CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION
A Bridge connects two inaccessible places to provide passage over it. The inaccessible
place may be a valley or a river or any preexisting passage. Bridges are designed according to the
usage, soil conditions and topographical conditions. Designs of bridges vary depending on the
function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, the
material used to make it, and the funds available to build it.
Bridges are one of the main basic infrastructures of the country. They provide networking
throughout the country and help in developing connectivity to all remote places in India. Bridges
play a vital role in development of the country. Keeping this in mind Government of India is
investing huge amounts of money in developing basic infrastructure of the country like bridges
and roads. In this year budget government had allotted 70,000 crores on infrastructure
development.
In this in plant training, I came across the process of construction of High Level Bridge
across the Kuthaleru River at Km 24/0-2 of Anantapur-Tadipatri 4-Lane road in Anantapur
District, Andhra Pradesh.
This bridge is a beam bridge where the deck slab of the bridge is simply supported over
the piers. So the moments are null at the piers and the piers are subjected to only vertical stresses.
It is considered to be the most economical type of bridge. In this in plant training report, I am
going to explain the process of Construction of Bridge in which I underwent training.

CHAPTER-2
CLASSIFICATION OF BRIDGES
2.1 TYPES OF BRIDGES:
BASED ON STRUCTURE TYPE:
Arch Bridge
Beam Bridge
Cable Stayed Bridge
Cantilever Bridge
Suspension Bridge
Tied Arch Bridge
Truss Bridge
BASED ON FIXITY CONDITIONS:
Fixed Bridge
Movable Bridge
BASED ON MATERIALS USED:
Stone
Timber
Masonry
Steel
Concrete

2.2 COMPONENTS OF BRIDGE:

FOUNDATION:
Cutting Edge
Well Curb
Bottom Plug
Well Steining
2

Top Plug
Well Cap
Sand Filling

SUB-SRUCTURE:
Piers
Bed Block Pedestal
Hammer Head Bed Block
Bearing Pedestal
Abutments
SUPER STRUCTURE:
Longitudinal Girder
Cross Beams
Deck Slab
Kerbs
Wearing Coat
Hand Rails

Fig 2.1 Components of bridge

CHAPTER-3
SALIENT FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS
3.1 SALIENT FEATURES:1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Maximum Flow Level

Design Discharge
:
Velocity of Flow
:
Type of Crossing
:
Number of piers
:
Span Arrangement
:
Super Structure
:
Type of bearings
:
Types of foundations and SBC required

:
+88.65m
730 CUMECS
1.7 m/sec
Skew of 280
7
8V x 16.50 m
RCC Girder Slab
Neoprene Rubber

Foundation Type
Open
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well

Pier P1:
Pier P2:
Pier P3:
Pier P4:
Pier P5:
Pier P6:
Pier P7:
Abutment A1:
Abutment A2:
Wing Walls:

10. Type of Sub-Structure:

Piers:
Abutments:
Wing Walls:
11. Bearing Size

SBC Required
35 T/SQM
27 T/SQM
27 T/SQM
27 T/SQM
27 T/SQM
27 T/SQM
27 T/SQM

Open
Open
Open

25 T/SQM
31 T/SQM
16 T/SQM

Circular
Wall Type
Wall Type
:

630mm X 220mm X 61mm

3.2 SPECIFICATIONS:
S.No

Description

Mix

Max Metal Size Cover

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Approach Slab
Superstructure
Pedestal under bearings
Bed block
Hammer Head Bed Block
Wing walls
Piers
Abutments
Hand rails
Wing wall footings
Abutment footings
Wearing coat
Well curb
Well steining
Bottom plugging
Top plugging
Well cap

VRCC M30
VRCC M20
VRCC M30
VRCC M20
VRCC M20
VCC M15
VRCC M20
VCC M15
VRCC M20
VCC M15
VCC M15
VRCC M30
VRCC M25
VCC M15
PCC M20
VCC M15
VRCC M20

20 MM
20 MM
20 MM
20 MM
20 MM
40 MM
20 MM
40 MM
20 MM
40 MM
40 MM
20 MM
20 MM
40 MM
40 MM
40 MM
20 MM

25 MM
As per most
As per most
As per most
50 MM
50 MM
50 MM
50 MM
50MM
50 MM
25 MM
------

13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Table 3.1 specifications

CHAPTER-4
CONSTRUCTION OF FOUNDTION
As the soil available at the site is sandy soil Well Foundation is preferred to the
piers P2 to P7 and Open Foundation is preferred to pier P1 here. As the SBC of the soil is
very good for the pier P1 Open Foundation is preferred.

4.1 OPEN FOUNDATION:

Open foundation is one which is usually constructed very near to the ground
surface to carry the load from a structure and distribute it to sub soil which has sufficient
bearing strength.
The construction process of open foundation involves excavation of soil and
laying of footing according to the design we made according to SBC of soil. The
following fig represents the open foundation including reinforcement details.

