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Definitions in bridges
A Culvert is defined as a structure having a total length
of 6.0m or less between the inner faces of Dirt
walls(Backing wall)
A Causeway is a structure constructed across a stream
which allows the normal flow of water through its vents
and allows the Flood waters at MFL CONDITION above
it. Normally Causeways are designed to take 30% of
Flood water through vents and balance to overflow
during MFL Condition
A Minor Bridge is a structure having a total length of
60.0m or less between the inner faces of Dirt walls
(Backing walls) i.e. more than 6.0m and less than
60.0M

A Major Bridge is a structure having a total length of

more than 60.0m Between the inner faces of Dirt walls
(Backing walls)
ROB Means a Road Over Bridge constructed across a
Railway line over the Rails. This means the road traffic
passes over the Railway line.
RUB Means a Road Under Bridge Constructed across
a Railway line under the Rails. This means the road
traffic passes under the Railway line. This is less
costlier, but causes stagnation of water in rainy season
and may cause submersion during heavy rains.

Abutment :
Abutment is a part of sub structure component which supports the end of
superstructure and retains part or the whole of the bridge approach fills
Approach:
It is a part of the road which connects the road to the abutment of the
bridge.
Approach slab:
An approach slab is a transition slab of reinforced concrete laid on
immediate approaches to a bridge with one end resting on dirt/abutment.
Bearing:
Bearing is a part of a bridge structure which bears directly all the forces
from the superstructure and transmits the same to the supporting
substructure.
Clearance:
Clearance is the shortest distance between the boundaries at specified
positions of a bridge/ underpass/ overpass.
Crash barrier:
A barrier provided at the side of the carriageway designed to reduce the
risk of serious accidents by guiding the errant vehicles back on the road.

Dirt wall :
Dirt wall is a vertical wall projecting from the abutment cap to prevent spill
of earth/ pavement materials and also to support approach slab.
Effective linear Waterway:
Effective linear waterway is the total width of waterway of bridge at the
highest flood level (HFL) minus the effective width of the structure.
Free board:
Free board is the vertical distance between the highest flood level after
allowing for afflux, if any, and the formation level of the embankment on
approaches or top level of the guide bunds at that point.
Grade Separator:
Grade separator is a bridge which facilitates movement of traffic by
segregating at-grade conflicting movements to different levels
Interchange:
Interchange is a system of inter connecting roads (ramps and loops) in
conjunction with one or more grade separations that provide for
uninterrupted movement of traffic between two or more roads.
Kerb Shyness:
Kerb shyness is an imaginary distance by which the driver would
generally keep his vehicle away from the kerb in order to avoid brushing
with the kerb

Low Water level:

Low Water Level is the water level generally prevailing in the stream/ river
during dry weather
Ordinary Flood Level:
Ordinary Flood Level is the level to which the stream/river generally rises
during monsoon period every year.
Overpass:
Overpass is a bridge carrying another road over a reference road.
Pier:
Pier is an intermediate support of the bridge superstructure
Right of Way:
Right of way is the land made available and or acquired for development
of road
Safety Kerb:
A kerb having a width at least 750mm for occasional use by pedestrians,
where footpath is not provided.
Skew Angle:
Skew angle is the angle between the axis of support and a line normal to
the longitudinal axis of a bridge

Submersible bridge:
Submersible bridge is a bridge designed to be overtopped during floods
Subway:
A subway is usually meant for pedestrian use and comprises of structure
below a road with stairs/ ramp/ escalator
Super Elevation:
Super Elevation is transverse inclination given to the cross section of a
carriageway on the horizontal curve in order to reduce the effects of
centrifugal force on a moving vehicle
Underpass:
Underpass is a structure allowing uninterrupted movement of traffic
beneath a reference roadway. An underpass is classified as a Cattle
Underpass (KUP), Pedestrian Underpass (PUP) or Vehicular Underpass
(VUP) depending on the principal user.
Vertical Clearance:
For a channel, vertical clearance is the height from the design flood level
with afflux or high tide level, to the lowest level of superstructure, at the
position along the bridge where clearance is denoted.
Viaduct:
Viaduct is a bridge portion across dry ground or terrain

Minimum vertical clearance for bridges

Discharge in cumecs

Minimum vertical
clearance in mm

Upto 0.3

150

Above 0.3 & upto 3

450

Above 3 & upto 30

600

Above 30 & upto 300

900

Above 300 & upto 3000

1200

Above 3000

1500

Afflux:
The rise in the flood level of the river immediately on the upstream of a
bridge as a result of obstruction to natural flow caused by the construction
of the bridge and its approaches.
Balancer:
A bridge/culvert like structure provided on embankment to allow flow of
water from one side of the embankment to other side, for purpose of
avoiding heading up of water on one side or for avoiding blocking the entry
to the other side.
Safe bearing capacity:
The maximum pressure, which the soil can carry safely without risk of shear
failure and it is equal to the net safe bearing capacity plus original
overburden pressure.
Cofferdam:
A structure temporary built for the purpose of excluding water or soil
sufficiently to permit construction or proceed without excessive pumping
and to support the surrounding ground.

