Page 15 - Bridge and Highway Structure Rehabilitation and Repair

xiv PREFACE

NEED TO INCORPORATE GROWING TECHNOLOGIES
There is a need to update the growing volume of knowledge of this important and practical
subject. Existing books seldom include rehabilitation aspects exposed to the dynamic forces
at work and may not fully appreciate the need for teamwork or sensitivity to client’s and the
user’s needs. More important is speaking the engineer’s language and taking a series of small
steps rather than making one big leap. Also, recommending one or more outdated books to
the students does not seem to solve the problem. There are relatively few books on similar
topics and on developments in modern technology on design and construction disciplines.
However, the available books seem to contain information from a different era, information
which is already obsolete and has becomes less relevant than the conditions for which it was
originally written.
Maintenance of highways include the much neglected highway structures, such as canti-
lever and overhead sign structures, special loads resulting from variable message signs, noise
walls, precast modular retaining walls, and providing relief bridges and scour countermeasures
at bridges and embankments.
For bridges located on waterways, use of deeper foundations and adequate bridge open-

ings are being recommended. An earlier handbook on protection against flood scour (a major
cause of bridge failures in the United States), which I coauthored for NJDOT jointly with City
University of New York, has now been approved by FHWA for use by consultants. I had also
developed Sections 45 and 46 of NJDOT Bridge Design Manual pertaining to seismic design
and bridge scour.

I find that it is the right time to rewrite the contents of the subject and address the latest
changes in the code requirements (such as important changes in the format of SI&A Datasheet
and that the method of rating needs to be based on the new LRFR Method). The latter method has
generated development of new LRFD software, such as LEAP, SAM, Merlin-Dash, PENNDOT
and other LRFD based software for seismic and scour analysis. Also, a book should fully present
the language of ongoing design, construction culture, and design development phases.

TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESSFUL BRIDGE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
The bridge engineer needs to be groomed to a technical decision making position, starting
from a junior engineer to a senior engineer and to a team leader responsibilities. In the design
environment, there is a need to develop an engineering sense to address the issues and resolve
them in an engineering sense in the limited time available.
The audience for whom the book is intended includes practicing structural and bridge engi-
neers in United States and abroad, government agency engineers, planners, highway and traffi c
engineers, geotechnical engineers, hydraulic engineers, transportation specialists, contractors,
product vendors, senior engineering students, and university professors.
The book is also intended for those with the following job titles: engineering managers, project

managers, design engineers, construction supervisors, instructors, and final year students.
In addition, the book is intended for those who might be affiliated with the following profes-

sional associations and organizations: American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of
Highway Engineers, American Concrete Institute, AASHTO, FHWA, TRB, American Institute
of Steel Construction, and state board professional engineering licensing agencies.

KEY BENEFITS
Experience in the design and construction supervision of bridges located in the United States,
Europe, and Asia can be utilized in developing a book that can be recommended simultaneously
to students and bridge engineers alike. Some of the prestigious bridge projects, where I have suc-
cessfully participated as a designer include curved steel bridges at Washington National Airport,