Brief Project Description: Construction for the replacement of Hartford Bridge 7 is currently underway. The new structure will be a three span, 550-ft integral abutment bridge with a flared and curved roadway at the bridge ends, skewed substructures, asymmetric abutments and wingwalls, a 4% profile grade, and variable subsurface conditions. This bridge length and geometry would typically prohibit the use of integral abutments due to excessive thermal movements and unbalanced pressures on the abutments and foundations.
Replacement of this bridge provided an opportunity to push the limits of integral abutment implementation. Refined analyses were used to gain a deeper understanding of the behavior of this structures, and corresponding force distribution. The bridge will be actively monitored with a comprehensive instrumentation system for five years beginning during construction. The accumulated data will be used to help verify analytical models and provide a better understanding of design parameters to be used in future structures.
Poster:
Additional Materials
Lead Researcher (Similar to Presenter in past Symposiums): Josh Olund, jolund@hntb.com
Additional Researchers: Susan Faraji
VTrans Champion: Mahendra Thilliyar