Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page R1
NATIONAL
NCHRP SYNTHESIS 359
COOPERATIVE
HIGHWAY
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
Bridge Rating Practices and
Policies for Overweight Vehicles
A Synthesis of Highway Practice
OCR for page R2
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2006 (Membership as of April 2006)
OFFICERS
Chair: Michael D. Meyer, Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Vice Chair: Linda S. Watson, Executive Director, LYNX--Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority
Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board
MEMBERS
MICHAEL W. BEHRENS, Executive Director, Texas DOT
ALLEN D. BIEHLER, Secretary, Pennsylvania DOT
JOHN D. BOWE, Regional President, APL Americas, Oakland, CA
LARRY L. BROWN, SR., Executive Director, Mississippi DOT
DEBORAH H. BUTLER, Vice President, Customer Service, Norfolk Southern Corporation and Subsidiaries, Atlanta, GA
ANNE P. CANBY, President, Surface Transportation Policy Project, Washington, DC
DOUGLAS G. DUNCAN, President and CEO, FedEx Freight, Memphis, TN
NICHOLAS J. GARBER, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
ANGELA GITTENS, Vice President, Airport Business Services, HNTB Corporation, Miami, FL
GENEVIEVE GIULIANO, Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Research and Technology, School of Policy, Planning,
and Development, and Director, METRANS National Center for Metropolitan Transportation Research, USC, Los Angeles
SUSAN HANSON, Landry University Professor of Geography, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University
JAMES R. HERTWIG, President, CSX Intermodal, Jacksonville, FL
GLORIA J. JEFF, General Manager, City of Los Angeles DOT
ADIB K. KANAFANI, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
HAROLD E. LINNENKOHL, Commissioner, Georgia DOT
SUE MCNEIL, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware
DEBRA L. MILLER, Secretary, Kansas DOT
MICHAEL R. MORRIS, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments
CAROL A. MURRAY, Commissioner, New Hampshire DOT
JOHN R. NJORD, Executive Director, Utah DOT
SANDRA ROSENBLOOM, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, Tucson
HENRY GERARD SCHWARTZ, JR., Senior Professor, Washington University
MICHAEL S. TOWNES, President and CEO, Hampton Roads Transit, Hampton, VA
C. MICHAEL WALTON, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
MARION C. BLAKEY, Federal Aviation Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN, Federal Railroad Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
REBECCA M. BREWSTER, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA (ex officio)
GEORGE BUGLIARELLO, Chancellor, Polytechnic University of New York, and Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering
(ex officio)
SANDRA K. BUSHUE, Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
J. RICHARD CAPKA, Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
THOMAS H. COLLINS (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard (ex officio)
JAMES J. EBERHARDT, Chief Scientist, Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies, U.S. Department of Energy (ex officio)
JACQUELINE GLASSMAN, Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
EDWARD R. HAMBERGER, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads (ex officio)
WARREN E. HOEMANN, Deputy Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
JOHN C. HORSLEY, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ex officio)
JOHN E. JAMIAN, Acting Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
J. EDWARD JOHNSON, Director, Applied Science Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (ex officio)
ASHOK G. KAVEESHWAR, Research and Innovative Technology Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
BRIGHAM MCCOWN, Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
WILLIAM W. MILLAR, President, American Public Transportation Association (ex officio)
SUZANNE RUDZINSKI, Director, Transportation and Regional Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (ex officio)
JEFFREY N. SHANE, Under Secretary for Policy, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
CARL A. STROCK (Maj. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ex officio)
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Transportation Research Board Executive Committee Subcommittee for NCHRP
MICHAEL D. MEYER, Georgia Institute of Technology (Chair) ROBERT E. SKINNER, JR., Transportation Research Board
J. RICHARD CAPKA, Federal Highway Administration C. MICHAEL WALTON, University of Texas at Austin
JOHN C. HORSLEY, American Association of State Highway LINDA S. WATSON, LYNX--Central Florida Regional
and Transportation Officials Transportation Authority
JOHN R. NJORD, Utah DOT
OCR for page R3
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP SYNTHESIS 359
Bridge Rating Practices and
Policies for Overweight Vehicles
A Synthesis of Highway Practice
CONSULTANTS
GONGKANG FU
and
CLEMENTINE FU
Troy, Michigan
S UBJECT A REAS
Bridges, Other Structures, and Hydraulics and Hydrology and Highway Operations, Capacity, and Traffic Control
Research Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
in Cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.
