Lessons Learned: Planning Ahead for Bridge Widening to Double Future Traffic Capacity

The paper describes practical applications for the strutted box widening method (SBWM), a system that allows a two-lane prestressed concrete segmental bridge to be designed and constructed so that it can be widened easily into a three- or four- lane bridge as traffic volumes increase in the future. The first application is for a congested urban expressway where additional right-of-way acquisition is not possible, and where it is necessary to double the traffic capacity. The solution is to construct an elevated median-based expressway using the SBWM, so that the traffic capacity at this difficult site can be doubled from three-lanes to six-lanes in each direction. The second application is for a major long-span crossing where a significant financial investment and construction effort is made to construct the initial bridge to have one-lane plus a shoulder in each direction. The SBWM allows the future traffic capacity to be doubled to have two-lanes plus a shoulder in each direction if and when the traffic volumes increase during the 100 year design life of the structure.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Shushkewich, Kenneth W
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2006-1-22 to 2006-1-26
• Date: 2006

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 11p
• Monograph Title: TRB 85th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge design; Bridge engineering; Bridges; Concrete bridges; Traffic congestion; Traffic flow; Traffic volume
• Uncontrolled Terms: Segmental bridges; Segmental concrete bridges; Strutted box widening method
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01024812
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 06-1358
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 2006 7:54AM