Volume : 81-1 Total Pages : 56 January - March 2020

Journal of the
Indian Roads Congress

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 JOURNAL OF THE
INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS
VOLUME 81-1 ▪ JANUARY - MARCH, 2020 ▪ ISSN 0258-0500

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 PAPER NO. 703

AN INVESTIGATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND RUTTING

PERFORMANCE OF PLANT PRODUCED HIGH MODULUS ASPHALT MIXES

ANIL KUMAR BADITHA1 ARUN KUMAR GOLI2 M AMARANATH REDDY3 K SUDHAKAR REDDY4
ABSTRACT
High Modulus Asphalt Mixes (HiMA) with high performance have been successfully used initially in France and some other
countries later on to alleviate the problem of early failures of pavement. Development and adoption of such mixes will be useful
for high volume roads in India. In order to examine and evaluate performance of such HiMA mixes for Indian highways, a test
section was constructed on a National Highway (NH)-18, with two types of HiMA mixes in the base course layer. These HiMA
mixes were prepared with two hard grade binders; Propane Deasphalting (PDA) pitch and Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA)
polymer modified binder. The present study focuses on the evaluation of binder rheological properties and mix characteristics
of HiMA mixes used for the construction of test section. The characteristics of HiMA mixes were also compared with the
conventional Dense Bituminous Macadam (DBM-II) mix laid using viscosity grade (VG)-40 binder. Temperature and frequency
oscillation tests and multiple stress creep and recovery tests were conducted on the binders to study the rheological and rutting
characteristics of the binders in terms of SHRP rutting parameter (G*/sinδ), non-recoverable creep compliance (Jnr), percent
recovery using Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR). Further, the plant produced mixes collected from field were evaluated for
mechanical properties (indirect tensile strength, resilient modulus) and rutting performance.
The Superpave rutting parameter (G*/sinδ), non recoverable creep compliance (Jnr) properties of binders suggest better rut
resistance of PDA pitch binder. HiMA mixes were observed to be superior in terms of their rut resistance when compared to
conventional bituminous mix. Further, the measured resilient modulus (Mr) values of HiMA mixes can be used for pavement
design purposes. Also, the study proved that there will be significant reduction in pavement thickness with the use of HiMA
mixes due to higher Mr values of mixes and improved performance than conventional DBM mix.

1. INTRODUCTION normal bitumen with the help of polymer modifiers or

Overloading and high temperatures are the main
challenging issues for pavements in India as these often
cause premature failures leading to adoption of frequent
rehabilitation measures. Among the approaches adopted
worldwide, use of High Modulus Asphalt (HiMA) mixes
prepared with stiff binder in the bituminous base layer can
serve the purpose against premature failures of bituminous
pavements[1]. High Modulus Asphalt Mixes (HiMA)
also called as Enrobé à Module Élevé (EME) mixes,
were developed in the France, to provide solution to the
problem of alleviation of rutting and to increase rigidity of
base courses of asphalt pavements[2]. These mixes allow
thickness reduction of asphalt layer due to high stiffness
of the mix[3,4,5]. The HiMA mixes represents modulus
of 14,000 MPa at 15°C and 10Hz loading frequency[4].
Generally, these mixes are produced using straight run
hard grade bitumen (refinery produced), natural bitumen
such as Trinidad lake bitumen and modification of
additives[6,7,8].
Several studies have been undertaken across worldwide to
investigate the laboratory and field performance of HiMA
mixes. The road trials demonstrated by Nunn et al.[3] in
UK, have indicated that HiMA mixes have considerable
potential in reducing the rutting in asphalt pavements.
The study also revealed that these mixes could be
mixed, laid and compacted without facing any difficulty
using conventional plants. The field trials conducted in
Australia[9] showed higher resilient modulus across all test
temperatures compared to conventional mix. This suggests
that reduction in the thickness of pavement is possible with
the use of these mixes. Lee et al.[10] has studied full scale
test section performance of HiMA mix produced with
the combination of SBS polymer and high boiling point
petroleum. It was observed that tensile strains values at
the bottom of HiMA layer were lower than conventional
asphalt mix although the thickness of HiMA section was

1, 2.
Research Scholar,
Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur
3,4 .
Professor, Emails: manreddy@iitkgp.ac.in, ksreddy@civil.iitkgp.ac.in

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 3

 PAPER NO. 703
thinner. Similarly, the rut depths occurred in HiMA sections • Rutting properties of short term aged binders were
was two times lesser than conventional pavement section. evaluated by conducting Multiple Stress and Creep
A laboratory study conducted by Yan et al.[7] revealed that Recovery (MSCR) test at a test temperature of
HiMA mixes developed with the combination of SBS and 60°C.
rock bitumen and SBS and polyester fiber have shown • Mechanical properties of mixes such as Indirect
superior rutting resistance and relatively balanced mixture Tensile Strength (ITS) and resilient modulus (Mr)
performance. values were evaluated at a test temperature of
35 °C.
In order to examine the suitability of HiMA mixes for
Indian traffic and climatic conditions, two types of • Rutting performance of mixes was evaluated at
hard grade binders (Propane Deasphalting (PDA) pitch high service pavement temperature (60°C) using
wheel tracker equipment.
obtained from Haldia refinery, West Bengal and Ethylene
Vinyl Acetate (EVA) polymer modified binder) were 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS
used to produce HiMA mixes and these mixes were 3.1 Materials
used in the construction of test section as base course The binders used in the study were two hard grade binders
layer, on National Highway-18, in the state of Odisha. (PDA pitch and EVA modified binder) and one conventional
A conventional mix, Dense Bituminous Macadam viscosity grade binder: VG 40, which is generally, used
(DBM- II) aggregate gradation with viscosity grade binder in the construction of bituminous base layers in India for
(VG 40) was also laid in the test section for comparing the heavy traffic and hot climate regions. The binders both
performance of HiMA mixes. The present investigation PDA pitch and VG 40 were produced in the refinery using
discusses about rheological properties of binders used in propane deasphalting (PDA) method and obtained from
the construction of test section. The study also provides
IOCL refinery, Haldia, India. The EVA modified hard grade
mechanical properties and rutting performance of plant
binder was prepared by blending base bitumen: viscosity
produced mixes (field mixes). Further, the these were
grade (VG) 40 and two different grades of EVA polymers.
compared with the conventional DBM grade-II mix laid
EVA modified binder was prepared by initially heating
using VG 40 binder.
the base bitumen (VG-40) to a temperature of 170°C after
2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF which 4% EVA (by weight of base binder) was added. The
THE STUDY mix of VG-40 bitumen and EVA was blended in a blender
The broad objective of the present work is to evaluate and with a stirrer arrangement. The blending temperature was
compare mechanical properties and rutting performance maintained between 170°C and 175°C and the blending
of plant produced HiMA mixes with the conventional was continued for duration of 150 minutes with a shear
DBM mix. The following scope of work has been selected rate of 1200-1500 rpm.
for this purpose.
Table 1 Physical Properties of VG 40 and PDA pitch binders
• The present investigation is a part of broader study and Table 2 Physical Properties of modified binder.
aimed in the field performance evaluation of HiMA
mixes. Two hard grade binders were selected for Table 1 Physical Properties of VG 40 and PDA Pitch
the study: PDA pitch and EVA modified binder. The Binders
conventional binder VG 40 was also considered in Properties VG 40 PDA pitch
the study for comparing the performance of hard
grade binders. Penetration at 25°C, 100g, 5s,
38 21
• Aggregate gradation used in the study is Dense 0.1mm
Bituminous Macadam (DBM-II). This aggregate Ductility @ 27°C, cm >100 >100
gradation is recommended by MoRTH for use in Shear viscosity @ 60°C, 1.59
base course. 4099 14200
hz, poise
• Binders and loose asphalt mixes were collected from Kinematic viscosity at 135°C,
the project site for laboratory testing purpose. 422 1232
cSt
• Initially, the binders used in the construction were
evaluated for physical and rheological properties. Solubility in trichloroethylene,
99.6 99.3
The rheological properties of binders were percent
evaluated using Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) Tests on residue from rolling thin film oven test
by conducting temperature-frequency sweep test in Shear viscosity ratio at 60°C 3.61 2.94
the temperature range of 46°C to 88°C and in the
angular frequency range of 2 to 25 rad/s. Ductility at 25°C 78 54

