FHWA LAUNCHES NEW NATIONWIDE SEISMIC BRIDGE DESIGN TRAINING

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently launched a nationwide seismic bridge design training project to enhance the understanding of a bridge seismic design specification of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The specification requires knowledge of dynamic analysis, seismic hazard concepts, elastic and inelastic structural response, soil-structure interaction, and structure ductility. The training focuses on the needs of practicing bridge/geotechnical engineers, who in the past have reflected a lack of understanding of AASHTO's seismic specification in inappropriate project scoping, budgets, and schedules. This article describes the development of the training and its three training features. The first feature of the project is seven seismic design examples that illustrate the application of AASHTO's seismic analysis and design requirements on different bridge types across the United States. The second feature is instruction in seismic design application, provided through national satellite seminars. The final feature is a help desk service that provides three levels of training assistance.