Analysis of the State of the Art of Precast Concrete Bridge Substructure Systems

In 2001, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Technology Implementation Group identified prefabricated bridge construction as a technology that should be advanced and implemented as quickly as possible. Bridge designs incorporating prefabricated superstructure elements are not new or innovative, as precast concrete beams or girders have been around since roughly the 1950s. However, until the last 25 years, incorporating precast concrete bridge substructure components into design has been very limited.

This research focused on the collection of information related to the design and construction of precast concrete bridge substructures, with sources including state and federal transportation agency websites and published literature; conference and workshop proceedings and presentations; professional associations and societies; and other published literature sources, such as technical journals. This project reviewed this literature to determine the current state of practice with respect to the use of precast substructures on bridges in the United States. This project also evaluated the various precast substructure technologies for their applicability to “typical” Arizona bridges.