4 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 703
Table 2 Physical Properties of Modified Binder Table 3 Aggregate Gradation Considered in the Study
Properties Modified binder % passing limit
Sieve Cumulative %
(As per MoRTH,
Penetration at 25°C 30 size, by weight of total Table 500-10)
mm aggregate passing Lower Upper
Softening Point, °C 56
Elastic recovery at 60°C, percent - 37.5 100 100 100
26.5 100 90 100
Shear viscosity @ 60°C, 1.59 Hz,
5835 19 93.1 71 95
poise
Separation test, difference in soft- 13.2 76.5 56 80
2 4.75 44.9 38 54
ening point °C
Viscosity at 150°C , poise 5.2 2.36 35.9 28 42
0.300 13.7 7 21
G*/sinδ as Min 1.0 kPa at 10
70 0.075 3.8 2 8
rad/s, at a temperature °C
Tests on residue from rolling thin film oven test Table 4 Physical Properties of Aggregates
Loss in mass, percent 0.52 Property Value Test method
Aggregate Impact Value BIS:2386
15
Increase in softening point, °C 4 (%) (Part IV)-1963
Los Angeles abrasion value BIS:2386
Reduction in penetration of resi- 19
18 (%) (Part IV)-1963
due at 25°C, % Combined Flakiness and BIS:2386
21
G*/sinδ as Min 2.2 kPa at 10 Elongation index (%) (Part I)-1963
70 BIS:2386
rad/s, temperature °C Water absorption (%) 0.9
(Part IV)-1963
3.2 Construction of Test Section 3.3 Collection of Binders and Bituminous Mixes
Generally, the mixes prepared using hard grade binders , from the Site
with higher resilient modulus than conventional binders, The binders (PDA pitch, EVA modified binder and VG-
40) and bituminous mixes used in the construction of test
are termed as HiMA mixes. In order to evaluate the field
section were collected from field test section for laboratory
performance of these mixes, a test section of 1.5 km evaluation. The binders were sampled from a tank at the
was constructed in the state of Odisha during February, plant during mixture production. Mixes were sampled at
2018. This is a part of rehabilitation project, in which, the test section during paving operation and stored for
bituminous base layer of 50 mm thickness in overlay laboratory evaluation. The binders were evaluated for
physical and rheological properties whereas the collected
portion and 75 mm thickness in widening portion was
field bituminous mixes were used for the mechanical
laid. Bituminous base layer was constructed in five characterisation and rutting evaluation.
sections with five types of bituminous mixes (four HiMA Photo 1 (a) Laying of HiMA mix prepared with PDA
mixes and one conventional mix) and length of each binder and Photo 1 (b) Collection of field mix from the
section was 300 m. However, the present study gives the construction site.
details of two types of HiMA mixes and one conventional
mix, which was laid with VG 40 bitumen and DBM- II
which is recommended by MoRTH[11]. The aggregate
gradation used in the production of HiMA mix was also
DBM –II. Thus, the mix combinations in the study are
PDA pitch+ DBM II; EVA modified binder + DBM II and
VG 40+DBM II.
Table 3, Aggregate Gradation considered in the production
of bituminous mixes and Table 4, Physical Properties of
aggregates used in the construction of test section. Photo 1 (a) Laying of High Modulus Asphalt Mix on NH-18

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 5

 PAPER NO. 703
Photo 1 (b) Collection of Field Mix from Site
3.4 Short Term Aging of Binders
The binders collected from test section were subjected to
short term aging of binders in the laboratory by conducting
Rolling Thin Film Oven Test (RTFOT) according to ASTM
D2872-19[12]. The residue obtained after RTFOT was
used for evaluation of rheological properties and rutting
performance evaluation using Dynamic Shear Rheometer
(DSR) equipment.
3.5 Rheological Properties of Binders
The rheological properties such as complex modulus (G*)
and phase angle (δ) of unaged binders were determined
using Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) equipment in
constant strain mode according to ASTM D7175-15[13].
The temperature - frequency sweep test was conducted
on unaged binders to evaluate rheological behaviour
by constructing complex modulus and phase angle
master curves. The temperature range considered in the
temperature – frequency sweep test was 46°C to 88°C and
the angular frequency range considered was 2 to 25 rad/s.
The generalised sigmoidal model was used to construct
the complex modulus master curves[14]. Equation 1 the
sigmoidal model equation used in the study.
(1)
Where G* is complex modulus, fr is reduced frequency,
and α, β, ϒ and δ are fit coefficients that describe shape of
master curve.
The phase angle master curves were plotted using
Lorentizian equation in Equation 2
(2)
Where δ is phase angle (degree), fr is reduced frequency
and a, b and c are fit coefficients that describe shape of
master curve.
Further, the Performance Grading (PG) characterization
of the binders was done by estimating upper PG and
6 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
continuous PG temperatures. The selection criterion for
the upper PG temperature is the resistance offered by the
binder to high-temperature pavement distress, rutting.
The upper PG and continuous PG temperatures of binders
were determined in accordance with ASTM D6373-16 [15]
and ASTM D7643-16 [16] respectively.
3.6 Evaluation of Rutting Susceptibility of Binders
The rutting susceptibility of short term aged binders
was evaluated by conducting Multiple Stress and Creep
Recovery (MSCR) test in accordance with AASTHO
T 350-2014 [17]. The test evaluates the rutting potential of
binders in linear and nonlinear viscoelastic domains through
a parameter called non-recoverable creep compliance
(Jnr). It is the ratio of the non-recoverable strain to the
applied peak shear stress. The bitumen sample of 1mm
thickness was sandwiched between two parallel plates of
25 mm diameter. The test was performed at stress levels
of 0.1 kPa and 3.2 kPa and at 60°C temperature. The creep
stress was applied for 1 s, and the sample was allowed to
recover for 9 s. Ten cycles of creep and recovery were
applied at each stress level.
3.7 Design of Bituminous Mixes
The design binder contents of mixes were determined
for all the mixes as per Marshall method of mix design,
in which 100 mm diameter cylindrical samples were
prepared by applying 75 blow compaction by the Marshall
hammer on both faces of the specimen. The mixes were
prepared with different binder contents, ranging from 4 to
6% with an increment of 0.5% binder content. The design
binder contents of the mixes were selected based on the
volumetric properties of the mixes.
3.8 Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) of Bituminous
Mixes
Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) test of mixes was carried
out as per ASTM D6931-17[18] on cylindrical samples
compacted at optimum bitumen content. Samples of 100
mm diameter and 63±2.5 mm height were used. The test
was conducted at an annual average pavement service
temperature of 35°C by loading samples along diametrical
axis at a deformation rate of 51 mm/min. The failure
load of the specimen was used to calculate ITS of mixes.
Further, the failure load determined in ITS test was also
used as input to resilient modulus (Mr) test.
3.9 Resilient Modulus (Mr) of Mixes
The resilient modulus (Mr) of bituminous mix is used as
an input parameter in the design of flexible pavements[19].
The Mr test of mixes was carried out as per ASTM
D4123-95[20] on cylindrical samples compacted at
optimum bitumen content. The test was carried out at an
annual average pavement service temperature of 35°C.
 PAPER NO. 703
The samples were tested in linear visco elastic zone by
applying 10% failure load. The horizontal deformation
measured using Linear Vertical Displacement Transducers
(LVDT) was used in the calculation of resilient modulus.
Equation 3 is used in the calculation of Mr of bituminous
mixes.
(3)
Where, P is the applied load, μ is the Poisson’s ratio, t
is the sample thickness, ∆H is the horizontal deformation
resulting from applied load.
3.10 Rutting Potential of Bituminous Mixes
Rutting potential of the bituminous mixes was evaluated in
the laboratory using dry wheel tracker at 60°C according
to EN-12697-22:2003[21]. Photo 2 Wheel Tracker test
set up used for the evaluation of the rutting potential
of bituminous mixes. It consists of an arrangement
for application of a normal load of 700±10 N on the
cylindrical specimens. The mould holding the specimens
moves to-and-fro resulting in repeated tracking of a
normally loaded wheel on the specimens. The length
of tracking of wheel is 230 ± 5 mm. The entire test set
up was housed in an environmental chamber, in which
a constant test temperature can be maintained. The
specimens of bituminous mixes were conditioned for 4
hours before testing them at the test temperature of 60°C.
The deformation of the sample was measured using
Linear Variable Displacement Transducers (LVDT). The
least count of the displacement transducer was 0.001 mm.
One to-and-fro motion of the wheel was considered as
one cycle. The test was carried out for 20,000 cycles at a
frequency of 20 cycles per minute.
The specimens for the wheel tracking test were prepared to
have an air void content of 4.5 ± 0.5%. 150 mm diameter
specimens were prepared using gyratory compactor to
achieve the target air void. These compacted specimens
were sliced to have a height of 50 mm, and the vertical
faces of the specimens were trimmed for super imposition
at the centre of the mould.
Photo 2 Wheel Tracker Test Set up used in the Study
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Rheological Properties of Binders
The master curves of complex modulus of three unaged
binders (VG 40, PDA pitch and EVA modified binder)
were drawn with the help of time temperature super
position principle at a reference temperature of 60°C
using logarithmic sigmoidal model. Three replicates of
each binder were tested and average values were used in
the construction of master curve. The master curve model
parameters which control the shape of master curve were
obtained using solver function in Microsoft excel through
optimisation technique. Fig. 1 Complex Modulus Master
Curves of three unaged binders considered in the study.
Fig. 1 Complex Modulus Master Curves of Binders
It can be observed that G* of both hard grade binders (PDA
pitch and EVA modified binder) are higher than that of
convention binder VG 40. This indicates higher resistance
to deformation of hard grade binders. Out of two grade
binders, PDA pitch binder was found to be stiffer. For an
example, G* values (in Pa) of PDA pitch, EVA modified
binder and VG 40 at 60°C and 1.59 Hz frequency are 14200,
5835 and 4099 respectively. This shows that deformation
resistance of PDA pitch binder is higher than other two
binders. An ANOVA analysis (α=0.05) was conducted on
the G* of binders measured at 60°C and 1.59 Hz, showed
significant differences (p = 0.000) existed between three
binders. In order to perform pair wise testing of means, a
Tukey-Kramer analysis (α=0.05) was conducted. The G*
of binders were statistically differ from each other and
three binders were in three different groups.
The phase angle master curves of unaged binders
were constructed with the help of Lorentzian equation
(Equation 2) as explained. Fig. 2 Phase Angle Master
Curves of unaged binders considered in the study. It
can be observed that EVA modified binder has lower
phase angles indicating elastic response of binder due to
presence of semi crystalline EVA polymer. On the other
hand, PDA pitch binder is found to be more viscous at
7
 PAPER NO. 703
lower frequencies than VG 40 binder whereas in the
intermediate and higher frequencies VG 40 binder is
found to be more viscous in nature.
Jnr value represents higher resistance to rutting. Three
replicates of each binder type were tested and mean values
were considered. The mean values of non-recoverable
compliance (Jnr) and percent recovery properties of
short term aged binders are presented in Figs. 3 and 4,
respectively.

