Seismic Design And Retrofit Guidelines For Bridges In New Jersey, A Low-To-Moderate Seismic Hazard Area

摘要

This paper provides a description of the methodology prescribed for the design and retrofit of bridges for the State of New Jersey, which is located in a low-to-moderate Seismic Hazard Area of the United States. Considering designing structures to meet published seismic design and retrofit requirements of the AASHTO bridge codes has long been a concern of many bridge engineers in the central and eastern states of the United States. To date, most US standards have been based on experiences gained from events occurring in the western states and on codes written in Japan, New Zealand and Europe. Bridge owners outside of the high seismic zones of the United States have either experienced or perceive an increase in the design effort and construction costs associated with meeting these requirements. While no bridge owner will knowingly design a bridge that would put the traveling public at risk, they must also attempt to tailor the requirements of the AASHTO Specification and FHWA to meet the resources available to them and a level of risk acceptable to the jurisdiction in which they work. This paper outlines the approach that New Jersey has taken to address seismic design and retrofit of our structures to meet the level of capital investment it can make at a level of risk that is acceptable to the state by providing modifications to Adopted AASHTO standards. The paper assumes that the reader has a basic understanding of the AASHTO Bridge Design Specifications.