Field monitoring of positive moment continuity detail in a skewed prestressed concrete bulb-tee girder bridge

Abstract

This paper presents the results from a recently completed field study in Louisiana investigating the performance of a skewed prestressed concrete bulb-tee girder bridge made continuous. The bridge is part of the design-build John James Audubon Project that connects the cities of Saint Francisville and New Roads across the Mississippi River in Louisiana. A 96-channel monitoring system was designed and installed prior to bridge construction. The bridge used the positive moment continuity detail recommended in National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) report 519. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development chose to monitor the skewed segment with bulb-tee girders because neither the skewness nor the bulb tee section was within the scope of the experimental program covered in project 12-53 that produced NCHRP report 519. This paper presents details of the monitoring system developed for this project, which has been in service for more than two years. Temperature, strain, rotation, and elongation readings are also presented. The bridge continuity is assessed based on the acquired postprocessed readings. Conclusions, lessons learned, and recommendations for future research are also presented.