Fig. 2 Phase Angle Master Curves of Binders

4.2 High Temperature Performance Grades of
Binders
Fig.3 Non Recoverable Creep Compliance (Jnr) of Binders
High temperature performance grades (PG) of binders were
determined by measuring super pave rutting parameter,
G*/sinδ. It was determined by conducting a temperature
sweep test on unaged and short-term aged bitumen at
1.59 Hz frequency using DSR equipment. Considering
the minimum G*/sinδ 1.0 and 2.2 kPa for fresh (unaged)
and Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO) aged binders, the
continuous grading temperatures and upper performance
grading temperatures have been selected. The values are
given in Table 5.
Table 5 PG Upper Temperature of Bitumen
Bitumen PDA EVA modified Fig.4 Percent Recovery (R) of Binders
VG40
Parameter pitch binder It can be observed that both hard grade binders have lower
Continuous PG
Jnr values than that of conventional VG 40, indicating
upper temperature 71 80 74
better rutting resistance characteristics. Out of two hard
(oC)
PG upper grade binders, PDA pitch binder was better towards
70 76 70 rutting resistance due to significantly lower Jnr value.
temperature (oC)
An ANOVA analysis (α=0.05) was conducted on the Jnr
The continuous PG upper temperatures of hard grade
of binders measured at 0.1 kPa and 3.2 kPa stress levels.
binders are found to be higher than that of the conventional
Test results showed significant differences (p = 0.000)
binder (VG40). This suggests that rutting resistance of
existed between three binders. In order to perform pair
hard grade binders was higher than VG 40 binder. Out
wise testing of means, a Tukey-Kramer analysis (α=0.05)
of two grade binders, PDA pitch binder was found to be
was conducted and results suggest that Jnr of binders were
more rut resistant binder due to higher continuous PG
statistically differ from each other and three binders were
upper temperature.
in three different groups.
4.3 Multiple Stress and Creep Recovery Test Results
On the other side, percentage recoveries of hard grade binders
The rutting resistance of binders can be better explained were found to be higher than conventional VG 40 binder.
by the non-recoverable compliance (Jnr) parameter, which Of the two hard grade binders, EVA modified binder has
is the ratio of the non-recoverable strain and the applied exhibited higher percent recovery, indicating more ductile
shear stress. Multiple Stress and Creep Recovery (MSCR) nature. An ANOVA analysis (α=0.05) was conducted on the
test was performed at 60°C on short term aged binders for percentage recovery of binders measured at 0.1 kPa and 3.2
two different stress levels of 0.1 kPa and 3.2 kPa. A lower kPa stress levels. Test results showed significant differences

8 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 703
(p = 0.004) existed between three binders at both stress ITS of HiMA mix prepared with PDA pitch binder.
levels. In order to perform pair wise testing of means, a
Table 7 Job Mix Formula of Design Mixes
Tukey-Kramer analysis (α=0.05) was conducted and results
suggest that percentage recovery of binders measured at Mix type
0.1 kPa stress level were statistically differ from each other VG PDA
Property of mix Modified
and three binders were in three different groups. Whereas 40+ pitch +
binder +
both hard grade binders were grouped together based on DBM DBM
DBM II
percentage recovery measured at 3.2 kPa and these values II II
were significantly differ from VG 40 binder. EVA
PDA
Binder type VG 40 modified
Further, the stress sensitivity of Jnr of binders was estimated pitch
binder
by measuring ‘Jnr difference’ parameter in linear to non Binder content, % 4.6 5.2 5.3
linear zone (0.1-3.2 kPa). The values of Jnr difference of Proportions of coarse Coarse aggregate
various binders are presented in Table 6. It can be seen that aggregates/fine aggregates/ (>4.75 mm)- 55.1
the stress sensitivity of EVA modified binder was found to mineral filler as percentage Fine aggregate
be higher whereas the sensitivity of PDA pitch and VG 40 by weight of total (4.75 mm-75 μ)- 41.1
binders were found to be less. aggregate including Mineral filler
mineral filler, % (75 μ passing)- 3.8
Table 6 Creep Compliance (Jnr) Difference of Binders A single definite
Binder type Jnr difference (%) percentage passing each Shown in Table 4
sieve for mixed aggregate
VG 40 4.8
Marshall stability (kN) at
PDA pitch 4.5 12.5 19.1 16.3
60°C
EVA modified binder 27.7
Flow (mm) 2.4 2.6 2.8
4.4 Design of Bituminous Mixes Compaction level (number 75 blows on each face of
of blows) specimen
The design binder contents of HiMA mixes were selected
Percent air voids (%) 4.0 3.0 3.0
corresponding to an air void content of 3% whereas for
the conventional mix (DBM-II), design binder content Percent Voids in Mineral
14.1 12.5 13.4
was selected corresponding to 4% air void content. The Aggregates (VMA)
3% air void content for HiMA mixes was selected as per
Percent Voids Filled with
the recommendations of Indian Roads Congress[19] for rich 71.7 76.1 77.7
Bitumen (VFB)
bottom high fatigue resistant bituminous mixes with lower Percent volume of effective
design air void contents. The Job Mix Formula (JMF) of 10.1 9.5 10.4
bitumen in the mix (Vbe)
design mixes are in Table 7. Physical characteristics of
4.5 Indirect Tensile Strength Results of Bituminous aggregates Shown in Table 3
Mixes Mixing temperature, °C 165 178 172
Compaction
The specimens for Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) test of temperature,°C 156 167 163
mixes were prepared at design binder contents and the
results of the mixes measured at a temperature of 35°C
are in Fig.5.
It can be seen that ITS values of HiMA mixes are higher
than conventional VG 40 binder, though these mixes were
prepared at higher binder contents. Such behaviour of the
mix can be attributed to stiff nature of binders. An ANOVA
analysis (α=0.05) was conducted on the ITS values of mixes
and test results showed significant differences (p = 0.011)
existed between ITS of three mixes. In order to perform pair
wise testing of means, a Tukey-Kramer analysis (α=0.05)
was conducted and results suggest that mixes prepared with
EVA modified binder and VG 40 binders were grouped
together and these values were significantly different from Fig. 5 Indirect Tensile Strength Values of Bituminous Mixes