2006
www.TRB.org
OCR for page R4
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM NCHRP SYNTHESIS 359
Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective Price $36.00
approach to the solution of many problems facing highway
administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local Project 20-5 (Topic 36-01)
interest and can best be studied by highway departments ISSN 0547-5570
individually or in cooperation with their state universities and ISBN 0-309-09766-5
others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation Library of Congress Control No. 2006925245
develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to
© 2006 Transportation Research Board
highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a
coordinated program of cooperative research.
In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for
program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the
supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce
and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes.
Department of Transportation. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit
was requested by the Association to administer the research Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or
program because of the Board's recognized objectivity and practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document
for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment
understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely
of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the
suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee material, request permission from CRP.
structure from which authorities on any highway transportation
subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and
cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies,
universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research NOTICE
Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National
research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation Cooperative Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation
matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National
a position to use them. Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board's judgment that
The program is developed on the basis of research needs the program concerned is of national importance and appropriate with respect
identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council.
departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and
to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and
areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed
with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project.
to the National Research Council and the Board by the American The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as
Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of the
qualified research agencies are selected from those that have Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American
submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal
contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
and the Transportation Research Board. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical
The needs for highway research are many, and the National committee according to procedures established and monitored by the
Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing
Board of the National Research Council.
contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of
mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program,
however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or
duplicate other highway research programs.
Published reports of the
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
are available from:
Transportation Research Board
Business Office
500 Fifth Street, NW
NOTE: The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the
Washington, DC 20001
National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual and can be ordered through the Internet at:
states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore
not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear
herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. Printed in the United States of America
OCR for page R5
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished schol-
ars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology
and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in
1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and techni-
cal matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration
and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for
advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs
aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve-
ments of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the
services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining
to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of
Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative,
to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the
Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate
the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and
advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad-
emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences
and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the
scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and
the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. William A. Wulf are chair and vice chair,
respectively, of the National Research Council.
The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board's mission is to promote
innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary setting,
the Board facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice and policy by researchers and
practitioners; stimulates research and offers research management services that promote technical
excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research
results broadly and encourages their implementation. The Board's varied activities annually engage more
than 5,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and
private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is
supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of
the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the
development of transportation. www.TRB.org
www.national-academies.org
OCR for page R6
NCHRP COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT 20-5 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM STAFF
ROBERT J. REILLY, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
CHAIR CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Manager, NCHRP
GARY D. TAYLOR, CTE Engineers EILEEN P. DELANEY, Director of Publications
MEMBERS NCHRP SYNTHESIS STAFF
THOMAS R. BOHUSLAV, Texas DOT STEPHEN R. GODWIN, Director for Studies and Information Services
DONN E. HANCHER, University of Kentucky JON WILLIAMS, Manager, Synthesis Studies
DWIGHT HORNE, Federal Highway Administration DONNA L. VLASAK, Senior Program Officer
YSELA LLORT, Florida DOT DON TIPPMAN, Editor
WESLEY S.C. LUM, California DOT CHERYL KEITH, Senior Secretary
JAMES W. MARCH, Federal Highway Administration
JOHN M. MASON, JR., Pennsylvania State University TOPIC PANEL
CATHERINE NELSON, Oregon DOT DOUGLAS A. BALL, Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association
LARRY VELASQUEZ, New Mexico DOT GEORGE CONNER, Alabama Department of Transportation
PAUL T. WELLS, New York State DOT MICHEL GHOSN, City College of New York
ANTHONY M. GUGINO, California Department of Transportation
FHWA LIAISON STEPHEN F. MAHER, Transportation Research Board
WILLIAM ZACCAGNINO BRIAN McCAFFREY, New York State Department of Transportation
GERALD McLELLAND, McLelland Engineering
TRB LIAISON LYNN WASHBURN, Kansas Department of Transportation
STEPHEN F. MAHER GARY MOSS, Federal Highway Administration (Liaison)
JULIE STRAWHORN, Federal Highway Administration (Liaison)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to the many professionals who provided the States and Canada, at the federal, state, province, local and other levels, and
information gathered for this synthesis report, including the panel experienced consulting engineers involved in the permitting process.
