AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3. Bridge Loading and Distribution of Loads

The following permanent and transient loads and forces shall be considered for design of bridges where
applicable. The load provisions may also be applied to the structural evaluation of existing bridges. The
two letter abbreviations presented as below are those used by ERA design manual and are also used in
subsequent discussions and examples.

 Permanent Loads

DC = Dead load of Structural Components and Non-Structural Attachments

DD = Down Drag
DW = Dead Load of Wearing Surfaces and Utilities
EH = Horizontal Earth Pressure Load
EL = Accumulated Locked-in Effects Resulting from the Construction Process
ES = Earth Surcharge Load
EV = Vertical Pressure from Dead Load of Earth Fill

 Transient Loads

BR = Vehicular Braking Force

CE = Vehicular Centrifugal Force
CR = Creep
CT = Vehicular Collision Force
EQ = Earthquake
FR = Friction
IM = Vehicular Dynamic Load Allowance
LL = Vehicular Live Load
LS = Live Load Surcharge
PL = Pedestrian Live Load
SE = Settlement
SH = Shrinkage
TG = Temperature Gradient
TU = Uniform Temperature
WA = Water Load and Stream Pressure
WL = Wind on Live Load
WS = Wind Load on Structure

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3.1. Dead Loads

Permanent loads are those that remain on the bridge for an extended period of time, perhaps for the
entire service life. Permanent loads consist of dead loads and earth loads. Dead load shall include the
weight of all components of the structure, appurtenances and utilities attached thereto, earth cover,
wearing surface, future overlays, and planned widening.

In the absence of more precise information, the densities, specified in table below, shall be used for dead
loads.

Table 3.1 Densities and Force Effects of Different Materials

Material Density (kg/m3) Force Effect (KN/m3)

Bituminous Wearing Surfaces 2250 22.5
Cast Iron 7200 72
Cinder (volcanic stone) Filling 960 9.6
Compacted Sand, silt, or Clay 1925 19.3
Concrete Normal 2400 24
Loose Sand, Silt, or Gravel 1800 18
Soft Clay 1700 17
Rolled Gravel or Ballast 2250 22.5
Steel 7850 79
Stone Masonry 2725 27.3
Wood Hard 960 9.6
Soft 800 8
Water Fresh 1000 10

3.2. Vehicular Live Load

Although the automobile is the most common vehicular live load on most bridges, the truck causes the
critical load effects. In a sense, cars and busses are considered to be lighter to exert a live load as
compared to a truck. More precisely, the load effects of the car traffic compared to the effect of truck
traffic are negligible. Therefore, the ERA design loads attempt to model the truck traffic that is highly
variable, dynamic, and may occur independent of, or in unison with, other truck loads. The principal
load effect is the gravity load of the truck, but other effects are significant and must be considered.

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Such effects include impact (dynamic effects), braking forces, centrifugal forces, and the effects of
simultaneous presence of other trucks.

3.2.1. Lanes of a Bridge

Two terms are used in the lane design of a bridge:
 Traffic Lane
 Design Lane
The traffic lane is the number of lanes of traffic that the traffic engineer plans to route across the bridge.
A lane width is associated with a traffic lane and is typically 3600 mm. The design lane is the lane
designation used by the bridge engineer for live-load placement. The design lane width and location may
or may not be the same as the traffic lane. Here ERA design manual uses a 3000-mm design lane, and
the vehicle is to be positioned within that lane for extreme effect.

3.2.2. Number of Design Lanes

Generally, the number of design lanes should be determined by taking the integer part of the ratio
w/3000, where w is the clear roadway width in mm between curbs and/or barriers. In cases where the
traffic lanes are less than 3.0 m wide, the number of design lanes shall be equal to the number of traffic
lanes, and the width of the design lane shall be taken as the width of the traffic lane.