Fig 4.1 Dimensions of pier P1

Fig 4.2 Reinforcement Details of pier P1

4.2 WELL FOUNDATION:
Well foundation or caisson is one in which circular casings made of concrete or steel are
sunk continuously one over another to reach larger depths when the soil at top is of less strength
to hold the load from the structures. This provides a solid and massive foundation for heavy
loads and high horizontal thrusts transmitted by moving loads. This has a larger cross section
area and hence the total foundation bearing capacity is much higher than any other foundations
like pile foundation. The best advantage of this foundation is that the masonry of the steining is
constructed in dry conditions so the quality of the concrete is assured. The well provides good
grip when taken sufficiently deep and hence it is most suited for river beds.
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The construction of well foundation involves laying of cutting edge aver which
well curb is laid. Well steining is laid over the curb up to 2m and then it is made to sink
using dredging. The process continuous until the foundation lies over a hard strata. The
well is filled with sand and covered with well cap over which piers are laid. The
following figure represents the piers P2 to P7 with well foundation.

Fig 4.3 Dimensions of Piers P2-P7

CHAPTER-5
CONSTRUCTION OF SUB-STRUCTURE & SUPER STRUCTURE
5.1 SUB STRUCTURE:
Piers:
Piers are the intermediate supports over which the super structure of bridge is laid. These
are the compression members which take the load of superstructure and distributes it to the
foundation below.
Bed Block Pedestal:
This is present in between pier and hammer head bed block. It transfers the load from
hammer head bed block to the pier. It provides resistance against the shear to the hammer head
bed block.
Hammer Head Bed Block:
It is laid over the bed block pedestal. It takes the load of superstructure and distributes to
the pier below. It is a cantilever beam fixed to the pier on both sides. It has cantilever action and
so it is heavily reinforced at the top.
The following figure represents the entire dimensions of sub-structure incliding the
reinforcement details.

10

Fig 5.1 Laying of Hammer Head Bed Block

Fig 5.2 Reinforcement details of pier

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5.2 ABUTMENTS:
Abutment refers to the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam whereon the
structure's superstructure rests or contacts. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end
which provide vertical and lateral support for the bridge, as well as acting as retaining walls to
resist lateral movement of the earthen fill of the bridge approach. Multi-span bridges
require piers to support ends of spans unsupported by abutments. The following are the
applications of the abutments

To resist and/or transfer self-weight, lateral loads (such as the earth pressure) and wind
loads.

To transfer loads from a superstructure to its foundation elements.

support one end of an approach slab

The following figure represents the reinforcement details of the abutments

Fig 5.3 Reinforcement details of abutment

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5.3 WINGWALLS:
In a bridge, the wing walls are adjacent to the abutments and act as retaining walls. They
are generally constructed of the same material as those of abutments. The wing walls can either
be attached to the abutment or be independent of it. Wing walls are provided at both ends of the
abutments to retain the earth filling of the approaches. Their design depends upon the nature of
the embankment and does not depend upon the type or parts of the bridge.
The soil and fill supporting the roadway and approach embankment are retained by the
wing walls, which can be at a right angle to the abutment or splayed at different angles. The wing
walls are generally constructed at the same time and of the same materials as the abutments.
Wing walls provide smooth entry of water into the bridge site and provide support and protect
the embankment. Wing walls can serve as buttresses to support walls. They can also be purely
decorative. The following figure represents the reinforcement details of the wingwalls.

Fig 5.4 Reinforcement details of wing walls

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Fig 5.5 Wing wall and Abutment

5.4 SUPERSTRUCTURE:
The superstructure chosen here is RCC Girder type superstructure. As the span is 16.5m
RCC Girder type superstructure is preferred. Here the road slab is supported over T-shaped
beams which in turn rest on the bearing bed of the piers. As the road is two way road the width of
the road including hand rails is 8.45m.

14

Here three T-beams are placed over the bearing bed blocks and over it road slab is laid
monolithically. Over the road slab weathering coat is laid for vehicular movement, at the edges
hand rails are placed for safety purpose. The entire superstructure is simply supported over the
piers with intermediate gaps between the each span to accommodate thermal expansions. The
depth of the T-beams are 1.3m whereas the depth of the road slab is 350mm. The entire depth of
the superstructure is 1650mm. Neoprene rubber sheet is sandwiched between the superstructure
and the substructure.
The following figure represents the superstructure of the bridge

Fig 5.6 RCC Girder type superstructure of the bridge

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CHAPTER-6
CONCLUSION
In India we have many rivers and we see many bridges constructed across the rivers.
Based on the conditions like type of soil, flow in the river, span required, traffic permitted we
choose the particular type of bridge. After choosing the type of bridge we test safe bearing
capacity of the soil and then according to its strength we decide the type of foundation to be
adopted and then accordingly we design the piers, abutments and wing walls. The super structure
is to be chosen according to the span of the bridge and the vehicular traffic.
Bridges are the one of the major basic infrastructure of the country as they provide
connectivity to even inaccessible place thus helping the trade and other aspects of the country.
Keeping this in mind government of India is also investing crores of rupees in infrastructure. So
this in plant training has helped me in gaining knowledge on the various aspects of bridge design
and construction. Bridges are the structures that take heavy loads so proper care should be taken
while designing from the foundation itself and it should have good durability as lots of money is
being invested in it.

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