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 9

 PAPER NO. 703
4.6 Resilient Modulus (Mr) Results of Bituminous
Mixes
The samples for the resilient modulus (Mr) test were
prepared at design binder contents and the results of Mr
values of mixes determined at a temperature of 35°C are
in Fig. 6.
Fig. 6 Resilient Modulus Values of Bituminous Mixes
From the test results as shown in the above Fig 6, it can
be observed that Mr values of HiMA mixes are found
to be higher than convention mix prepared with VG 40
binder. This behaviour of HiMA mixes can be attributed
to the stiff nature of hard grade binders, which caused
smaller horizontal recoverable deformations. Out of two
HiMA mixes, the Mr value of mix prepared with PDA
pitch binder was found to be higher. This is accredited to
the higher stiffness of the PDA pitch binder and may also
due to the higher degree of short term aging of PDA pitch
binder in the field. Further, all field mixes were reheated
to prepare laboratory specimens for evaluation of mix
properties. Thus, mixes were subjected to further ageing
and resulting in higher Mr values. However, the effect of
field short term aging and reheating of mixes on Mr values
of the mixes needs to be quantified.
The reduction in the pavement thickness is possible with the
use of HiMA mixes due to higher Mr values of mixes than
conventional DBM mix. This was verified by analysing
a pavement section according to IRC:37-2018 for design
traffic of 100 msa and subgrade CBR of 15%. The resilient
modulus values considered in the design for PDA pitch,
EVA modified binder and VG 40 binders are 6000, 4000
and 3000 MPa respectively. The resilient modulus value
of mix prepared with VG 40 binder is restricted to 3000
MPa according to IRC:37-2018 guidelines. Similarly, the
Mr values of HiMA mixes are considered on conservative
side taking into variability of plant produced bituminous
mixes. The volumetrics of bituminous mixes (volume of
air voids and volume of effective bitumen content) for
the estimation of fatigue life were taken for each mix
separately as given in Table 6. For the same thickness of
10 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
wearing course (40 mm) and granular layers (450 mm),
thickness of base course for mixes with VG 40, PDA pitch
and EVA modified binder are found to be 140 mm,85 mm
and 95 mm respectively. This suggests that, 39% and 32%
reduction in thickness is possible with PDA pitch and EVA
modified binder mixes respectively.
4.7 Rutting Potential of Bituminous Mixes
The rutting potential of the mixes was measured in the
laboratory using dry wheel tracker at a test temperature
of 60°C. A load cycles of 20,000 (40,000 to and fro
movements) were applied on the specimens at a rate of
20 rpm. The specimens for the wheel tracking test were
prepared at optimum bitumen content and were compacted
to have an air void content of 4.5±0.5%. Three replicates
were prepared for each type of mix and average rut depth
values measured for different bituminous mixes prepared
using PDA pitch, EVA modified binder and VG 40 binder
are given in Table 8.
Table 8 Rut Depth of Bituminous Mixes
Mix type Rut depth (mm) CoV
PDA pitch + DBM II 1.75 0.05
EVA modified binder + DBM II 1.97
0.08
VG 40 + DBM II 2.76 0.02
It can be observed that high modulus asphalt mixes
have exhibited better rutting performance than that of
conventional bituminous mix. An ANOVA analysis
(α=0.05) was conducted on the rut depths measured at
60°C and test results showed significant differences (p =
0.000) existed between rut depths of three mixes. In order
to perform pair wise testing of means, a Tukey-Kramer
analysis (α=0.05) was conducted and results suggest that
both HiMA mixes were grouped together and these values
were significantly differ from rut depth of conventional
bituminous mix.
The rut depth progressions of different bituminous mixes
are presented in Fig.7.
Fig. 7 Rut Depth Progressions of Bituminous Mixes
 PAPER NO. 703
5 CONCLUSIONS
The present study was carried out to evaluate rheological
properties of hard grade binders (PDA pitch and EVA
modified), mechanical properties and rutting performance
of plant produced HiMA mixes that were used in the
construction of test section. Further, these binder and
mix properties were compared with the conventional
binder (VG 40) and mix properties. Based on this limited
research, the following conclusions are drawn:
• Super pave rutting parameter (G*/sinδ) and non
recoverable creep compliance (Jnr) properties
suggest better rut resistance of PDA pitch binder.
• HiMA mixes are proved to be effective in reducing
bituminous layer thickness due to higher resilient
modulus than conventional mix (VG-40 binder).
• HiMA mixes are observed to be superior in terms
of their rut resistance as compared to conventional
VG-40 bituminous mix. The HiMA mix prepared
with PDA pitch binder is out performed in rutting
resistance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors would like to express their thanks to National
Highways Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi for
sponsoring a research project-“Development of High
Modulus Asphalt Mixes for High Volume Roads” and help
received from M/s Iron Triangle Limited for the construction
of test section on NH-18 is also acknowledged.
REFERENCES
1. Nunn, M. E., Brown, A., Weston, D., & Nicholls, J. C.
(1997). Design of Llong-Life Flexible Pavements for
Heavy Traffic. TRL Limited.
2. Newcomb, D.E., Buncher, M., & Huddleston, I.J. (2001).
Concepts of Perpetual Pavements. Transportation
Research Circular, 503, 4-11.
3. Nunn, M. E., & Smith, T. (1999). Road Trials of High
Modulus Base for Heavily Trafficked Roads (Vol. 231).
Thomas Telford.
4. Moghaddam, T. B., & Baaj, H. (2018). Rheological
Characterization of High-Modulus Asphalt Mix with
Modified Asphalt Binders. Construction and Building
Materials, 193, 142-152.
5. Leiva-Villacorta, F., Taylor, A., & Willis, R. (2017). High-
Modulus Asphalt Concrete (HMAC) Mixtures for Use
as Base Course (No. NCAT Report 17-04). National
Centre for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama.
6. Geng, H., Clopotel, C. S., & Bahia, H. U. (2013). Effects
of High Modulus Asphalt Binders on Performance of
Typical Asphalt Pavement Structures. Construction and
Building Materials, 44, 207-213.
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7. Yan, J., Leng, Z., Ling, C., Zhu, J., & Zhou, L.
(2020). Characterization and Comparison of High-
Modulus Asphalt Mixtures Produced with Different
Methods. Construction and Building Materials, 237,
117594.
8. Chen, Y., Wang, H., Xu, S., & You, Z. (2020).
High Modulus Asphalt Concrete: A state-of-the-art
review. Construction and Building Materials, 237,
117653.
9. Dias, M., Petho, L., Denneman, E., & Beecroft, A.
(2017). High Modulus High Fatigue Resistance Asphalt
(EME2) Technology Transfer (No. AP-T323-17).
10. Lee, H. J., Lee, J. H., & Park, H. M. (2007). Performance
Evaluation of High Modulus Asphalt Mixtures for Long
Life Asphalt Pavements. Construction and Building
Materials, 21(5), 1079-1087.
11. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. (2013).
Specifications for Road and Bridge works. Indian Roads
Congress. New Delhi.
12. ASTM D2872, D. (2012). Standard Test Method for
Effect of Heat and Air on a Moving Film of Asphalt
(Rolling thin-film Oven Test). USA: Annual Book of
ASTM Standards.
13. ASTM D7175-15. (2015). Standard Test Method for
Determining the Rheological Properties of Asphalt
Binder using a Dynamic Shear Rheometer.
14. Rahbar-Rastegar, R., Daniel, J. S., & Dave, E. V.
(2018). Evaluation of Viscoelastic and Fracture
Properties of Asphalt Mixtures with Long-Term
Laboratory Conditioning. Transportation Research
Record, 2672(28), 503-513.
15. ASTM D6373-16. (2016). Standard Specification for
Performance Graded Asphalt Binder.
16. ASTM D7643-16. (2016). Standard Practice for
Determining the Continuous Grading Temperatures and
Continuous Grades for PG Graded Asphalt Binders.
17. AASHTO T 350-14. (2014). Standard Test Method for
Multiple Stress Creep Recovery Test of Asphalt Binder
using a Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR).
18. ASTM D6931-17. (2017). Standard Test Method for
Indirect Tensile (IDT) Strength of Asphalt Mixes.
19. IRC:37-2018. Guidelines for the Design of Flexible
Pavements. Published by Indian Roads Congress
20. ASTM D4123-82. (Reapproved 1995). Standard Test
Method for Indirect Tension Test for Resilient Modulus
of Bituminous Mixtures.
21. De Normalisation, C. E. (2003). Bituminous mixtures–
Test Methods–Part 22: Wheel-Tracking. BS EN, 12697-
22.
11
 PAPER NO. 704

GEOTECHNICAL CHARACTERISATION OF ZINC SLAG WASTE

MATERIAL FOR EMBANKMENT CONSTRUCTION

Suresh Badavath1 DR. A.K. SINHA2 DR. SHRABONY ADHIKARY3

ABSTRACT
A detailed laboratory investigation was carried out to study physical, chemical and geotechnical characteristics of
zinc slag (a waste material from zinc industry). To study the stress-displacement of zinc slag, a series of laboratory
direct shear tests was carried out at different normal stresses and dry densities. The parameters studied were
shear stress, shear stress ratio, horizontal/vertical displacement, peak/critical friction angle and compared with
other similar materials like silty soil, sandy soil and sand. It was mechanically stabilised (blended) with soil
and geotechnical characterisation of zinc slag-soil mixes was carried out. Based on geotechnical properties of
slag and its mixes, stability analysis of embankment was carried out with varying heights to decide its practical
applicability in the field construction. The factor of safety was determined by numerical analysis under different
water conditions viz. partially saturation, steady flow, sudden draw down with and without seismic factor. It was
concluded that zinc slag has an open skeletal, lattice, largely isotropic, very porous microstructure. It is a non
hazardous material with sand size particles. The peak shear stress values at higher density were significantly
higher than those at lower density. The stress–strain and volume-change behaviour of the zinc slag was found to
be similar to those of sandy soil and dense sand. The results show mixes of zinc slag-soil can be effectively used in
the construction of embankment.
1. INTRODUCTION
Zinc slag is generated during extraction of zinc metal
from its ores by pyrometallurgical process i.e. Zinc blende
or sphalerite (ZnS), marmatite [(ZnFe)S] and calamine or
smith sonite (ZnCO3). Around 1 million ton zinc slag is
produced in India while about 5 million ton is already
deposited at nearby Hindustan Zinc Limited, Rajasthan,
India. Flow chart for generation of zinc slag is in
the Fig. 1.
At present, it has very limited application in the cement
industry with respect to its generation. It is non hazardous
in nature (MoEFCC, 2016) while it has potential in the
application as road construction material. Prasad and
Ramana (2016) studied usage of zinc slag as structural
back fill material in mechanically stabilized walls and
reinforced slopes and concluded that it can be effectively
used as backfill material. It may be used as a structural fill
and sub grade material as it has high CBR value (Reddy et
al. 2016; Satyanarayana and Sanghamithra, 2010). Zinc Fig. 1 Flow Chart for Generation of Zinc Slag

1.
M. Tech (Transportation Engg.), Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, E-mail: suresh.suresh049@gmail.com
2.
Principal Scientist, CSIR- Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi, E-mail: sinha.crri@nic.in
3.
Assistant Professor, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, E-mail: shrabonyeq@gmail.com

