FEBRUARY 2007 LRFD BRIDGE DESIGN 2-7

2.1.3 Bridge General Criteria for Lateral Clearance

Undercrossing Bridge undercrossing geometrics must rationalize safety requirements
Geometrics with costs and physical controls such as span length and permissible
depth of structure. The following guidelines apply in establishing these
geometrics:

1) Safety
Piers, abutments, side slopes and back slopes steeper than 1:3, and
guardrails can all be hazards to an out of control vehicle. It is
desirable at all bridge undercrossings to provide a clear zone recovery
area beside the roadway that is free from these hazards. This clear
zone is given in the Road Design Manual, Section 4-6.0 and is a
function of the roadway curvature, design speed, ADT, and ground
slope. For the area under bridges a practical maximum clear zone of
30 feet may be used as permitted in the 2002 AASHTO Roadside
Design Guide, Table 3.1 based on consistent use and satisfactory
performance. Eliminate side piers from the roadside area wherever
possible. The “desirable” bridge undercrossing will satisfy the above
safety criteria.

For those locations where it is totally impractical to provide a full clear

zone recovery area at an undercrossing (as at some railroad
underpasses and in certain urban situations), lesser side clearances
are permitted. Where the full recovery areas must be infringed upon,
the greatest side clearances that circumstances will permit shall be
used. A side clearance of 20 feet is not as desirable as 30 feet but is
still better than the absolute minimum clearance. Minimum lateral
clearances are specified under the section for Lateral Clearance for
Mainline Highways.

Where drainage must be carried along the roadway passing under a

bridge, either a culvert must be provided at the approach fill or the
ditch section must be carried through at the toe of the bridge
approach fill. The use of a culvert will often permit more desirable
bridge geometrics, but the culvert openings can also introduce a
roadside hazard. A determination regarding drainage (need for
culverts, size of a culvert, and assessment of possible hazard) will be
a controlling factor in deciding geometrics of the bridge for the site.

2) Economics
Prestressed concrete beam spans (in length up to about 145 feet) are
normally the most economical type of construction for grade
separations. In addition, there will usually be greater economy in
constructing grade separations using two long spans rather than