Modeling the Extent of Damage to Coastal Bridges in New York Due to Hurricane-Induced Storm Surge

Coastal bridges are valuable assets to the country’s transportation network and warrant proper design to ensure their continued function and operation. The vulnerability of coastal bridges to damage during hurricane-induced storm surge has been illustrated in the recent hurricane events such as Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Ike (2008) and Hurricane Sandy (2012). During a hurricane, storm surge loads that develop on a structure are a combination of the inertial drag of water over the elements, wave slamming of a breaking wave imparting kinetic energy on the elements, uplift force of water that becomes trapped under the bridge deck, and buoyancy force that constitutes the hydrostatic pressure release due to the displaced water. Drag and slamming forces may act on the piers or the deck superstructure of the bridge depending on the water depth. Uplift and buoyancy forces act on the underside of the bridge deck. In this study, the National Bridge Inventory database is used to select a set of representative bridges on the coast of New York state. The bridges are categorized based on their structural type, material characteristics, length, number of spans, number of columns, and clear distance from the water level. The Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) package is used to simulate different intensities of hurricanes and the storm surge associated with each. The extent of damage to coastal bridges is estimated using a set of extreme hurricane events.