12 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 704
slag may be used as a construction bund/embankment
as it has good frictional angle (Satyanarayana Reddy,
2011). (Hughes and Haliburton 1973) used zinc slag in
asphalt mixes. (Morrison et al. 2003) used zinc slag as
a replacement of fine aggregate (upto 50%) in concrete
mixes and concluded that zinc slag causes retardation of
setting time. (Weeks et al. 2008; Morrison and Richardson
2009; Tripathi et al. 2016; Aktaş and Bozdemir 2017)
studied usage of different percentages of zinc slag in
bituminous mixes as filler material and observed that
marshal stability value increased by addition of zinc slag
compared to traditional fillers. Zinc slag used through
geopolymerisation in building materials which increases
compressive strength (Alex et al. 2013).
Aktaş and Aslan (2017) used zinc slag in stone mastic
asphalt as mineral filler and compared different properties
with other fillers and concluded that the mix prepared
with zinc slag exhibits increment in marshal stability
value, lower resistance to moisture. Shashidhara and Vyas
(2010) used zinc slag as a partial/complete replacement
of fine aggregate in concrete and observed that increasing
percentage of zinc slag in mixes, there is increase in
workability. Hu et al. (2014) used zinc slag in the preparation
of lightweight bricks by adding different percentages of
slag in the clay and concluded that increasing zinc slag
content, there is a decrease in bulk density and increase in
compressive strength.
From the literature, it is observed that zinc slag is mainly
explored regarding its application in concrete mixes and
little basic research has been carried out regarding its
application in road construction. At present, there is a huge
demand of conventional material for road construction
due to large infrastructural development in the country.
Accordingly, characterization of zinc slag was carried
out considering its application in road construction.
Laboratory investigation was carried out to study its
physical, chemical and geotechnical characteristics. Stress
-displacement behaviour of zinc slag was carried out and
compared with similar materials.
To increase the geotechnical properties of zinc slag,
it was mechanically blended with fine grain material
(soil) in different proportion (25% to 75%). Mixing
of slag and soil was carried out as per Fuller’s formula
(IRC:SP:89-2010) based on proportioning of coarse (zinc
slag) grained material which has negligible fines and fine
grained material i.e. soil. Geotechnical characterization
of stabilized (blended) zinc slag-soil mixes along with
mechanical behavior of mixes was studied by carrying out
a series of direct shear test at different densities simulated
with field condition. The nomenclature of different mixes
is given in the Table 1.
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
Table 1: Nomenclature and their Mix Proportion
Nomenclature Proportion
S1 100% soil
S2 25% slag + 75% soil
S3 50% slag + 50% soil
S4 75% slag + 25% soil
S5 100% slag
2. MATERIALS AND CHARACTERISATION
TESTS
Zinc slag is a waste material collected from the dumping
yard at Hindustan zinc limited, Rajasthan, India (Fig.2)
while soil was collected locally from New Delhi, India.
Fig. 2 Pictorial view of Zinc Slag Sample
2.1 Physical Characterization
Natural Moisture Content (NMC) was determined as per
BIS 2720: Part 2 (2015). 200gm zinc slag sample was
kept in oven for dry at 105-110o C for 24 hrs and moisture
content was determined.
Mineralogical and crystalline nature of slag sample was
determined by X-ray diffraction test. Slag sample was
used as an original or virgin material. The samples were
loaded on glass strip which is specially designed for the
XRD measurement. The samples were subjected to XRD
analysis. The X-ray diffraction pattern was recorded by
using X-ray diffractometer.
The Morphological and Micro structural texture
characteristics of slag particles were studied by Scanning
Electron Microscope (SEM) as per standard procedure.
The SEM interpretation is visual and qualitative only.
Sample was dried and crushed to powder before carrying
out the test. Scanning Electron Microscope was used
to provide detailed imaging information about the
morphology and surface texture of individual particles of
the powder slag samples. The spectrum was obtained at
5/10 μm magnification.
13
 PAPER NO. 704
2.2 Chemical Characterization
Chemical characterization was carried out by Emission
Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). Emission Dispersive
Spectrometer was used in combination with SEM.
2.3 Geotechnical Characterization
Basic geotechnical test viz. specific gravity test as per BIS
2720: part 3 (2011), free swelling index as per BIS 2720:
part 40 (2011), grain size analysis as per BIS 2720: part 4
(2015), liquid limit and plastic limits as per BIS 2720: part
5 (2015) was carried out.
Modified Proctor compaction test was performed as per
BIS 2720: part 8 (2015) to determine Optimum Moisture
Content (OMC) and Maximum Dry Density (MDD). Zinc
slag was mixed with soil in different proportion (0 to 100 %)
in dry state manually. After that, Proctor compaction test
was carried out of different mixes of zinc and soil.
Relative density test was performed as per IS 2720: part
14 (2006) on zinc slag sample considering cohesion less
sand size particles. As the maximum size of particles are
less than 10 mm, pouring of the zinc slag was carried out
through the spout in steady stream. The spout should be
adjusted in such way that height of free fall zinc slag is
always remain 25 mm. During pouring of zinc slag spout,
it was rotated in spiral motion from outward to inward
motion.
Permeability test was performed as per BIS 2720: part
17 (2011). Slag samples were prepared at 95% MDD and
OMC. About 2 kg of sample was taken and compacted in
five layers with 25 number of blows for each layer in the
permeability mould. Initially, the sample was saturated.
For every 30 second, water is collected in measuring
cylinder corresponding to the falling head. Necessary
correction was made to get results at 27oC.
California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test was carried out as per
IS 2720: part 16 (BIS, 2011). Water corresponding to the
OMC was added to the zinc slag and mixed thoroughly.
The mix sample was compacted in a CBR mould by
dynamic compaction in five layers to achieve 97 % MDD.
Samples were then soaked for 4 days in potable water at
a temperature of 27± 2°C before shearing at a constant
strain rate of 1·25 mm/min.
Consolidation test was performed as per BIS 2720: part 15
(2015). Zinc sample was compacted at MDD and OMC in
the floating type consolido meter mould with both sides
drainage (60 mm diameter and 20 mm height) and was
allowed to saturate for 24 hrs under seating stress of 0.025
kN/m2.The specimen was consolidated under initial stress
of 5 kN/m2 and settlement dial gauge reading was recorded
at 0, 0.25, 1, 2.25, 4, 6.25, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100,
14 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
121, 144, 169, 196, 225, 256, 289, 324, 361, 400, 500,
600, and 1440 minutes or until equilibrium is reached. The
procedure was repeated for different normal stress viz. 10,
20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640 kN/m2 and each time settlement
reading was recorded upto 24 hrs. Test was carried out
three times and the average of three values is reported. It
was observed that the variation of the results was within
±10%.
Unconfined Compressive Strength test was carried out as
per BIS IS 2720: part 10 (2015). Dry mixes of zinc slag
and soil were prepared with different proportion (25 to
75%) i.e. S2, S3 and S4. Then, required amount of water
as per OMC is mixed manually to prepare homogeneous
mixes. Samples were compacted at 97% of MDD in the
UCS mould of size 50 mm diameter and 100 mm height.
Samples are placed in desiccators for 24 hrs. Samples
were sheared at a constant rate of 1.25 mm/min.
To determine the mechanical characteristics, direct shear
test as per BIS 2720: part 13 (2011) was performed for
zinc slag and mixes of slag-soil in the shear box with size
60 mm × 60 mm × 25 mm. To achieve relative compaction
of 90 to 95% in the field, samples were prepared with
variation of densities i.e., 90%, 95% and 100% of MDD.
Test was carried out at normal loads ranging from 60 to
115kPa at strain constant rate of 0.625 mm/min. till failure
or 20 % strain.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1 Physical Characterization Zinc Slag
Zinc slag material is black to dark grey in colour. Natural
moisture content was observed to be about 4%. The
low moisture content may be due to pyrometallurgical
process used in the production of zinc metal. There is no
any absorption of water by coarser particles of zinc slag.
Morrison et al. (2003) indicated similar observation and
revealed that water absorption of slag is about 0.2%.
From the XRD analysis, it was seen that large bump
are distributed in a wide angle (2 Theta) instead of high
intensity narrower peaks. It don’t possess long periodicity
compared to the crystalline materials and atoms are
randomly distributed in 3D space. This indicated that the
material is amorphous in nature.
Fig.3 shows the morphology and microstructure of Zinc
Slag Particles (SEM image). The size of slag is in mm
and images are in microns. It can be inferred that slag has
an open skeletal, sharp edge and corner, irregular shape,
cavities. The microstructure shows, presence of sand size
particles. Similar observation was made by Prasad and
Ramana (2016).
 PAPER NO. 704
Fig. 3 SEM Image of Zinc Slag Sample
3.2 Chemical Characterization of Zinc Slag
Fig. 4 the EDS spectrum and it indicates that the slag
contained different elements viz. oxygen, iron, calcium,
silicon and traces of other elements viz. aluminium,
magnesium, zinc etc. as given in the Table 2 similar
observation was made by Widyatmoko et al. (2006),
Morrison and Richardson (2009), Hu et al. (2014), Aktaş
and Aslan (2017) physical and shear strength characteristics
as well as electrochemical properties of ISFS used in the
present study satisfied the standard specifications for a
structural fill of different Guidelines/Codes of Practice.
Pullout tests were conducted on a newly designed and
fabricated large size pullout test apparatus to evaluate the
bond coefficient (It is a non hazardous material as heavy
metal concentrations are within permissible limit as per
Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedure (TCLP) Test
(Patil, 2009).
Fig. 4 Graph Obtained by EDS.
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
Table 2 Elements Present in Zinc Slag
Elements O Fe Si Ca Zn Mg Al
% 59.40 9.21 17.32 5.39 1.84 3.87 2.96
3.3 Geotechnical Characterisation of Zinc Slag
Specific gravity of slag was determined as 3.31. High
specific gravity value may be due to presence of metals
in slag. Morrison et al. (2003) also observed 3.2 value
of specific gravity (Prasad and Ramana 2016). Free
swell index value indicates that slag has no swelling
characteristics. This makes it suitable material for the
construction of embankment, subgrade and backfill of
earth reinforced retaining wall.
Grain size distribution curves for zinc slag and other
materials are shown in the Fig. 5. Slag is a coarse grained
material while soil is fine grained. The maximum size of
zinc slag is less than 50 mm which makes it suitable for
embankment and sub grade construction as per MoRTH
specification (2016). Grain size of zinc slag was compared
with other similar materials like sand and silty soil. It is
interesting to note that grain size of zinc slag is similar
to sand (Tripathi et al., 2013), slag (Tripathi et al., 2013)
and copper slag (Havanagi et al., 2008). However, it was
observed that zinc slag is coarser than locally collected
soil. It has non plastic nature. Slag and soil are classified
as poorly graded sand (SP) and inorganic silt (ML) as BIS
1498 (2007) respectively.
Percenage finer
Fig. 5 Grain Size Distribution Curves
The Maximum Dry Density (MDD) and Optimum
Moisture Content (OMC) of zinc slag were obtained as
19.67kN/m3 and 10% respectively. MDD of slag was
observed to be similar to conventional soil/sand as shown
in the Fig.6 (Prasad and Ramana, 2016) which meets the
specification for the construction of embankment and
sub grade as per MoRTH (2016). (Satyanarayana and
Sanghamithra, 2010).
15
 PAPER NO. 704
3.4 Mechanical Characterisation of Zinc Slag
3.4.1 Stress-displacement behavior of zinc slag and
comparison with other materials
Variation of shear stress with respect to horizontal
displacement at 100 % and 90% maximum dry densities is
shown in the Fig. 7 and 8 respectively. It was observed that
there is an increase in shear stress with respect to horizontal
displacement, reached peak value and then decreases to
a constant value or critical stress value. However, there
is no any distinct peak stress value is observed but peak
shear stress value is more at 100% MDD in comparison to
90% MDD. It was observed that there is 50% increase in
peak shear stress with increase in 10% dry density from
90 to 100% MDD. However, there is about 160% increase
Fig. 6 Variation of Dry Density with Water Content in peak shear stress with increase in normal stress from
63 kPa to 161 kPa at 100% MDD. This indicates that peak
By relative density method, maximum and minimum shear stress is highly depend on normal stress and degree
densities of zinc slag were obtained as 19.91kN/m3 of compaction.
and 18.0kN/m3.This indicates that it can be effectively
compacted on dry side of optimum moisture content by
using vibratory compaction.
The average CBR value of zinc slag was observed to be
35%. This indicates that it has more strength in confined
state. Application of it in subgrade, reduces pavement
thickness significantly. Similarly, Reddy et al. (2016)
observed CBR value in range of 32-60%.
The average value of compression index (Cc) was obtained
in the range of 0.05 to 0.10 which indicates that settlement
in embankment will be less compared to conventional soil.
Permeability of zinc slag is observed to be 10-4 m/s.
It indicates that slag is highly permeable material.
This may be due to its coarse grained particles and
non plastic nature. Similar observation was made by
Satyanarayana and Sanghamithra (2010). Summary Fig.7 Variation of Shear Stress with Horizontal
of geotechnical characteristics of slag and soil is Displacement of Zinc Slag (100% MDD).
given in the Table 3.
Table 3: Summary of Geotechnical Characteristics

Properties Zinc slag Soil

Specific gravity 3.31 2.64

MDD (kN/m ) 3
19.67 20.26

OMC (%)
Liquid Limit (%)
Plastic Limit (%)
PI (%)
Permeability(m/sec)
10 9
- 28
- 15
- 13
Fig. 8 Variation of Shear Stress with Horizontal
1×10-4 1×10-6 Displacement of Zinc Slag (90% MDD).

