Evaluation of the Performance of a Press-Lam Timber Bridge. Interim Report Number 1, Bridge Installation and Load Test

摘要

This report describes the installation and load test of the world's first press-lam timber bridge superstructure. A five-man crew replaced the substandard steel stringer-timber deck superstructure on Rte. 610 over Little Stoney Creek in Shenandoah County with the press-lam superstructure in about four work days, and the road was closed for only eight hours. Results of the load tests conducted two weeks after the 17.5 ft. (5.33 m) span, 2-lane bridge was constructed suggest that the stringer live load distribution specified by AASHTO is conservative. The Research Council will inspect and load test the bridge periodically over a five-year period.