<title>Assessment of timber piles in Clallam County, Washington</title>

Abstract

Timber bridges are very common in state and rural highway systems. According to the National Bridge Inventory (NBI), there are 41,743 timber bridges in the United States and another 42,102 bridges with timber decks as a part of the superstructure. As these bridges age, there is a critical need for reliable inspection and assessment methods for evaluating timber members. Under an FHWA mandate, these bridges also need to be evaluated for scour susceptibility. Knowledge of the length of timber piles supporting the bridge is a vital component in calculating scour resistance of a bridge. However, records of timber pile lengths are often nonexistent or incomplete due to the construction practices for timber piles. This paper presents nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques used for assessing timber piles on 10 bridges in Clallam County, Washington. Stress wave velocity and resistance drilling techniques were used to determine the presence of and quantify the extent of decay in the piles. A longitudinal stress wave technique was used for determining the length of timber piles. Determination of piles with decay aided in establishing maintenance and repair needs on the bridge substructures. Pile length estimates enabled Clallam County Road Department to determine the scour-susceptibility of these bridges.