Sbiim80 6
Sbiim80 6
The AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, 8th Edition, 2017, including its Errata, the
AASHTO LRFD Guide Specifications for the Design of Pedestrian Bridges, 2009, including its
2015 Interims, and the following VDOT Modifications are effective for projects with an
Advertisement date after June 11, 2019. The LRFD specifications are applicable to new
construction, total bridge replacement, superstructure replacement, widening projects, etc.
Variance from the VDOT Modifications to the specifications shall require a design exception,
design waiver or design approval. For complete information on and requirements of design
exceptions/waivers/approvals, see Section Pre.02 of Part 1 of the Manual of the Structure
and Bridge Division.
The requirements of Part 2 of the Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division shall be
adhered to in conjunction with this IIM.
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 2 of 14
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION:
Load modifiers:
Load modifiers specified below shall be used. Each condition shall be compounded when
applied.
1. For fracture critical elements, ηR shall be taken as 1.05 for service and strength limit
states.
2. For permanent vehicular structures which cannot be easily widened (including, but not
limited to, trusses, concrete segmental boxes and bridges supported by Straddle
Bents or Integral Caps, ηR shall be taken as 1.05 for strength limit states.
3. For all post-tensioned concrete superstructures, the superstructure(s) shall be taken
as ηI =1.05 for service limit states. And when superstructure is post-tensioned, integral
pier substructures (including but not limited to, Integral Straddle Bents, Integral Caps
and pier caps) shall be designed using ηI = 1.05 for both service and strength limit
states. Integral abutments shall be designed for ηI = 1.0.
4. When external tendons and/or unbonded internal tendons are used (for superstructure
or substructure), elements shall be designed using ηR = 1.05 for both service and
strength limit states and ηD = 1.05 for strength limit states.
For other conditions, all load modifiers (ηD, ηI , ηR and ηi) shall be 1.0 for all limit states.
Examples:
Structure Limit
Condition ηI ηD ηR ηi
Type State
Service 1.0 1.0 1.05
1: Yes
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.05
Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
2: Yes
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.05 Service
Sub Service 1.0 1.0 1.0 = 1.05
3: No
Str. Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0 Strength
Service 1.0 1.0 1.0 = 1.103
4: No
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0
Steel straddle Service 1.0 1.0 1.05
Final
bent with Strength 1.0 1.0 1.103
multiple Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
1: No
beam/girders Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0
Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
2: Yes
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.05 Service
Super Service 1.0 1.0 1.0 = 1.0
3: No
Str. Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0 Strength
Service 1.0 1.0 1.0 = 1.05
4: No
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0
Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
Final
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.05
Structure Limit
Condition ηI ηD ηR ηi
Type State
Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
1: No
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0
Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
2: Yes
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.05 Service
Sub Service 1.05 1.0 1.0 = 1.103
3: Yes
An integral Str. Strength 1.05 1.0 1.0 Strength
concrete Service 1.0 1.0 1.05 = 1.216
4: Yes
straddle bent Strength 1.0 1.05 1.05
with Service 1.05 1.0 1.05
Final
unbonded Strength 1.05 1.05 1.103
internal Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
1: No
tendons and Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0
post- Service 1.0 1.0 1.0
tensioned 2: Yes
Strength 1.0 1.0 1.05 Service
superstructure Super Service 1.05 1.0 1.0 = 1.103
3: Yes
Str. Strength 1.0 1.0 1.0 Strength
Service 1.0 1.0 1.05 = 1.158
4: Yes
Strength 1.0 1.05 1.05
Service 1.05 1.0 1.05
Final
Strength 1.0 1.05 1.103
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 4 of 14
SECTION 2: GENERAL DESIGN AND LOCATION FEATURES:
Span-to-Depth Ratios: Span to depth ratios as noted in Article 2.5.2.6.3, including Table
2.5.2.6.3-1, shall be used. For variable web depth structures, the maximum ratio between the
deeper web depth and the shallower web depth shall be less than or equal to 2.0.