3.2.3. Design Vehicles

The live load models as given by ERA design manual consist of three distinctly different loads.
They are,
 Design Truck Load
 Design Tandem Load
 Design Lane Load

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

A) Design Truck Load

The weights and spacing of axles and wheels for the design truck shall be as specified in the figure
below

Plan of Design Truck Load

showing tire contact areas

4.3 m

4.3 –9.0 m

1.8 m
3.000 mm

Figure 3.1 Characteristics of the Design Truck Load

From the given diagram above, it can be understood that the front axle load of 35kN is spaced at a
distance of 4.3 meters from the middle axle of 145kN load. The rear trailer axle is also 145kN and is
positioned at a variable distance ranging between 4.3m and 9m with the middle axle. The variable range
means that the spacing used should cause critical load effect. The long spacing typically only controls
where the front and rear portions of the truck may be positioned in adjacent structurally continuous
spans such as for continuous short-span bridges. (The design truck is the same configuration that has
been used by AASHTO (2002) Standard Specifications since 1944 and is commonly referred to as HS20.
The H denotes highway, the S denotes semitrailer, and the 20 is the weight of the tractor in tons.) A
dynamic load allowance shall be considered as specified in a following subchapter.

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

B) Design Tandem
The second configuration is the design tandem load, the spacing and loading of which is illustrated in
the figure 3.2. The design tandem used for Strategic Bridges consists of a pair of 110 KN axles spaced
1.2 m apart. The transverse spacing of wheels shall be taken as 1.8 m. A dynamic load allowance shall
be considered as specified in a following subchapter.

110 KN

1.2 m

110 KN

1.8 m

Figure 3.1 Characteristics of the Design Truck Load

C) Design Lane Load
The third load is the design lane load. The design lane load shall consist of a load of 9.3 KN/m,
uniformly distributed in the longitudinal direction. Transversely, the design lane load shall be assumed
to be uniformly distributed over a 3.0 m width. The force effects from the design lane load shall not be
subject to a dynamic load allowance. The load effects of the design truck and the design tandem must
each separately be superimposed with the load effects of the design lane load.

3.2.4. Multiple Presence of Live Load

Trucks will be present in adjacent lanes on roadways with multiple design lanes, but it is unlikely that
three adjacent lanes will be loaded simultaneously with the heavy loads. Therefore, some adjustments in
the design loads are necessary. The ERA design manual specifies about the factor as multiple presence
factor (m-factor). These factors should not be applied in situations where these factors have been
implicitly included, such as in the load distribution factors outlined in ERA design manual. If statical
distribution factors are used or if the analysis is based on refined methods, then the multiple presence
factors apply. In addition, these factors apply in the design of bearings and abutments for the braking
forces defined later. Lastly, the multiple presence factors should not be used in the case of the fatigue
limit state. When the loading condition includes the pedestrian loads combined with one or more lanes
of the vehicular live load, the pedestrian loads shall be taken to be one loaded lane.

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Table 3.2 Multiple Presence Factors (m)

Number of Loaded Lanes 1 2 3 >3

Multiple Presence Factors “m” 1.20 1.0 0.85 0.65

ERA design manual explains the use of multiple presence factors for determining extreme live load
force effects by considering each possible combination of number of loaded lanes multiplied by the
corresponding multiple presence factors (m-factor) specified in Table 3.2.

If a component supports a sidewalk and one lane, it would be investigated for the vehicular live load
alone with m = 1.20, and for the pedestrian loads combined with the vehicular live load with m = 1.0. If
a component supports a sidewalk and two lanes of vehicular live load, it would be investigated for:
 One lane of vehicular live load, m = 1.20;
 The greater of the more significant lane of vehicular live load and the pedestrian loads or two lane
of vehicular live load, m = 1.0 applied to the governing case; and
 Two lanes of vehicular live load and the pedestrian loads, m = 0.85.
The multiple presence factor of 1.20 for a single lane does not apply to the pedestrian loads. Therefore,
the case of the pedestrian loads without the vehicular live load is a subset of the second bulleted item.