Abutment pier:
Generally use in multiple span arch bridges. Abutment pier is designed
for a condition that even if one side arch span collapses it would be safe.
These are provided after three or five spans.

Retaining Wall:
A wall designed to resist the pressure of earth filling behind
Return wall:
A wall adjacent to abutment generally parallel to road or flared up to
increased width and raised up to the top of road.
Toe wall:
A wall built at the end of the slope of earthen embankment to prevent
slipping of earth and/or pitching on embankment.
Wing wall:
A wall adjacent to abutment with its top upto road top level near abutment
and sloping down up to ground level or a little above at the other end.
This is generally at 45 to the alignment of road or parallel to the river and
follows profile or earthen banks.

Test pile:
A pile to which a load is applied to determine and/or confirm the load
characteristics (ultimate load/working load 2.5 times design load) of the pile
and the surrounding ground.

Working pile:
One of the piles forming the foundation of the structure(1.5 times design load)
Bearing/friction piles:
A pile driven or cast-in-situ for transmitting the weight of a structure to the
founding strata by the resistance developed at the pile base and by friction
along its surface. If it supports the load mainly by the resistance developed at
its base, it is referred to as an end-bearing pile, and if mainly by friction along
its surface, as a friction pile.
Bored cast-in-situ pile:
A pile formed with or without a casing by boring a hole in the ground and
subsequently filling it with plain or reinforced concrete.
Driven cast-in-situ pile:
A pile formed in the ground by driving a permanent or temporary casing, and
filling if with plain or reinforced concrete.

Driven pile:
A pile driven into the ground by the blows of a hammer by a vibrator
Sheet pile:
One or a row of piles driven or formed in the ground adjacent to one another
in a continuous wall, each generally provided with a connecting joint or
interlock, designed to resist mainly lateral forces and to reduce seepage; it
may be vertical or at an inclination.
Substructure:
The bridge structure, such as, pier and abutment above the foundation and
supporting the superstructure. It shall include returns and wing walls but
exclude bearings.

Well Foundation:
A type of foundation where a part of the structure is hollow, which is
generally built in parts and sunk through ground or water to the prescribed
depth by removing earth through dredge hole.

Tilt of a well:
The inclination of the axis of the well from the vertical
expressed as the tangent of the angle between the axis of the
well and the vertical.(maximum 1 in 80)

Shift of a well:
The horizontal displacement of the centre of the well at its base
in its final position from its designed position. (Shall not be
more than 150mm in the resultant direction)
Depth of foundation:
The foundations shall be taken to such depth that they are safe
against scour or protected from it. Apart from this, the depth should
also be sufficient from consideration of bearing capacity, settlement,
liquefaction potential, stability and suitability of strata at the
founding level and sufficient depth below It

Initial Environment Examination

a)
b)
c)
d)

Increase in submergence of surrounding area

Likelyhood of river bank erosion.
Possibility of situation
Relocation and Rehabilitation of
people/communities
e) Effects on historic monuments and structures
f) Impact on conservation of wild life, flora and
fauna
g) Impact on surroundings

Collection of Data for bridges

a) General data including maps, plans and topographical
features
b) Hydraulic data for selected bridge site
c) Geological and Seismological data of selected bridge site
d) Sub-Surface Data
e) Environmental data
f) Loading and other data
g) Traffic data
h) Construction materials
i) Special Design requirements
j) Existing services
k) Labour accommodation
l) Other authorities
m) Data regarding existing bridges

Width of Carriageway. Footpaths and median for

bridges
Type of
bridge

Carriageway
width (min)

Footpath
width (min)

Median width
(min)

Single lane

4.25m

Two-Lane

7.5m

1.5m

Multiple Lane

7.5m+3.5m for
each lane

1.5m

1.2m

Vertical clearance(min): 5m for non-urban

and 5.5m for urban roads
Horizontal clearance(min) from carriageway edge: 600mm

Components of Well
Foundation
The various component of
a well foundations are
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Cutting Edge
Well Curb
Bottom Plug
Steining
Top Plug
Well Cap

Precautions To Be Taken During Sinking Of Wells

1 Construction Of Well Curb And Steinng:
a) Cutting edge and the top of the well curb shall be placed truly
horizontal.
b) The methods adopted for placing of the well curb shall depend
on the site conditions, and the cutting edge shall be placed on dry
bed.
c) Well steining shall be built in lifts and the first lift shall be laid
after sinking the curb at least partially for stability.
d) The steining shall be built in one straight line from bottom to top
and shall always be at right angle to the plane of the curb. In no
case, it shall be built plumb in intermediate stages when the well
is tilted.
e) In soft strata prone to settlement/creep, the construction of the
abutment wells shall be taken up after the approach embankment
for a sufficient distance near the abutment has been completed.