Drainage: See Chapter 22 of Part 2 of the Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division for
guidance. Gutter flow shall be intercepted at cross slope transitions to prevent flow across
the bridge deck.
The Notional Rating Load (NRL) rating factors shall be computed under conditions required
by current VDOT IIM-S&B-86. Bridge shall be designed so that the rating factors exceed 1.0.
Substructures need not be checked for NRL.
An allowance of 10 psf shall be applied where metal stay-in-place forms are not required, for
example, prestressed concrete voided slabs, adjacent box beams, etc. which will have cast-
in-place concrete slabs or asphalt overlays.
Wearing Surface: All concrete deck slabs shall be considered to have a ½” integral wearing
surface which shall be included in the loads but not considered as part of the design section.
Pier protection:
Pier protection or strengthening shall be provided when the edge of a permanent traffic
through lane is within 30 feet of the pier. Edge of pavement, edge of roadway, edge of
traveled way and edge of traffic lane are all equivalent in the context of the clarification above
for the purposes of Article 3.6.5.1.
Settlements:
Total settlement shall be limited to 2 inches at each substructure unit. Post construction
settlement shall be limited to 1 inch at each substructure unit. Total settlement (STOT) is
defined as the arithmetic sum:
Differential settlement at a single substructure unit shall be limited to a vertical value which
does not exceed a slope of from the horizontal of 0.001 radians between as measured from
the center to center of columns or of footings. The combined construction and post
construction differential settlement shall not exceed 0.001 radians.
Force Effects Due to Superimposed Deformations: The design thermal movement range
associated with a uniform temperature change shall be calculated using Procedure A
Temperature Ranges, Table 3.12.2.1-1. The moderate climate range shall be used for steel
or aluminum superstructures and cold climate range shall be used for concrete
superstructures.
The full design thermal movement range associated with a uniform temperature change shall
be used for joint design. 65% of the design thermal movement range associated with a
uniform temperature change shall be used for non-slip expansion bearing design and the
determination of superstructure forces transferred to the substructure for non-slip expansion
and fixed bearings. Shrinkage shall also be considered for joint, bearing and substructure
design of concrete superstructures using a shrinkage coefficient of 0.0003 except for
segmentally constructed bridges which shall be estimated in accordance with Article 5.4.2.3.
For typical multi-beam/girder prestressed concrete superstructures not integral with the
substructure, the shrinkage coefficient can be considered to include superstructure creep
effects.
See the Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division, Part 2, Chapter 15, Section 4 for
specific modeling requirements and examples.
Load Factors for Uniform Temperature, TU: From Article 3.4.1 including Table 3.4.1-1, Load
Combinations and Load Factors:
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 6 of 14
For deformations (e.g., joint and bearing design):
LFTU = 1.2 for both strength and service load
For all other effects (e.g., temperature forces transferred to the substructure):
LFTU = 0.5 for strength limit state (LS) for simplified analysis using gross moment of inertia
LFTU = 1.0 for strength LS for refined analysis using partially cracked moment of inertia
LFTU = 1.0 for service limit state
Some structure elements require Corrosion Resistance Reinforcing (CRR) steel. For the type
of CRR to be used and location(s), see current IIM-S&B-81. Design shall be based on a yield
strength of 60 ksi for all types of CRR except for the box culverts and rigid frames where a
yield strength of 75 ksi may be used.
Galvanized reinforcing steel (except for use with prestressed piles) and epoxy-coated
reinforcing steel (except where designated in prestressed beams with CFRP strands) shall
not be used.
Column Reinforcement: Circular columns are to be designed as tied columns. However, the
confinement steel shall be spirals (#3 reinforcing bars minimum) or welded wire fabric. The
pitch of the spiral shall be taken as the required spacing for ties.
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 7 of 14
Minimum Concrete Cover: The following minimum cover (inches) shall be provided for
reinforcement:
Drilled shafts:
Principal reinforcement 4 5 5
Ties and spirals 3½ 4½ 4½
All other components not indicated
above:
Principal reinforcement 2½ 3½ 3½
Stirrups and ties 2 3 3
(1) Corrosive environment affects cover where concrete surface is in permanent contact with corrosive soil.