The multiple presence factors in Table 3.2 were developed based on an ADTT (Average Daily Truck
Traffic) of 5000 trucks in one direction. The force effect resulting from the appropriate number of lanes
shall be reduced for sites with lower ADTT as follows:
 If 100  ADTT  1000; 95 % of the specified force effect shall be used; and
 If ADTT < 100; 90 % of the specified force effect shall be used.
This adjustment is based on the reduced probability of attaining the design event during a 75-year design
life with reduced truck volume. Except as specified in following subchapters on the application of
Design Vehicular Live Loads and Fatigue Loads, the spacing between the two 145 KN axles shall be
varied between 4.3 and 9.0 m to produce extreme force effects.

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3.2.5. Dynamic Effect

The roadway surface is not perfectly smooth, thus the vehicle suspension must react to roadway
roughness by compression and extension of the suspension system. This oscillation creates axle forces
that could exceed the static weight during the movement of vehicle over the bridge. Although commonly
called impact, this phenomenon is more precisely referred to as dynamic loading. According to ERA
design manual, dynamic effects due to moving vehicles shall be attributed to two sources:
1. Hammering effect is the dynamic response of the wheel assembly to riding surface discontinuities,
such as deck joints, cracks, potholes, and delaminations, and
2. Dynamic response of the bridge as a whole to passing vehicles, which shall be due to long
undulations in the roadway pavement, such as those caused by settlement of fill, or to resonant
excitation as a result of similar frequencies of vibration between bridge and vehicle. The frequency
of vibration of any bridge should not exceed 3 Hz.

Dynamic Load Allowance (IM = Vehicular Dynamic Load Allowance)

There have been numerous experimental and analytical studies to determine the dynamic load effect.
One such study is the increase in the deflection due to dynamic effect when compared to that due to
static load only. For example, if Ddyn is the maximum deflection due to dynamic effect alone and Dstat is
the maximum deflection due to static effect alone, then the incremental effect of loading due to dynamic
effect may be said as a percentage increase over the static load as:

Dynamic load allowance (IM) = (Ddyn/ Dstat)*100

It is important to observe that this ratio varies significantly with different vehicle positions. Hence
considering the maximum possible allowance values is best suited for design.

ERA Design Manual Specifications:

The static effects of the design truck or tandem, other than centrifugal and braking forces, shall be
increased by the percentage specified in Table 3.3 for dynamic load allowance.
The factor to be applied to the static load shall be taken as: (1 + IM/100).

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Table 3.3 Dynamic Load Allowance, IM

Component IM
Deck Joints – All Limit States 75%
All Other Components
 Fatigue and Fracture Limit State 15%
 All Other Limit States 33%

Dynamic load allowance need not be applied to:

 Retaining walls not subject to vertical reactions from the superstructure, and
 Foundation components that are entirely below ground level.
 Pedestrian loads or to the design lane load
The dynamic load allowance shall be reduced for components, other than joints, if justified by sufficient
evidence, but in no case shall the dynamic load allowance used in design be less than 50% of IM in the
table above.

Buried Components
The dynamic load allowance for culverts and other buried structures, in %, shall be taken as:
IM = 33 (1.0 - 4.l*10-4 DE) > 0%
Where: DE = the minimum depth of earth cover above the structure (mm)

Wood Components
Wood structures are known to experience reduced dynamic wheel load effects due to internal friction
between the components and the damping characteristics of wood. For wood bridges and wood
components of bridges, the dynamic load allowance values specified in table of dynamic load allowance
shall be reduced to 70  of the values specified therein for IM.

Application of Design Vehicular Live Loads

The effects of an axle sequence and the lane load are superimposed in order to obtain extreme values.
Unless otherwise specified, the extreme force effect shall be taken as the larger of the following:
 The effect of the design tandem combined with the effect of the design lane load, or
 The effect of one design truck with the variable axle spacing combined with the effect of the
design lane load, and
 For both negative and positive moment between points of contra flexure under a uniform load on
all spans, and reaction at interior piers only, 90% of the effect of two design trucks spaced at

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

minimum of 15.0 m between the lead axle of one truck and the rear axle of the other truck,
combined with 90% of the effect of the design lane load. The distance between the 145 KN axles
of each truck shall be taken as 4.3 m.
The design truck or tandem shall be positioned transversely such that the center of any wheel load is not
closer than:

 For the design of the deck overhang - 300 mm from the face of the curb or railing, and
 For the design of all other components - 600 mm from the edge of the design lane.

