Design Guidelines for Arch and Cable-supported Signature Bridges

Book excerpt: These Design Guidelines have been developed to promote a uniform understanding of the state of practice in designing Arch, Cable-Stayed and Suspension Bridges. The provisions have been developed and formatted to supplement the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications. The guidelines are, thus, presented in specifications-like language with supporting commentary to facilitate adaptation into project specific criteria where bridge owners deem applicable. Amongst cited references from the literature, national and international specifications, are reports on several investigations that were conducted as a part of developing these Guidelines including - review of HL-93 live load effects for designing long span structures, initial assessment of aerodynamic stability and bridge users' comfort criteria, adaptation of the FHWA-TS-80-205 interaction equations for slender plate buckling as an extension of the AASHTO LRFD provisions, and other issues. Appendices to the Guidelines contain selected design topics deemed of immediate application to the readers covering the arch, cable-stayed, and suspension bridge types; general design process; soil-structure interaction; and bridge health monitoring.