(2) Marine includes all locations with direct exposure to brackish and salt water.
(3) Includes ½ inch monolithic (integral) wearing surface.
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 8 of 14
Strength of Prestressed Members:
Concrete strengths from 5 to 10 ksi may be used.
Strengths greater than 10 ksi require a design waiver approved by the State Structure and
Bridge Engineer.
Maximum strength of lightweight concrete shall be limited to 8 ksi. Strengths between 8 ksi
and 10 ksi require a design waiver approved by the State Structure and Bridge Engineer.
Spacing of Strands: The spacing of strands shall be 2 inches c-c minimum for strands up to
0.6 inches in diameter.
Prestress Loss: Gains due to elastic deformations shall not be used to determine total
prestress losses.
For Precast Segmental and Cast-in-Place Post-tensioned Segmental boxes, the tensile
stress limit at service limit states, due to permanent loads only, shall be 0 ksi (no tension).
This limitation shall apply to all portions of superstructure not replaceable by conventional
means.
Post-tensioned straddle bents shall not allow concrete tension under service limits.
The requirements of Chapter 11 of Part 2 of the VDOT’s Manual of the Structure and Bridge
Division shall be adhered to.
The empirical method for deck slab design shall not be used.
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 9 of 14
Cantilever Deck Slab Design: If all of the following requirements are met, the cantilever deck
slab shall be detailed with additional #5 bars between the transverse bars in the top layer.
This is the minimum requirement of reinforcement with or without additional analysis. The
bars shall extend past the exterior beam/girder with the development length extending past
the contraflexure point in the slab.
railing/parapet type (if any on the cantilever) is an approved VDOT crash tested
system
additional loads (i.e. soundwall, utilities, etc.) are not added to the cantilever except for
fencing as shown in BPF-series standards.
If any of the above requirements is not met, the cantilever deck slab shall be designed in
accordance with AASHTO LRFD A13.4 with the revisions described in “Decks supporting
concrete parapet railings” and “Decks supporting Post-and-Beam railings”.
For the VDOT approved Kansas Corral rails: The deck overhang may be designed with the
method described in “Decks supporting concrete parapet railings” (section below).
Decks supporting concrete parapet railings: For Design Case 1 in AASHTO LRFD A13.4.1,
the deck overhang shall be designed to resist the combined effects of tensile force T and
moment Ms, and other applicable forces at the inside face of the parapet or the gutter line, as
specified as follows:
The following design values may be used to design the deck overhang.
At the sections other than the gutter line in the deck overhang, T and Ms may be distributed
over a length which equals the distribution length at the gutter line plus 2*(distance from the
gutter line)*tan(30o) for an interior parapet segment, and the distribution length at the gutter
line plus the distance from the gutter line*tan(30o) for an end parapet segment.
Designer shall consider additional loads on the cantilever or blister. Examples include fencing,
soundwall attachments, supports for sign structures, etc.
Integral Wearing Surface: The ½” integral wearing surface shall not be included in the
computation of section properties of composite beams/girders or for deck slab design,
however, it shall be used in the computation of dead loads.
Spacing of Piles:
Concrete piles: Not less than 3 x diameter or side dimension of the piles.
Not greater than 10’-0” for piles within a row.
Steel H- piles: As friction piles: Not less than 3.5 x nominal size of the piles.
As bearing piles: Not less than 2’-6”.
Not greater than 10’-0” for piles within a row.
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 11 of 14
Edge Distance of Piles: The distance from the side of any pile to the nearest edge of the
footing shall not be less than 9”.
Driving Tolerance of Piles: Driving tolerance(s) for piles shall be considered when
determining shear at the critical section.
Driving Tolerances for Steel and Concrete Piles *
Pile Location/Condition Tolerance Direction
for Single Pile
For elements supported by a single row About long axis of footing
of piles (plumb, battered or staggered).
