Substructures Stack Up (Available in Structural Engineering Special Issue only)

As part of a 1997 research project sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, the University of Texas at Austin Center for Transportation Research, through its Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory, investigated the efficacy of using precast elements to improve the efficiency and appearance of short and moderate span bridges. The precast substructure system developed by the researchers is economically competitive with current practices, and can be fabricated in existing plants and installed with normal contracting equipment.