3.3. Pedestrian Load

A pedestrian load of 4.0 kPa (kN/m2) shall be applied to all sidewalks wider than 0.6 m and considered
simultaneously with the vehicular design live load. The provisions of above subchapter Multiple
Presence of Live Load for applying the pedestrian loads in combination with the vehicular live load is
helpful for application together with other loads. Usually the 4 kN/m2 load will allow for small cars to
pass. To avoid accidents for bridges wider than 2.4 m, provision shall be made for an additional axle
load. Where sidewalks, pedestrian, and/or bicycle bridges are intended to be used by maintenance and/or
other incidental vehicles, these loads shall be considered in the design. If unknown, at least one movable
axle load of 70 kN acting together with the pedestrian load shall be applied. The dynamic load
allowance need not be considered for these vehicles. In half-through-trusses of steel, the compressed top
chord of a simple span truss shall be designed to resist a lateral force of not less than 4.0 kN/m length,
considered as a permanent load for the Strength I Load Combination and factored accordingly.

3.4. Wind Load

The velocity of the wind varies with the elevation above the ground and the upstream terrain roughness,
and therefore pressure on a structure is also a function of these parameters. If the terrain is smooth, then
the velocity increases more rapidly with elevation. Wind load shall be assumed to be uniformly
distributed on the area exposed to the wind. The exposed area shall be the sum of areas of all
components, including floor system and railing, as seen in elevation taken perpendicular to the assumed
wind direction. This direction shall be varied to determine the extreme force effect in the structure or in
its components. Areas that do not contribute to the extreme force effect under consideration shall be
neglected in the analysis.

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

For bridges or parts of bridges more than 10 m above low ground or water level, the design wind
velocity, VDZ (km/h), at design elevation, z, should be adjusted according to:

V10 Z 
VDZ  2.5 * Vo   In  
VB  Zo 

Where: V10 = wind velocity at 10 m above low ground or above design water level (km/h)
VB = base wind velocity of 160 km/h (45 m/s) at 10 m height, yielding design pressures specified
in following subchapters Wind Pressure on Structures and Vertical Wind Pressure
Z = height of structure at which wind loads are being calculated as measured from low ground,
or from water level, > 10 m

Vo = friction velocity, a meteorological wind characteristic taken, as specified in Table 3-4, for
various upwind surface characteristics (km/h)
Zo = friction length of upstream fetch, a meteorological wind characteristic taken as specified in
Table 3.4 below (m)
V10 shall be established from:
 Basic Wind Speed charts available from National Meteorological Services Agency for
various recurrence intervals,
 Site-specific wind surveys, or
 In the absence of better criterion, the assumption that V10 = VB =145 km/h (= 40 m/s) shall
be used for small and medium sized bridges.

The following descriptions are for the terms "open country" and "suburban" in Table 3.4:
 Open Country: Open terrain with scattered obstructions having heights generally less than 10 m.
This category includes flat open country and grasslands.
 Urban and Suburban: Urban and suburban areas, wooded areas, or other terrain with numerous
closely spaced obstructions having the size of single-family or larger dwellings. Use of this
category shall be limited to those areas for which representative terrain prevails in the upwind
direction at least 500 m.
CONDITION OPEN COUNTRY URBAN AND SUBURBAN
Vo (km/h) 13.2 17.6
Zo (m) 70 1000
Table 3.4 Values of Vo & Zo for various upstream surface conditions

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3.4.1 Wind Pressure on Structures: WS

For small and medium sized concrete bridges below 50m length the wind load on structures shall be
neglected. For large and/or light bridges the following shall apply. If justified by local conditions, a
different base design wind velocity shall be selected for load combinations not involving wind on live
load. The direction of the design wind shall be assumed horizontal, unless otherwise specified in the
following subchapter Aero elastic Instability. In the absence of more precise data, design wind pressure,
PD in kPa, shall be determined as:
2
VDZ
2