Includes but is not limited to bent caps,
± 3”
full integral abutments and abutments
behind MSE walls.
Footings for column piers ± 6” About both major axes
Footings for abutments, retaining walls
and piers except as noted above. ± 6” About long axis of footing
* For driving tolerances of timber piles and other information, see VDOT Road and Bridge
Specifications, Section 403 and Table IV-1.
in areas subject to uplift under seismic load 18” plus a positive method of anchoring
the pile to the footing
Timber piles 12” into footings
Pile Bents: Cast-in-place piles shall not be used in pile bents or in soils which may induce
shell collapse during driving.
Collision Walls: For details and requirements, see the Manual of the Structure and Bridge
Division, Part 2, Chapter 6.
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 12 of 14
For non-slip expansion and fixed bearings, the maximum superstructure movement at each
substructure unit for force determination is as follows:
Uniform Temperature, TU, and Shrinkage, SH, are summed in the equation for ∆O above.
The force effects of both can be considered together because load factors for TU (all other
effects) and SH are the same in both the strength and service limit states. Load factors are
not shown in the equation for ∆O above, but are applied to the force effects derived from the
maximum horizontal displacement of the superstructure, ∆O. Note that the load factors for
force effects for both Uniform Temperature, TU, and Shrinkage, SH, in the strength limit state
depend on whether Ig or Ieffective was used to derive forces.
Typical pier and abutment software apply load factors to derived forces internally. Designers
shall ensure that the appropriate load factors are used in abutment and pier software
programs for TU and SH. Designers must apply the appropriate load factors for the load
combination limit state to the derived forces in any hand computations.
For slip expansion bearings, the maximum superstructure movement at each substructure
unit for force determination need not be taken larger than the deformation corresponding to
first slip using the extreme values of the friction coefficient between the sliding surfaces.
Designers are cautioned that friction values often vary with compression stress, since slip
velocity is low, coefficient of friction values used to initiate slip shall correspond to DL, even
when the load combination includes both DL and LL.
Expansion and Contraction Joints: Expansion and contraction joints are not required for
abutments and conventional retaining walls which have the required shrinkage and
temperature reinforcement in Article 5.10.6 and a length not greater than 100 feet.
Substructure: Substructures shall be self-supporting under all service life conditions including
superstructure replacement. Superstructure shall not participate in the stability or strength of
the substructure. Three (3) sided precast rigid frames are exempt from the self-supporting
requirement.
Instructional & Informational Memorandum
IIM-S&B-80.6
Sheet 13 of 14
Crash tested parapets/rails shall be used on all projects. See Chapter 25 of Part 2 of the
Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division for additional information.
The minimum height of a pedestrian and/or bicycle railing shall not be less than 54”
measured from the top of the walkway/riding surface. See also Chapter 6 (Geometrics),
Chapter 25 (Parapets, Railing, etc.) and Chapter 30 (Pedestrian Fencing) of Part 2 of the
Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division.
The designer shall consider the use of open rails/parapets for structures over bodies of water
in accordance with the Commonwealth Transportation Board resolution dated July 20, 1995.
For the timber initiative, FHWA crash tested timber rail shall be used.
Steel Reinforced Elastomeric Bearings: Steel reinforced elastomeric pads shall be designed
by Method A, Article 14.7.6. For expansion bearings, the maximum total shear deformation
of the bearing, ∆S, shall be calculated as follows with shrinkage where applicable in the
service limit state:
AASHTO Guide Specifications for Structural Design of Sound Barriers, 1989 with 1992 and
2002 Interims shall be used in place of Section 15 for design of sound barriers.
Pedestrian and Multi-Use Bridges: A dead load wearing surface of 12 psf shall be added for
pedestrian bridges wider than 12 feet between handrails if it is anticipated that the bridge
could be overlaid in the future.
Fracture Critical Member (FCM): FCM requirements in Article 4.2 shall not be waived.