16 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 704
Fig.9 shows the comparison of shear stress-displacement shear stress ratio increases but decreases with increase in
behaviour of zinc slag with different similar size other normal stress. At large displacement, curve tends to merge
materials viz. slag (Prasad and Ramana, 2016), Badarpur at constant shear stress ratio irrespective of densities.
sand (Prasad and Ramana, 2016), sand (Bakker et al., 2005) Distinct peak value was observed at lower normal stress.
and sand (Aysen, 2003). It is observed that shear stress-
displacement behaviour of zinc slag is similar to these
materials. However, the peak shear stress value of zinc slag
is slightly lower than sand (Aysen, 2003) and slag (Prasad
and Ramana, 2016) while it is slightly higher than soil
(Bakker et al., 2005) and sand (Prasad and Ramana, 2016).

Fig. 11 Variation of Shear Stress Ratio with Horizontal

Displacement of Zinc Slag.
Variation of shear stress ratio with respect to horizontal
displacement with other similar materials is shown in the
Fig. 12. Shear stress behaviour of slag is similar to dense
Fig. 9 Variation of Shear Stress with Displacement of sand (Aysen 2003) and sandy soil (Bakker et al. 2005). It
Zinc Slag with other Materials. is inferred that zinc slag behaves like denses and at high
3.4.2 Shear stress ratio and friction angle of zinc slag degree of compaction.
and comparison with other materials
Shear stress is expected to increase in proportion to the
applied normal stresses due to frictional nature of slag
(Powrie 2004). Shear stress ratio normalizes the effect of
normal stresses and thus eliminates the effect of differences
in normal stresses.Considering this, variation of shear stress
ratio (shear stress/normal stress) with respect to horizontal
displacement is plotted and shown in the Fig.10 and 11 at
different densities and normal stresses respectively.

Fig. 12 Variation of Shear Stress Ratio of Zinc Slag in

Comparison with Similar Materials.
The angle of shearing resistance at peak and critical
stresses can be estimated from Equations (1) and (2).
ϕp = tan-1(Qp/P) R (1)
ϕcs = tan-1(Qcs/P) (2)
Where
Fig. 10 Variation of Shear Stress Ratio with Horizontal ϕp= Angle of shearing resistance at peak shear
Displacement of Zinc Slag stress
Similar to shear stress, shear stress ratio increases with ϕcs= Angle of shearing resistance at critical shear
increase in horizontal displacement, reached peak value, stress
and then reduced to a constant value. As density increases, Qp= Peak shear stress, kPa

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 17

 PAPER NO. 704
Qcs= Critical shear stress, kPa stresses irrespective of densities. At 90% density, variation
P = Normal stress, kPa in vertical displacement with horizontal displacement is
The summary of results is given in Table 4. Peak shear almost similar at different normal stresses. This may be
and critical shear angles increase with decrease in normal due to less change in orientation of particles and voids due
stress and density. At low density, peak and critical to shearing at low degree of compaction. At 100% density,
shearing angles tend to match. The variation of peak and sample is showing only dilation while 90% prepared
critical shearing angles at different densities and normal samples are showing compression and dilation.
stresses were about 26-32% and 26–30% respectively
which indicates that degree of compaction and applied
normal stress affects the peak and critical shear angles.
Table 4: Peak and Critical Shear Angles of Zinc Slag
MDD P Qp Qcs ϕp ϕcs
(%) (kPa) (kPa) (kPa) (degrees) (degrees)
63.7 71.29 53.72 46.23 39.38
100 112.7 106.50 80.2 42.24 35.20
161.7 163.71 136.64 43.91 39.42
63.7 67.8 48.5 45.09 36.76
95 112.7 98.5 75.6 39.50 33.53
Fig. 14 Variation of Vertical Displacement with
161.7 162.2 139.9 43.69 40.03 Horizontal Displacement (90% MDD).
63.7 45.5 37.6 35.13 30.36
Fig.15 shows the variation of vertical displacement with
90 112.7 86.7 60.6 37.03 28.14 horizontal displacement of zinc slag along with other
161.7 113.40 98.8 34.66 31.20 similar materials viz. slag (Prasad and Ramana 2016);
3.4.3 Volume change behavior of zinc slag and Badarpur sand (Prasad and Ramana 2016) and sandy soil
comparison with other materials (Bakker et al. 2005). It was observed that variation in
volume change behaviour of zinc slag is similar to slag
Volume change behavior of compacted zinc slag and Badarpur sand while there is slight variation with
specimens was studied in terms of vertical and horizontal sandy soil. All the materials are showing dilation without
displacements under different normal stresses and any compression.
densities. Variation of vertical displacement with respect
to horizontal displacement is shown in the Fig. 13 and 14.
Vertical displacement increases with increase in horizontal
displacement; reaches peak and attain constant value.

Fig. 15 Comparison of Vertical Displacement with

Fig. 13 Variation of Vertical Displacement with
Horizontal Displacement (100% MDD).
It was observed that there is more dilation (ratio of vertical
displacement and horizontal displacement) in the samples
prepared at 100% density as compared to samples prepared
at 90% density. Dilation increases with increase in normal
Horizontal Displacement of Zinc Slag with Similar
Materials.
3.4.4 Shear strength parameters of zinc slag and other
similar materials
Shear strength parameters (cohesion and angle of
internal friction) were determined corresponding to peak
shear stress values. Mohr-Coulomb failure envelopes at

18 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 704
different density are shown in Fig.16. It was observed
that angle of internal friction increases with increase in
densities while there is no significant variation in cohesion
value. However, 5 to 10 kPa of pseudo cohesion value is
observed due to surface tension, as sample is prepared at
partially saturated condition.
is shown in the Fig. 17. It is observed that dry density
increases with addition of soil in the mixes while OMC
decreases. The maximum dry density (22.42 kN/m3) and
minimum OMC (7%) were obtained for S3 mix (50 zinc
slag:50 soil). Variation of MDD and OMC with zinc slag
content is shown in the Fig.18. It was observed that density
of zinc slag mixes is more than copper slag-soil mixes
while there is minor variation in OMC (Havanagi et. al
2008). This may be due to mineral composition, grain size
of zinc slag and variation in unit weight of slags.

Fig. 16 Mohr-Coulomb Strength Envelopes of

Zinc Slag with Other Similar Materials.
Hence, it can be inferred that degree of compaction
significantly affects the value of angle of internal friction.
At high degree of compaction, zinc slag has higher values Fig. 18 Variation of MDD/OMC with Zinc/Copper Slag
angle of internal friction values in the range 34o to 41o
for 90 to 100% MDD respectively. Reddy et al. (2016) 3.4.5 Unconfined compressive strength (UCS)
reported the value of angle of internal friction of zinc slag
Variation of compressive strength with respect to axial strain
is in the range of 39 -51.9o and pseudo cohesion is about
of different mixes is shown in the Fig.19. Compressive
5-10 kPa. The values of peak shear stresses of slag are
strength increases with increase in the strain, reaches to
similar to other compared materials. The values of shear
peak and then decreases. The failure strain is observed
strength parameters of other materials are similar viz. slag
to be in the range of 1.5 to 2.25 % while unconfined
(Prasad and Ramana 2016) and Badarpur sand (Prasad
compressive strength varies in the range of 10 to 65 kPa.
and Ramana 2016).
Characterisation of mechanically stabilised zinc slag

Fig. 19 Variation of Stress with Axial Strain.

Fig. 17 Variation Dry Density with Water Content.
3.4.6 Variation of shear stress with soil content
Variation of dry density with respect to moisture content
of different mixes of zinc slag and soil (S2, S3 and S4) Variation of shear strength with respect to soil content

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 19

 PAPER NO. 704
at a normal stress of 161.7 kPa and at 100 % MDD is
shown in the Fig. 20. Compressive strength increases with
increase in soil content (50%) and then decreases with
further addition of soil in the zinc -soil mixes. From this,
it is concluded that most adoptable mix for embankment
construction is S3 mixes i.e. 50% zinc slag 50% soil which
is also having high peak shear stress.

Fig. 22 Variation of Vertical Displacement with

Horizontal displacement.