PD  PB    PB V DZ , Where PB = base wind pressure specified in Table 3.5 (kPa):

VB  25600

Table 3.5 Base Pressures, PB Corresponding to VB = 160 km/h (45 m/s)

STRUCTURAL COMPONENT WINDWARD LOAD, LEEWARD LOAD,

(kPa) (kPa)
Trusses, Columns, and Arches 2.4 1.2
Beams 2.4 Not applicable
Large Flat Surfaces 1.9 Not applicable

The wind loading shall not be taken less than 4.4 kN/m2 in the plane of a windward chord and 2.2 kN/m2
in the plane of a leeward chord on truss and arch components, and not less than 4.4 kN/m2 on beam or
girder components. Where the wind is not taken as normal to the structure, the base wind pressures, PB,
for various angles of wind direction shall be taken as specified in Table below and shall be applied to a
single place of exposed area. The skew angle shall be taken as measured from a perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis. The wind direction for design shall be that which produces the extreme force effect on
the component under investigation. The transverse and longitudinal pressures shall be applied
simultaneously.
Table 3.5 Base Wind Pressures, PB (kPa) for Various Angles of Attack VB=160 km/h.
(kPa) Columns and Arches Girders
Skew Angle of Wind, Lateral Longitudinal Lateral Load Longitudinal
Degrees Load Load Load
0 3.6 0 2.4 0
15 3.4 0.6 2.1 0.3
30 3.1 1.3 2.0 0.6
45 2.3 2.0 1.6 0.8
60 1.1 2.4 0.8 0.9

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3.4.2 Wind Pressure on Vehicles: WL

When vehicles are present, the design wind pressure shall be applied to both structure and vehicles.
Wind pressure on vehicles shall be represented by an interruptible, moving force of 1.5 kN/m acting
normal to, and 1.8 m above, the roadway and shall be transmitted to the structure. When wind on
vehicles is not taken as normal to the structure, the components of normal and parallel force applied to
the live load shall be taken as specified in Table 3.7 with the skew angle taken as referenced normal to
the surface.

Table 3.7 Wind load components on live load

Skew Angle (Degrees) Normal Component (kN/m) Parallel Component (kN/m)

0 1.46 0
15 1.28 0.18
30 1.20 0.35
45 0.96 0.47
60 0.50 0.55

3.4.3 Vertical Wind Pressure

A vertical upward wind force of 1.0 kPa (kN/m2) times the width of the deck, including parapets and
sidewalks, shall be considered as a longitudinal line load. This force shall be applied only for large
and/or other than concrete bridges. It shall be applied only for limit states that do not involve wind on
live load, and only when the direction of wind is taken to be perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the
bridge. This lineal force shall be applied at the windward quarter-point of the deck width in conjunction
with the horizontal wind loads specified in the previous subchapter.

3.5. Water Load

3.5.1 Static Pressure

Static pressure of water shall be assumed to act perpendicular to the surface that is retaining the water.
Pressure shall be calculated as the product of height of water above the point of consideration, the
density of water, and "g" (the acceleration of gravity = 9.81 m/s2).

p =  * g * z * 10-9

Where: p = static pressure (Mpa), z = height of water above the point of consideration (mm)

 = density of water (kg/m3), g = Gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3.5.2 Buoyancy
Buoyancy shall be considered an uplift force, taken as the sum of the vertical components of static
pressures, as specified above, acting on all components below design water level. For substructures with
cavities in which the presence or absence of water cannot be ascertained, the condition producing the
least favorable force effect should be chosen.

3.5.3 Longitudinal Stream Pressure

For the purpose of this chapter, the longitudinal direction refers to the major axis of a substructure unit.
The pressure of flowing water acting in the longitudinal direction of substructures shall be taken as:

P = 5.14*10-4 CDV2

Where: p = pressure of flowing water (MPa)

CD = drag coefficient for piers as specified in Table 3.8

V = design velocity in m/s of water for the design flood in strength and service limit states and
for the check flood in the extreme event limit state

Table 3.8 Drag Coefficient

Type CD
Semicircular-nosed pier 0.7
Square-ended pier 1.4
Debris lodged against the pier 1.4
Wedged-nosed pier with nose angle 90o or less 0.8

The longitudinal drag force shall be taken as the product of longitudinal stream pressure and the
projected surface exposed thereto. Floating logs, roots, and other debris may accumulate at piers and, by
blocking parts of the waterway, increase stream pressure load on the pier. Such accumulation is a
function of the availability of such debris and level of maintenance efforts by which it is removed.

