Page 110 - Bridge and Highway Structure Rehabilitation and Repair

CHAPTER 3 BRIDGE FAILURE STUDIES AND SAFETY ENGINEERING 85

Table 3.2 Recent international bridge failures, and the nature of each collapse.
Location Year Description Nature of Collapse
Shershah Bridge Karachi, Pakistan 2007 Ten people died. Bridge less than two weeks old
(see Figure 3.5)
Southern China 2007 Many casualties Bridge over river hit by a ship in fog
Kashiwazaki City, 2007 Many casualties Due to earthquake
Nigata, Japan
Laval, Quebec, Canada 2006 Autoroute 19 overpass collapsed killing fi ve Not available
and injuring six.

India 2005 A rail disaster killed 114 people. Flood washed a rail bridge away
Southern Spain 2005 A section of a highway bridge collapsed killing Under construction
six people.

Daman, India 2003 Long span suspension bridge Bridge collapse over a river
Central China 2002 Two bridges killing a combined 19 people Not available
Lisbon, Portugal 2001 Collapse caused a tour bus to plunge into a Bridge collapse over a river
river, killing more than 50 people.
Seongsu Bridge, Seoul, South Korea 1994 Collapse killed 32 and injured 17. Not available

3.5 A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF RECENT FAILURES
3.5.1 Bridges Not Located on Rivers

Bridges have failed the world over and continue to do so. Most failures can be avoided with
efficient monitoring and timely maintenance. Some examples of recent bridge failures in the

U.S. are given below where full or partial failures have resulted from:
1. Fatigue and fracture (numerous railway and highway bridges).
2. Corrosion and web cracking of steel girders (I-95 curved bridge located near the Philadelphia
Airport).
3. Collision damage due to limited vertical under clearance (North Jersey Bridge).
4. Fire and excessive heat (I-95 bridge northeast of Philadelphia).
5. Earthquake movements (bridge failures in California).
6. Excessive wind (Tacoma Narrows Bridge).

Examples of more recent failures outside the U.S.: A brief description of casualties is pro-
vided in Table 3.2.

3.5.2 Examples of Foundation Scour
1. Failure due to foundation scour and settlement from soil erosion is a threat to bridge struc-
tures.
The majority of scour-related failures can be avoided by providing modern countermea-
sures at their foundations to prevent erosion.
2. Scour from Riverine Flow
Foundation scour is a major cause of bridge failures. Foundation settlement is caused
from erosion and weak soil conditions. When a pier tilts (Figure 3.6), there is potential for

a bridge to collapse without warning. This is a definite safety issue for travelers.
Scour likely reduces the capacity of existing foundations due to the removal of scoured ma-
terial. Section 46 of the NJDOT LRFD Design Manual for Bridges and Structures, developed