Shear strength parameters i.e., cohesion and angle of

internal friction of different mixes are given in the Table
5. It is observed that cohesion parameter increases with
addition of soil in the zinc slag-soil mixes while there
is no any significant increase in the angle of internal
Fig. 20 Variation of Peak Shear Stress with Soil Content. friction.
Variation of shear stress with horizontal displacement at Table 5: Shear Strength Parameters of Zinc
161.7 kPa is shown in the Fig. 21. Shear stress increases Slag-Soil Mixes
with horizontal stress, reaches peak and then decreases to Samples MDD Cohesion Frictional angle
a constant value for all mixes. However, peak shear stress (%) (kPa) (degrees)
value was obtained in the S3 mix (50:50).
95 17.47 27.61
Variation of vertical displacement with horizontal S1 100 15.381 25.42
displacement is shown in the Fig.22. Maximum dilation 90 16.75 39.77
was observed to be about 0.8 mm while maximum S2 95 14.97 42.37
compression was observed to be about 0.1 mm in the all
100 15.77 44.12
considered mixes.
90 15.28 42.24
S3 95 16.08 43.34
100 20.48 44.35
90 8.43 34.74
S4 95 9.18 37.97
100 11.27 42.89
90 5.67 33.88
S5 95 3.959 42.16
100 10.48 41.64
4. STABILITY ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION
OF SLAG IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
EMBANKMENT
To investigate the suitability of slag-soil mixes in the
embankment construction, stability analysis was carried
Fig. 21 Variation of Shear Stress with Horizontal out by numerical method. The software uses the simplified
Displacement. Bishop’s method (1955) which assumes zero Xi forces

20 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 704
between blocks. The analysis was carried out using limit compared to that at a higher stress (say, 161.7 kPa). The
equilibrium method where only Factor of Safety (FoS) dilation of slag decreases with the increase in soil content
was determined. Factor of safety is defined as a ratio of in the mixture. All the above observations create favorable
available shear resistance (capacity) to that required for conditions for the utilization of slag-soil in embankment
equilibrium. If the value of factor of safety is less than construction.
1.25, slope is considered as unstable (IRC:75-2015).
Optimization of circular surface provides the lowest factor
of safety. The critical slip circle with a minimum factor
of safety was determined for the given cross section of
embankment.
Different design cross sections of embankment of varying
heights (1 to 10 m) and slopes (1V:1H to 1V:3H) were
considered for the analysis. The surcharge loading due to
pavement crust thickness and traffic loading is taken as 24
kN/m2 (MDT, 2008; IRC:113-2013) with seismic factors
αh = 0.05 and αv = 0.025 where αh and αv are horizontal
and vertical acceleration coefficients, respectively
(IRC:6-2017) under different water conditions. Factor
of safety decreases with increase in the height of
embankment. It is observed that factor of safety of Fig. 23 Variation of FOS with Height Embankment
embankment drastically reduces from partially saturated of Different Materials
to fully saturation condition. However, surface slope
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
failure was observed due to non plastic nature of zinc
slag. It is inferred that zinc slag cannot be used alone in The kind approval of Director, CSIR-Central Road
the construction of embankment. Stability analysis was Research Institute, New Delhi to publish the research
also carried out of zinc slag embankment used core of the paper is acknowledged.
embankment and slope is covered with soil of different 5. CONCLUSIONS
thickness of 1 to 3 m as per IRC:SP:58-2001. Factor of
The conclusions from study have been summarized as
safety was found to be more than 1.25 which indicates
below.
that it is safe. This indicate that slag can be used in the
confined state. With addition of soil in the zinc slag, factor i. Low natural moisture content and water absorption
of safety of embankment increases as shown in the Fig.23. were observed in zinc slag. Slag has an open skeletal,
Factor of safety of zinc-soil (50:50) mix embankment is sharp edge and corner, irregular shape, cavities
greater than 100 % zinc slag by 5-15% while about 4-17% microstructure and having sand size particles. It is
amorphous in nature. It mainly contains oxygen, iron,
greater than soil under different conditions.
calcium, silicon and some traces of other elements. It
The density of slag increased with the addition of soil and has high specific gravity value comparison to soil.
resulted in the increase in the shear strength parameter, ϕ. ii. It is a non swelling and non plastic in nature. It is a
The failure strain also increased with the addition of soil poorly graded sand (SP) size material. Maximum dry
in the slag (Fig.21). Fig. 22 shows that the rate of dilation density is slightly higher than soil. It is permeable,
of slag-soil mixes is more compared to slag alone and the incompressible, cohesion less and having high CBR
slag becomes stiffer with the addition of soil. As dilation value.
is attributed to interlocking of particles, this indicates
iii. As density increases, shear stress ratio increases while
that slag-soil mixes are more suitable for embankment
it decreases with increase in normal stresses.Peak
construction than slag alone. From the experimental
shear and critical shear angles increases with increase
results, it may be concluded that an embankment should
in normal stresses and densities. At low density, peak
be constructed at approximately 100% MDD which results
and critical shearing angles tend to match.
in a maximum peak shear stress value. At a lower normal
stress (24 kPa, pavement+traffic loading) such as in the iv. Angle of internal friction is increases with increase in
case of embankment, the peak stress value is much higher densities while there is no any significant variation in

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 21

 PAPER NO. 704
cohesion value. Dry density increases with addition
of soil in the zinc slag-soil mixes up to 50% addition
of soil while OMC decreases.
v. Peak shear stress increases with increase in soil content
(50%) and then decreases with further addition of soil
in the slag -soil mixes. Cohesion parameter increases
with addition of soil in the slag-soil mixes while
there is no significant change in the angle of internal
friction. The most suitable mix for the embankment
construction is S3 mix (50 slag:50 soil).
vi. Factor of safety is comparatively less in the seismic
condition. Value of FoS decreases as the height of the
embankment increases. At lower height, variation of
FoS is insignificant with water saturation while at
higher height, it is significantly affected with water
condition.
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23
 PAPER NO. 705

CONSTRUCTION OF HIGH-LEVEL MAJOR BRIDGE ON RIVER HATANIA-

DOANIA OF NH-117 IN THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH 24 PARGANAS, WEST
BENGAL- CHALLENGES, INNOVATIONS AND SUCCESS OF EPC MODEL

RAJIB CHATTARAJ1
ABSTRACT
NH 117 connects Kolkata to Bakkhali and is 137 km long National Highway. At Namkhana, ch 113 km of the NH, a river
named Hatania-Doania is there with high tidal variations, very near to Bay of Bengal. The NH was not connected by a
bridge to cross the river. The river is an important National inland waterway number 1 and connects Bangladesh through
waterways. So the primary requirement of construction of a bridge over this river was a minimum horizontal clearance of
100 metre and a vertical clearance of 10 metre from high tide level. Moreover, by roadways, this location was connected
from one side only and Bakkhali on the other side, just 24 km away from the crossing of the river is the Bay of Bengal. So,
the construction of a high-level bridge at the project site was a challenge. Moreover, in the DPR of the project the span
arrangement of the bridge was proposed with much lesser dimension. During execution, the proposed span arrangement
was not found to be suitable for the construction of the bridge. In this paper, the author being a part of the execution team,
tried to bring out why the span arrangement of the bridge had to be changed, what were the challenges faced, innovations
applied in the project and the success story of completion of this critical bridge project without any cost overrun and almost
within allowed time span through EPC model of contract for which the project had won MoRTH, GOI’s National Highway
gold award of excellence in the category of outstanding work in challenging situation.

1. INTRODUCTION river Muriganga is crossed to reach Sagar Island. Every

The road from Kolkata to Bakkhali, popularly known
as Diamond Harbour road was previously a part of
State Highway 1. On 2004, it was declared as National
Highway 117. It originates from NH-6 and the initial
6.7 km length of it is called as Kona Expressway which
connects to Vidyasagar Setu (2nd Hooghly Bridge) and is
the main gateway to the city of Kolkata (Refer: Index map,
Photo-1). After entering to the city, around 16 km length
of the road which is negotiating through the main city is
not considered as NH and from a place called Joka, at
22.76 km, the NH-117 continues again. It passes all along
through the district of South 24 Pargana and is the main
life line of the district. At Kakdwip, 94 km of NH-117, the
southernmost sub divisional town of the district, the main
waterway route to Sagar island, famous for Gangasagar
Mela, held every year in the month of January, on the
event of Makarsankranti, takes off to the right of NH. At
a place called Lot No. 8, 8 km away from Kakdwip, by
ferry service available only at the time of high tide, the
year, lakhs of people gather at Sagar Island at the time
of Gangasagar Mela. NH-117 further continues upto
Namkhana, 113 km of NH-117 where it meets Hatania-
Doania river and the NH was disconnected before the
construction of the bridge. After that, the NH further
continues up to Bakkhali, 137 km of NH-117 which is a
sea beach at Bay of Bengal and a popular tourist place.
1.1 Before the road was declared as NH, State PWD made
a few attempts to construct a bridge over Hatania-Doania
river to connect the unbridged road. But on one attempt
the soil investigation was done and, on another attempt,
tender was invited for the design of the bridge. It has
been gathered that since the sub-soil condition was not
very favourable, the foundation was estimated to be very
deep, involving huge cost. Beyond the river, the road had
the length of 24 kms only and the number of habitats on
that part were not much except the tourist attraction of
the place Bakkhali. Anyway, the attempts did not mature
principally because of the high estimated project cost. The

