Seismic Assessment and Retrofitting of Existing Road Bridges: State of the Art Review

• Published in: Materials Vol. 15; no. 7; p. 2523
• Main Authors: Skokandić, Dominik, Vlašić, Anđelko, Kušter Marić, Marija, Srbić, Mladen, Mandić Ivanković, Ana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.03.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Bearing strength; Behavior; Bridge inspection; Bridge loads; Bridges; Building codes; Civil engineers; Concrete bridges; Concrete construction; Construction; Critical loading; Design specifications; Ductility; Earthquake damage; Earthquakes; Failure; Fatalities; Girder bridges; Highway construction; Live loads; Load; Load carrying capacity; Masonry; Methods; Piers; Property damage; Reinforced concrete; Retrofitting; Roads & highways; Seismic analysis; Seismic engineering; State-of-the-art reviews; Transportation planning; California; United States > US; Japan; Croatia; Croatia earthquake; existing road bridges; urgent strengthening; retrofitting; bridge assessment; seismic assessment
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma15072523

The load-carrying capacity assessment of existing road bridges, is a growing challenge for civil engineers worldwide due to the age and condition of these critical parts of the infrastructure network. The critical loading event for road bridges is the live load; however, in earthquake-prone areas bridges generally require an additional seismic evaluation and often retrofitting in order to meet more stringent design codes. This paper provides a review of state-of-the-art methods for the seismic assessment and retrofitting of existing road bridges which are not covered by current design codes (Eurocode). The implementation of these methods is presented through two case studies in Croatia. The first case study is an example of how seismic assessment and retrofitting proposals should be conducted during a regular inspection. On the other hand, the second case study bridge is an example of an urgent assessment and temporary retrofit after a catastrophic earthquake. Both bridges were built in the 1960s and are located on state highways; the first one is a reinforced concrete bridge constructed monolithically on V-shaped piers, while the second is an older composite girder bridge located in Sisak-Moslavina County. The bridge was severely damaged during recent earthquakes in the county, requiring urgent assessment and subsequent strengthening of the substructure to prevent its collapse.