STA: .............; Sample no:
............ @ STN: ................; Sample no: ............ @ STA: ................;
• • Photos no:............@STN:............... Shows: ................... Photos no:..........@STA:............... Shows: ......................... Photos no:............@STN:............... Shows:
..................... Photos no:............@STN:............... Shows: .........................
• • REMARKS:
• ........................................................................................................................................................................
•
• ...............................................................................................................................................................................................
•
• .............................................................................................................................................................................................
• ............................................................................................................................................................................................. (please, make simple plan sketch incl. water
shores/Rd alignment and continue the text on back side of this page, if
• needed)

5
2.3 Site Investigation Inputs 2.4 Span determination
• Catchment area and run off data • Economical span= cost of super= cost of sub
• Drawings • Hydraulic requirements
• River survey
• Location of piers
• Soil investigation
• Free board
• Grade requirement

2.4 Span determination 2.4 Span determination

• Economical span= cost of super= cost of sub • Economical span= cost of super= cost of sub
• Hydraulic requirements • Hydraulic requirements
• Location of piers • Location of piers
• Free board • Free board
• Grade requirement • Grade requirement

6
Economical Span Factors Considered in relation to economy
• Span determination is usually dictated by the hydraulic • Structural types, span lengths, and materials shall be
requirement. selected with due consideration of projected cost.
• However, there are conditions where lengthen spans are
chosen for the sake of road alignment. • The cost of future expenditures during the projected
• For a given span the most economical span is the length service life of the bridge should be considered.
at which superstructure cost equals to substructure cost.
• Regional factors, such as availability of material,
fabrication, location, shipping, and erection constraints,
shall be considered.

Hydraulic Requirements Water Levels

• Bridges are designed to accommodate design • Information is needed on the highest known flood level,
discharge at design flood. the ordinary flood level and the low water level at the
• When a river has a wide flood plain, the proposed site.
economical solution may be using short span • The historical flood level/ highest-known flood level
bridge with proper scour and erosion protection (HFL) should be determined by calculation and
for the embankment, abutments and piers. supplemented with local observation and inquiries in the
locality (see also the ERA Drainage Design Manual- 2002,
• Piers should be located in such a manner that
Chapter 5: Hydrology).
they can provide the required lineal waterway and
navigational clearance. • The silt marks that high floods generally leave on tree
trunks and rocks remain visible for several years.
• The alignment of piers and abutments should, if
• If there are old trees at the site vicinity, they should be
possible, be set parallel to the direction of flow examined for the presence of small twigs left adhering to
during maximum flood. the bark at high water levels.

7
Water Levels contd. Free Board
• It is usually helpful to ask people who have been living in • The waterway below the superstructure must be
the area for a long time about their recollections of designed to pass the design flood and the floating
particularly high floods, with a caution that this source of
information is variable in reliability.
debris carried on it.
• It is usually better to make such inquiries by talking to • The free board allows for uncertainty in
people individually rather than in groups. determining DFL also. The minimum free board
• The normal high water level, the ordinary flood level above the design water level is given in table
(OFL), is the level to which the river normally rises during follows unless refined hydraulic analyses have
the wettest part of the year. been made.
• The normal low water level, the low water level (LWL), is
the level prevailing in the river during dry weather. If there
is little or no flow in dry weather, the period during which
the riverbed remains dry should be noted.

Table 2.1: Free Board/Vertical Clearance at Design Flood Level (DFL)

Table 2-2 Table of Bridge Widths
Discharge (m3/s) Vertical Clearance/Free
board (m)
0 to 3.0 0.3 Application Width (m)
Two-lane in “urban” area 10.30
3.0 to 30.0 0.6
Two-lane in “rural” area 7.30
30.0 to 300 0.9
Single Lane 4.20
> 300 1.2
Pedestrian Overpass 3.0