THE HYDRAULIC DESIGN OF BRIDGES FOR RIVER CROSSINGS - A CASE HISTORY

FOLLOWING COLLAPSE OF ONE OF THE I-29 BRIDGES ON APRIL 1, 1962, A MODEL STUDY WAS PERFORMED TO DEFINE HYDRAULIC CONDITIONS THAT LED TO COLLAPSE AND TO TEST PROPOSED PROTECTIVE WORKS. THE COLLAPSE WAS INITIATED BY THE UNDERMINING BY EROSION OF ONE OF THE PIERS OF THE UPSTREAM BRIDGE. A CONSEQUENCE OF THE EROSION PATTERN WAS THE SUBSIDENCE OF A PORTION OF THE LEFT BANK, WHICH WAS LEFT WITHOUT SUPPORT WHEN THE BED DOWNSTREAM OF THE BRIDGES ERODED TO A CONSIDERABLE DEPTH. THE EROSION PATTERN WAS THE RESULT OF AT LEAST FOUR FACTORS' /1/ A FLOOD DISCHARGE 1.64 TIMES AS LARGE AS THE MAXIMUM FLOOD PRIOR TO THE DESIGN OF THE BRIDGE WAS CONDUCIVE TO HIGH VELOCITIES THROUGH THE BRIDGE SECTION; /2/ COHESIVENESS OF THE RIVERBED EFFECTIVELY PREVENTED THE FORMATION OF BED LOAD BECAUSE WHEN THE COHESIVE BOND WAS BROKEN THE BED MATERIAL WENT INTO SUSPENSION; /3/ THE LOW STAGE IN THE MISSOURI RIVER WAS FAVORABLE TO A STILL HIGHER INCREASE IN VELOCITY; AND /4/ THE BRIDGE GEOMETRY PROVIDED CONSTRICTION AND OBSTRUCTION TO FLOW AND PIERS WERE SKEWED TO DIRECTION OF FLOW. THE PROPOSAL FOR STABILIZATION OF THE LEFT BANK AND PREVENTION FROM FURTHER SUBSIDENCE INCORPORATED REVETMENT PROTECTION FOR THE BRIDGE PIERS, WHICH HAD BEEN RECONSTRUCTED WITH EXTENSIVE FOUNDATION PILES. HYDRAULIC MODEL TESTS ESTABLISHED THE FLOW AND EROSION PATTERNS RESULTING FROM THE REVISED REVETMENT AND SHOWED THAT THE STABILIZATION PROPOSAL WOULD NOT BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE FLOW PATTERN THROUGH THE BRIDGE STRUCTURE. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1966/123/123-001.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper sponsored by Committee on Surface Drainage of Highways and presented at the 45th Annual Meeting. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Anderson, Alvin G
• Publication Date: 1966

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 1-16
• Monograph Title: Highway drainage and scour studies
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 123
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Banks (Waterways); Bridge design; Bridge piers; Bridges; Collapse; Erosion; Floods; Flow; Hydraulic structures; Hydraulics; Loads; Obstructions (Navigation); Pile foundations; Protection; Revetments; Rivers; Soil stabilization; Structural design; Subsidence (Geology); Turbulence
• Candidate Terms: Turbulent flow
• Uncontrolled Terms: Hydraulic models; Stabilization
• Geographic Terms: Missouri River
• Old TRIS Terms: Bed load; Obstruction
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Geotechnology; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Marine Transportation; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00203947
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Dec 22 1994 12:00AM