Wingwall Type Selection for Integral Abutment Bridges: Survey of Current Practice in the United States of America

There are more than 13,000 Integral Abutment Bridges in service in the USA. A Fully Integral Abutment Bridge (FIAB) is defined as a structure where the superstructure (bridge beams and deck) is directly connected to the substructure (abutments). During thermal expansion and contraction, the superstructure and substructure move together into and away from the backfill. There are no bearings or expansion joints. Wingwalls are a necessary component of most FIAB bridges to retain the fill that supports the roadway. Currently, wingwalls do not get a lot of attention from the designer, and are almost an afterthought to the overall design of the structure. However, wingwall orientation and connection details can have an impact on the forces induced in, and the distribution of, the forces throughout the structure. A survey was sent to all transportation agencies in the USA and Canada concerning wingwall types used with FIAB. The survey intended to summarize the current state of practice concerning typical wingwall types and the design considerations of each agency. The survey results indicate that there is little agreement among the various agencies as to what limits, if any, should be placed on the wingwall type, length or support condition used with FIAB. In fact, few states even consider wingwall selection in the overall performance of the structure.

• Record URL:
  • https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/SR%20154%20Integral%20Abutment%20Wingwall%20Survey%20Report-all.pdf?nd=nysdot
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  New York State Department of Transportation

  Transportation Research and Development Bureau, 50 Wolf Road
  Albany, NY  United States  12232

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • White 2nd, Harry
• Publication Date: 2008-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 37p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge design; Jointless bridges; State of the practice; Surveys
• Uncontrolled Terms: Wingwalls
• Geographic Terms: Canada; United States
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01356786
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Special Report 154, FHWA/NY/SR-08/154
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 11 2011 3:33PM