2.Precautions to be taken during Well Sinking

a) A sinking history record be maintained at site.
b. Efforts shall be made to sink wells true to position and in
plumb.
c) Sumps made by dredging below cutting edge shall preferably
not be more than half the internal diameter.
d) Boring chart shall be referred to constantly during sinking for
taking adequate care while piercing different types of strata by
keeping the boring chart at the site and plotting the soil as
obtained for the well steining and comparing it with earlier bore
data to take prompt decisions.
e) When the wells have to be sunk close to each other and the
clear distance is less than the diameter of the wells, they shall
normally be sunk in such a manner that the difference in the
levels of the sump and the cutting edge in the two wells do not
exceed half the clear gap between them

f) When group of wells are near each other, special care is

needed to ensure that they do not fail in the course of sinking and
also do not cause disturbance to wells already sunk. The
minimum clearance between the wells shall be half the external
diameter. Simultaneous and level dredging shall be carried out in
the dredging holes of all the wells in the group and plugging of all
the wells be done together.
g) During construction partially sunk wells shall be taken to a safe
depth below the anticipated scour levels to ensure their safety
during ensuing floods.
h) Dredged material shall not be deposited unevenly around the
well
i) Dewatering shall be avoided if sand blows are expected. Any
equipment and men working inside the well shall be brought out of
the well as soon as there are any indications of a sand-blow.
j) Sand blowing in wells can often be minimized by keeping the
level of water inside the well higher than the water table and also
by adding heavy kentledge.

Tilts and Shifts

a) Tilts and shifts shall be carefully checked and recorded regularly
during sinking operations. For the purpose of measuring the tilts along
and perpendicular to the axis of the bridge, level marks at regular
intervals shall be painted on the surface of the steining of the well.
b) Whenever any tilt is noticed, adequate preventive measures, like,
putting eccentric Kentledge, pulling, strutting, anchoring or dredging
unevenly and depositing dredge material unequally, putting obstacles
below cutting edge, after jetting etc., shall be adopted before any
further sinking. After correction, the dredged material placed unevenly
shall be spread evenly.
c) A pair of wells close to each other have a tendency to come closer
while sinking. Timber struts may be introduced in between the steining
of these wells to prevent tilting.
d)Tilts occurring in a well during sinking in dipping rocky strata can be
safeguarded by suitably supporting the kerb.
Maximum tilt (inclination from vertical): 1(H) : 80(V)
Maximum shift (horizontal displacement of centre from its theoretical
position at the founding level) Is 150mm in resultant direction

Fixing reinforcement for well curb over cutting edge.

Well curb over cutting edge.

Concreting over well steining.

Sinking of well steining is in progress by grab method. False

steining is also provided

Checking tilt and shift

Well Sinking is complete. Tilt shall not be more than 1 in 80 and resultant shit
shall not be more than 150mm. SBC at foundation level shall be ensured to be
not less than the design stress. After ensuring all these, bottom plugging of well
is to be permitted.

Bottom plugging concrete is in progress.

Top plugging concrete is in progress.

Top plugging is completed and in curing

Well cap concreting.

Well cap completed.

Pile Foundations
Important Criteria to be followed for piles
i) Scour conditions are properly established.
ii) Permanent steel liner should be provided at least upto
maximum scour level. In case of marine clay or soft soil or soil
having aggressive material, permanent steel liner of sufficient
strength shall be used for the full depth of such strata. The
minimum thickness of liner should be 6 mm
For bridges located in land, steel liners of minimum thickness of
6 mm shall be provided in cases given below. The liner shall be
provided up to depth up to which following situations prevail.
a) While constructing the pile foundation through very soft clay
(N < 3), very loose sandy strata (N < 8), bouldery formation and
artesian conditions, wherein the walls of boreholes cannot be
stabilized by bentonite circulation.
b) Where sewage leakage is common phenomenon as well as
sites with aggressive soil/water environment

Permissible tolerances for piles

i) For vertical piles 75 mm at piling platform level and tilt not
exceeding 1 in 150;
ii) For raker piles tolerance of 1 in 25.
The maximum rake to be permitted in pile shall not exceed the
following:
i) 1 in 6 for all bored piles;
ii) 1 in 6 for driven cast-in-situ piles;
iii) 1 in 4 for Precast driven piles.
Minimum diameter of Piles
The minimum diameter shall be 1.0 m for river/marine
bridges. For bridges beyond the water zone and for bridges
on land, the diameter may be reduced upto 750 mm.

