Bridges for local roads

As small and medium span bridges make up a large proportion of this country's bridge building effort, it is essential that the design procedure for such bridges be aimed at minimising design and construction costs. Designs need to be prepared readily and easily, and should be based as far as possible on standard and typical designs which allow for simple and consistent construction procedures. The majority of small and medium span bridges built in New South Wales use factory produced standard precast prestressed concrete planks or girders, for which standard and typical design information is available. In addition to giving details of small and medium span bridges currently being built, a design philosophy for the preparation of designs for these bridges is presented. Some construction details and maintenance problems are described (a).