Prefabricated Bridge Innovations Page: 3
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work required, thereby limiting traffic disruption to traffic. And it limits the time that workers
are at risk on jobs with location-specific dangers.
2.3 Columns
Precast columns on cast-in-footings or drilled shafts can reduce on-site construction times. Col-
umns can be segmental, post-tensioned, either hollow or concrete-filled.
2.4 Total superstructure systems
Entire segments of the superstructure can be prefabricated, offering tremendous potential advan-
tages in terms of constructibility, on-site construction time, and the need to have equipment on
the construction site:
- Preconstructed units may include steel or concrete girders prefabricated with a composite
deck, cast away from the project site and then lifted into place in one operation.
- Truss spans can also be prefabricated.
2.5 Total substructure systems
Individual piers or a prefabricated bent cap supported by prefabricated columns comprise a total
substructure system. In addition to cost, time, and quality advantages, reduced need for on-site
substructure construction can limit negative effects of construction in environmentally sensitive
areas.
2.6 Totally prefabricated bridges
Totally prefabricated bridge systems facilitate rapid construction and depend on a range of pre-
fabricated bridge elements that are transported to the work site and assembled in a rapid-
construction process.
3 INNOVATIVE USES OF PREFABRICATION IN BRIDGE PROJECTS
Although prefabricated beams and girders have long been used in bridge construction, innova-
tive bridge owners, designers, and builders have applied the technology to increasingly complex
elements and systems.
3.1 Decks
Partial-depth deck panels act as stay-in-place forms, reducing the volume of site-cast concrete
and eliminating formwork removal. Full-depth deck panels go even further toward reducing on-
site construction. Proprietary brands of prefabricated full-depth deck panels are commercially
available.
3.2 Partial-depth deck panels in Texas
In 1963, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) developed a composite concrete
bridge deck system consisting of precast concrete panels in the lower half with cast-in-place
concrete completing the upper half of the deck. This partially-prefabricated deck system caught
on slowly, but now panels are typically the contractor-preferred system for constructing bridge
decks, and most bridges in Texas are constructed with panels. TxDOT-sponsored research
showed that use of precast pretensioned concrete deck panels produces a deck that is stronger,
stiffer, and more crack-resistant to applied loads than a conventional cast-in-place concrete deck
(Tsui et al. 1986). Texas girder-type bridge plans allow deck panels as a contractor option, and
the contractor typically chooses this option because it speeds deck construction, improves
worker safety during construction, and lowers costs.
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Freeby, Gregg; Medlock, Ronald & Slagle, Sharon. Prefabricated Bridge Innovations, paper, [2001..2004]; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth637486/m1/3/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.