Concrete Requirements for Piles

Item

Concrete Cast insitu by Tremie

Precast concrete

Grade of Concrete

M35

M35

Minimum Cement
Contents

400kg/Cu.m

400kg/Cu.m

Maximum Water
Cement Ratio

0.40

0.40

Slump

150-200mm

50-75mm

Note :Minimum Cement Content and Water Cement Ratio

are based on all the cementitious materials

Casing
A minimum 2m length from top of pile shall be provided
with casing to prevent loose soil falling into the bore. It is
necessary to stabilize the side of the bore hole with drilling
mud or a steel casing. Minimum thickness of steel liner shall
be 6mm.
Permanent liner shall be provided in the following situations:
a)
b)
c)
d)

Marine clay,
Soft soils,
Surrounding soil has sulphate content !% or more,
Surrounding water has sulphate content equal 200pmm or
more
e) Leakage of sewage is expected

Drilling for bored cast in-situ piles

Anti corrosion treatment of steel is in progress.

Depth of pile bore hole being checked.

Anti corrosion treatment on steel jolly is being done

Trimming the bore hole for placing the casing(liner)

6mm thick MS casing pipes. 3 pieces are jointed.

Placing the casing pipe into the bore hole

Steel jolly insertion in the bore hole

Placing the Tremie pipe after reinforcement cage is placed and

straight rods are bent.

Pouring M35 concrete into the Tremie.

Pouring M35 concrete into the Tremie.

Pouring M35 concrete into the Tremie.

Pile load Tests

Initial Load Test to be carried after 28 days for not less
than 2.5 times the design load. The initial load test shall be
cyclic load test for piles deriving strength from en bearing and
side friction. Maintained load test can be performed for end
bearing piles and which do not rely on friction and piles
socketed in rock.
Routine load tests shall be carried out at actual
locations of foundations to re-confirm or modify the allowable
loads.
Routine load tests: a) To check safe load b) Detection of
unusual performance and c) Workmanship.

Number of routine tests as per IS;2911: 0.5% of total

number of piles subject to a minimum of 1. Depending on the
nature of variation of soils etc., it may be increased to 2%

Pile Load, P

Side Friction

End Bearing

Pbase

Pile Load, P

Side Friction

End Bearing

P base

Pile load Tests

Initial Load Test is required for one or more of the
following:
a) Determination of ultimate load capacity and arrive at
safe load by applying factor of safety.
b) To provide guidelines to set up acceptance limits for
routine tests.
c) To get an idea about the suitability of piling system
d) To have a check on calculated load by dynamic or
static approaches
Number of initial tests as per IS:2911: A minimum of 2 tests
for projects with less than 1000 piles.
A minimum of 2 + 1 per every 1000 additional piles for
major project.
Number of tests for bridges as per MORTH: Minimum2 upto
50 piles. Minimum 3 for 50-150 and minimum 2% for 150
above.

Field setup for a Static Axial compressive load test

on a single pile

FIELD SET UP

TEST SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

Checking the Diameter of 6mm thick Liner.

Reinforcement cage

Installation of reinforcement cage.

Installation of reinforcement cage.

Installation of Tremie pipe.

Chiseling of pile tops work in progress.

Chiseling work completed up to pile cap bottom level.

Checking the reinforcement grills for pile cap.

Pile Cap Concreting in progress.

Pile cap

Static Axial Compressive load test for test pile.

Static Axial Compressive load test for test pile.

Static Axial Compressive load test for test pile. Arrangement

Static Axial Compressive load test for test pile. 4 dial gauges for

measuring settlement. Readings taken at 15 minutes

High Strain Dynamic Impact load test on test pile

High Strain Dynamic Impact load test on test pile. Observations.

Drilling for test pile using Hydraulic rotary rig

Test pile ready for testing 28 days after casting

Testing arrangements for test pile

High Strain Dynamic Impact load test on test pile. Drop hammer

Pile roughened to place the transducers

Here, Drop height of 1.5m. Impaxct blows are given from 1m onwards to
achieve the maximum required load and corresponding readings are
noted for each blow.

Force and velocity transducers were used to conduct the Dynamic pile
load test.

Observing the transducers