members, representatives of the transportation agencies in the United
OCR for page R7
FOREWORD Highway administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which infor-
By Staff mation already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and prac-
Transportation tice. This information may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence,
Research Board full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its
solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked,
and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviat-
ing the problem.
There is information on nearly every subject of concern to highway administrators and
engineers. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with
problems in their day-to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and eval-
uating such useful information and to make it available to the entire highway community,
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials--through the
mechanism of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program--authorized the
Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, NCHRP Proj-
ect 20-5, "Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems," searches out and syn-
thesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented
reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an NCHRP report series,
Synthesis of Highway Practice.
This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format,
without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report
in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures
found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems.
PREFACE This synthesis focuses on overweight vehicle bridge permit processes. Information on
state and provincial bridge rating systems, bridge evaluation practices and permit policies
as they relate to overweight and oversize vehicles is highlighted and discussed. This report
is intended to assist in the understanding of the reasons for nonuniform permitting practices.
The report reviews specifications, software types, treatment of nonstandard configurations,
and allowance for in-place dead loads; processes of permit review; and personnel assigned
to permit review.
A survey was distributed to transportation agencies at the state level in the United States
and to Canadian provinces. A literature search was undertaken to identify relevant research
reports, papers, and other publications for review and summation. Additional information
was acquired from telephone interviews with targeted individuals and organizations to sup-
plement the survey and literature search.
Gongkang Fu and Clementine Fu, Troy Michigan, collected and synthesized the infor-
mation and wrote the report. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged on the pre-
ceding page. This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records the practices
that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its
preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added
to that now at hand.
OCR for page R8
CONTENTS
1 SUMMARY
3 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background, 3
Objective, 3
Approach, 3
Organization, 4
5 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
Live Load Factor, 7
Live Load Distribution Factor, 8
Impact Factor, 8
13 CHAPTER THREE NONUNIFORMITY IN PERMITTING SYSTEMS
Variation in Permit Types and Policies, 13
Variation in Permitting Business Processes, 15
Nonuniformity from Perspective of Industry, 15
16 CHAPTER FOUR BRIDGE EVALUATION FOR OVERSIZE/OVERWEIGHT
PERMITTING
Variation in Evaluation and Rating Process, 16
Variation in Evaluation and Rating Procedure, 18
Summary, 20
21 CHAPTER FIVE EFFORTS POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTING TO IMPROVED
UNIFORMITY OF BRIDGE RATING FOR
OVERSIZE/OVERWEIGHT VEHICLES
New England Transportation Consortium, 21
Atlantic Canada, 21
Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Multistate
Permit Group Survey, 23
Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Guide, 23
Illinois Department of Transportation Load and Resistance Factor Rating Survey, 23
AASHTO BRIDGEWare, 24
Uniform Overdimensional and Overweight Permit Policy Proposed by Specialized
Carriers & Rigging Association, 24
Electronic Models for Bridges and Electronic Screening, 25
Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Multistate
Permit Program, 25
Other, 26
27 CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH NEEDS
29 REFERENCES
OCR for page R9
30 APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE
36 APPENDIX B ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
37 APPENDIX C RESPONSES TO QUESTIONNAIRE