3.5.4 Lateral Stream pressure

The lateral, uniformly distributed pressure on substructure due to water flowing at an angle, , to the
longitudinal axis of the pier shall be taken as:

PL = 5.14 x 10-4CL V2

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

Where: PL = lateral pressure (MPa)

CL = lateral drag coefficient specified in Table 3.9 below.

Figure 3.1 Plan View of Pier Showing Stream Flow Pressure

Table 3.9 Lateral Drag Coefficient (CL)

Angle, , between direction of flow and CL

longitudinal axis of the pier
0o 0.0
1o 0.5
10o 0.7
20o 0.9
30o 1.0

The lateral drag force shall be taken as the product of the lateral stream pressure and the surface exposed
thereto.

3.6. Earthquake Effects (EQ= Earthquake)

Earthquake loads shall be taken to be horizontal force effects determined on the basis of the elastic
response coefficient, Csm, specified in the Elastic Seismic Response Coefficient section of this
subchapter, and the equivalent weight of the superstructure, adjusted by the response modification
factor, R, specified in the Response Modification Factor section of this subchapter. The provisions
herein shall apply to bridges of conventional slab, beam girder, box girder, and truss superstructure
construction with spans not exceeding 150 m. These provisions need not be applied to completely buried
structures. Seismic effects for box culverts and buried structures need not be considered, except where
they cross active faults. The potential for soil liquefaction and slope movements shall be considered.

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3.6.1 Elastic Seismic Response Coefficient

The elastic seismic response coefficient, Csm, for the mth mode of vibration shall be taken as:

1.2 AS
Csm   2.5 A
Tm 2 / 3

Where: Tm = period of vibration of the mth mode (s)

A = acceleration coefficient specified in Table
S = site coefficient specified in Table

Exceptions to the application of the above equation are as follows:

 For bridges on soil profiles III or IV, Csm need not exceed 2.0*A.

 For soil profiles III and IV, and for modes other than the fundamental mode, that have periods
less than 0.3 s, Csm shall be taken as:

Csm = A (0.8 + 4.0*Tm)

 If the period of vibration for any mode exceeds 4.0 s, the value of Csm for that mode shall be
taken as:

Csm =

3.6.2 Acceleration Coefficient

The coefficient, "A", to be used in the application of these provisions shall be determined from the
contour map of Ethiopia showing the seismic zones for various locations.

Table3.10. Seismic zones and their corresponding acceleration coefficients

EBCS Seismic Zone Acceleration Coefficient

1 A  0.03
2 0.03 < A  0.05
3 0.05 < A  0.07
4 0.07 < A  0.10

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AASTU-School of Engineering Civil Engineering Department Fundamentals of Bridge Design

3.6.3 Importance Categories

Bridges within Zone 4 (mainly Rift Valley) shall be classified into one of three importance categories as
follows:

 Critical bridges,

 Essential bridges, or

 Other bridges.

The basis of classification shall include social/survival and security/defense requirements. In classifying
a bridge, consideration should be given to possible future changes in conditions and requirements.

3.6.4 Site Effects: Soil Profiles

Site effects shall be included in the determination of seismic loads for bridges. Site effects on structural
response are due to the soil conditions. Four soil profiles are used in these Specifications to define a site
coefficient used to modify the acceleration coefficient.

Table3.11. Site Coefficients

Site Soil Profile Type

Coefficient I II III IV
S 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.0

In locations where the soil properties are not known in sufficient detail to determine the soil profile type,
or where the profile does not fit any of the four types, the site coefficient for Soil Profile Type II shall be
used.

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