Toward an LRFD-Based AASHTO Bridge Specification

During the 1987 AASHTO Bridge Committee Meeting, recommendations from NCHRP Project 20-7/31 regarding the development of a probability-based LRFD bridge specification were accepted. NCHRP Project 12-33 was initiated to actually develop the specification and a suitable commentary. Project 12-33 was officially started in July of 1988. Since that time, a core-group of design professionals from the Principal Investigator's staff and a group known as the Code Coordinating Committee have been defining the basic philosophy, content and organization of the specification through the development of a 'strawman' document. This paper presents an overview of the preliminary content of the proposed specification and provides a general update on status.