Location
New York, New York
Date
15 Apr 2004, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Abstract
A new bridge replaced the Route 85 Bridge over Normans Kill Creek in Albany, NY in 2001. The old bridge was a double span steel truss bridge with pile-supported abutments and a mid pier in the creek channel. The replacement is a single span concrete girder bridge and was constructed adjacent to the old bridge to minimize the extent of realignment of the roadway centerline. The soil stratigraphy along the creek bank consists of weak and compressible lacustrine deposits. During construction of the new bridge, the old bridge had to remain in operation. EPS geofoam was used as a lightweight substitute for soil to construct the approach fills for the new bridge to assure stability and minimize settlements. Extensometers and earth pressure cells were installed to monitor the performance of the approach fills. The roadway profile has been surveyed periodically to develop the settlement profile over time. In addition to improving stability and reducing settlements, the use of geofoam for the bridge approaches has resulted in additional benefits. The construction was quick and took place in winter. Lateral pressures against the abutments and wing walls are low. Results of the field monitoring are presented and compared with computer modeling of a representative section.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
5th Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
University of Missouri--Rolla
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 2004 University of Missouri--Rolla, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Stuedlein, Armin W.; Negussey, Dawit; and Mathioudakis, Michael, "A Case History of the Use of Geofoam for Bridge Approach Fills" (2004). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 22.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/5icchge/session08/22
A Case History of the Use of Geofoam for Bridge Approach Fills
New York, New York
A new bridge replaced the Route 85 Bridge over Normans Kill Creek in Albany, NY in 2001. The old bridge was a double span steel truss bridge with pile-supported abutments and a mid pier in the creek channel. The replacement is a single span concrete girder bridge and was constructed adjacent to the old bridge to minimize the extent of realignment of the roadway centerline. The soil stratigraphy along the creek bank consists of weak and compressible lacustrine deposits. During construction of the new bridge, the old bridge had to remain in operation. EPS geofoam was used as a lightweight substitute for soil to construct the approach fills for the new bridge to assure stability and minimize settlements. Extensometers and earth pressure cells were installed to monitor the performance of the approach fills. The roadway profile has been surveyed periodically to develop the settlement profile over time. In addition to improving stability and reducing settlements, the use of geofoam for the bridge approaches has resulted in additional benefits. The construction was quick and took place in winter. Lateral pressures against the abutments and wing walls are low. Results of the field monitoring are presented and compared with computer modeling of a representative section.