1.
Superintending Engineer, PWD, Govt. of West Bengal, Email: chattarajrajib@gmail.com

24 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 705
railway connectivity is also there up to Namkhana and it
is not continued beyond the river.
1.2 But after the road was declared as NH, the need for
bridging the missing link could not be ignored. There
was substantial passenger movement between northern
and southern banks of the river every day. Till then there
was no bridge over river Hatania-Doania connecting
NH-117 with south bank of the river. The access to
south bank was entirely dependent on ferry and barge
services from Namkhana, which includes both passenger
& vehicular ferry & also motorboat services. There was
a passenger jetty and a jetty for motorized vehicles to
cross river Hatania Doania for onward travel to Bakkhali.
However, due to reduced draught of water in river Hatania
Doania, especially during the low tide periods, the ferry
service was also somewhat irregular. To maintain a
sufficient draught, the river had to be dredged frequently.
For all these reasons, the bridge was essential over River
Hatania Doania to connect NH-117.
1.3 Thus, the Feasibility Study Report (FSR) for bridging
the missing link at 112.35 km of NH-117 at Namkhana
was incorporated in the annual plan of NH works of
West Bengal for the year 2005-2006. NH Wing, Public
Works (Roads) Department, Government of West Bengal
invited tender for engagement of a consultant for the
above feasibility study and the work was assigned to a
consultant.
1.4 The river Hatania-Doania happens to be a part of the
protocol route for Indo-Bangladesh trade and transit, and
Sunderban International river route. The river provides a
shorter route to vessels moving between Kolkata port and
Bangladesh, compared to the longer route through south
of Bakkhali (Refer Index map).To maintain navigational
clearance to this trade route, it was necessary to construct
a high-level bridge having the vertical clearance of 10
meter from high flood level and horizontal clearance of
100 meter which was one of the main conditions provided
in terms of reference for the construction of the bridge.
This waterway is also another route to Sagar Island used
by lakhs of pilgrims during the time of Gangasagar Mela.
1.5 The scope of the FSR included the submission of
report in different stages say, Stage I, Stage II, Stage III &
Stage IV report i.e., Inception report, Pre-feasibility Study
Report, Draft Feasibility Study Report and Draft Final
Feasibility Study Report. The Final Feasibility Study
Report, which was the fifth stage of the study, brought
out the detailed topographical surveys, mathematical
modelling, Subsoil investigations, Hydrographic survey,
plan & profile drawings based on selected alignment which
had already been studied through alternative alignments
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
and submitted with pre-feasibility study report, design of
main bridge and viaduct portion on the basis of selected
options which was also studied over various options of
bridge structure and included in Pre-feasibility/Draft
Feasibility study report, LA and R&R action plan and
environmental impact management plan etc. to meet the
requirement of TOR and also as advised by the department
from time to time.
1.6 The salient features of the proposed scheme as per
DPR are presented below:
Main Bridge
• Three Span continuous (1 x 75 m + 1 x 120 m +1
x 75 m) PSC Box girder of varying depth integral
with RCC hollow pier over RCC well foundation
• Bridge Carriageway configuration: 2 lane having
7.0 m carriageway width with 1.75 m shoulder and
1.5 m wide footpath on each side, total width being
14.8 m
• Superstructure: 2 cell PSC Segmental Box Girder
of varying depth intergraded with RCC hollow pier
made by cantilever construction technique.
• Foundation and substructure: RCC varying from
Hexagonal to Rectangular hollow pier over 12.0 m
diameter circular RCC well foundation had been
proposed for two piers located in the river. RCC
rectangle hollow pier over RCC cast-in-situ pile
foundation had been proposed for piers located on
the bank of river.
• Minimum lateral clearance of 100 m and vertical
clearance of 10 m above HHWL had been
maintained for unobstructed movement of inland
water transport vessels/barge.
• Bearings: POT cum PTFE bearing would be
provided at end supports.
• Wearing coat: 25 mm thick mastic asphalt would
be laid over 40 mm thick Bituminous Concrete.
• Others: RCC crash barrier on outer side of paved
shoulder, RCC railing on outer side of footpath,
drainage spout, road marking, footpath finishes,
illumination etc. would be provided in main bridge.
Viaduct Portion
• Carriageway configuration: 2 lane having 7.0 m
carriageway width with 1.75 m shoulder on either
side and 1.5 m wide footpath on each side, total
width is 14.8 m from main bridge to stair. And
remaining portion i.e. stair to embankment portion,
2 lane having 7.0 m carriageway width with 1.75 m
shoulder on either side, total width is 11.4 m from
stair to embankment portion.
25
 PAPER NO. 705
• Span: 11 x 40 m each without footpath and 5 x
40 m each with 1.5 m wide footpath on either
side of bridge approaches or any suitable span
arrangement.
• Superstructure: 4 Nos. Precast PSC I-Girder
with RCC deck had been proposed for viaduct
portion without footpath and 5 Nos. Precast PSC
I-Girder with RCC deck had been proposed for
viaduct portion with footpath or any suitable type
of superstructure.
• Foundation and substructure: RCC Rectangular
Solid / Hollow Pier and wall type abutment over
RCC Bored cast-in situ pile foundation.
• Stair: RCC stair on either side of the bridge on
both end of approaches at pier location P11 and
P24 had been proposed for crossing of the river for
the pedestrians along footpath on both sides.
• Retaining wall: RCC Retaining wall had been
proposed up to maximum height of 4.0 m on
either side of approaches with a view to keep the
proposed construction within the available ROW &
to accommodate both side service road.
2 PROJECT EXECUTION
2.1 Salient Feature of the Project as Executed:
• 6.0 m wide RCC box type pedestrian underpass
had been proposed at both side of approaches on
embankment.
• Bearings: POT cum PTFE bearing would be
provided at end supports.
• Wearing coat: 25 mm thick mastic asphalt would
be laid over 40 mm thick Bituminous Concrete.
• Others: RCC crash barrier on outer side of paved
shoulder, RCC railing on outer side of footpath,
drainage spout, road marking, footpath finishes,
illumination etc. would be provided.
And other miscellaneous facilities like service road,
approach road, junction development, toll plaza and
administrative building, drain, road furniture, illumination
etc.
1.7 After the submission of the Detailed Project Report on
2012, MoRTH, Govt of India sanctioned the project in the
financial year 2013-2014. With due tender formalities, the
work was awarded to contractor.

i Name of Project Construction of High-Level Major Bridge over river Hatania-Doania at

113+297km of NH–117 including both side approaches.
ii Sanction Amount Rs.225.93 crore
iii Civil Cost Rs.156.15 crore
iv Authority’s Engineer cost Rs.3.23 crore (2.4% of contract price)
v Contract Price as well as Civil Cost at Rs. 1,34,47,00,000 /-
completion
vi Date of Appointment 19.12.2014
vii Date of Completion as per contract 17.12.2017
viii Actual Date of Completion 31.03.2019
ix Scope of Work km 111+710 to km 114+975 = 3265 meter.
x Viaduct Portion 480 meters on either side of the River = 960 meter. (Refer: Fig.1 GAD)
A1 to P12 = 12 x 40.00 = 480m
P15 to A2 = 12x 40.00 = 480m
• Carriage way Configuration: 10.50 m width i.e. (7.0 m + 2* 1.50 meter
+2*0.25 meter. edge strip).
• Footpath: 1.50 meter. wide footpath on either side starts from 160 meter. away
from the Major Bridge.
• Foundation: RCC Bored Cast-in-Situ Pile Foundation 1.00 meter. dia.
• Substructure: RCC Rectangular Solid Pier
• Super Structure: PSC Girder 4 Nos. with RCC Deck Slab. 2 spans and 3
spans continuous with Integral frame structure design with diaphragm wall
to improve the riding quality and waiving off the Bearings and pier caps in
viaduct spans.

26 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 705

• Stair case: 4 Nos. RCC Staircase have been provided on either side 160 meter
away from the Main Bridge for facilitating the pedestrians to cross the bridge
along the footpath.
• Retaining Wall: 125 meter Retaining Earth Wall have been provided on either
side of the Viaduct.
• Pedestrian Underpass: 2 Nos. pedestrian Underpasses have been provided at
Starting and End of the Viaduct.
• Crash Barrier: RCC Crash Barrier and Railing on Footpath portion have been
provided.
• Expansion Joint: Strip Seal Type Expansion Joints. Strip seal joints were
provided at A1, P2, P5, P8 and P10 on Kakdwip side and on Bakkhali side at
P17, P19, P22, P25 and A2 locations.
• Wearing Coat: 40 mm BC and 25 mm Mastic Asphalt have been provided as
wearing coat.
xi Major Bridge P12-P13, P13-P14 & P14-P15 = 85+170+85 = 340 m.
(Extra dosed cable stayed) Three Span Continuous Extra dosed Cable Stay Bridge with RCC Rectangular
Solid Pylon of 23 mtr height above bridge deck.
• Navigational Clearance “Obligatory”: Lateral clearance 100 mtr. and Vertical
Clearance 10 mtr. from HHTL is maintained for unobstructed movement of
inland water transport vessels/barge.
• Foundation: Double “D” Type Well Foundation of Depth 41mtr. at founding
RL (-) 39.00 m. and Well Cap of 18 m x 8 mtr* 2 mtr. height.
• Substructure/ Lower Pylon: RCC Solid Rectangular Pylon with cross
sectional dimension 2 mtr*3.5 mtr and 10 mtr. height above well cap and
upto Diaphragm/Pier head.
• Super Structure: Cast in situ segmental construction with a depth of 5.0 mtr.
to 4.00 mtr.
• Stay Cable: 10 Nos. on each Pylon. i.e. 40 Nos. Stay Cable have been provided
total in the span.
• Bearing: 4 Nos. POT cum PTFE Bearings and 2 Nos. of Metallic guided
bearing at End of Major Bridge i.e. at P12 and P15 have been provided.
• Expansion Joint: Modular Expansion Joint have been provided at each end of
Major Bridge i.e. at P12 & P15.
xii Approach Road/ Bituminous • Total 1665 mtr., designed for 10 Million Standard Axle (Msa) Bituminous
Road have been provided.
• Kakdwip Side: 937 mtr. approach road having width varying 10.00 mtr. to
19 mtr.
• Bakkhali Side: 728 mtr. approach road having width 10.0mtr. to 19.0 mtr.
• Lane Configuration: 7.0 mtr. carriage way width with 1.50 mtr. paved shoulder
xiii Approach Road/ CC Pavement 300 mtr. CC Pavement at Bakkhali Side have been provided at Toll Plaza Section.
xiv Service Road Total 4650 mtr. Service Road with design of 3 MSA designed have been provided
at both side of the River to facilitate the Local People having 6.0 mtr. Bituminous
carriage way width.
xv Box / Pipe Culvert 3 Nos. box Culverts and 1 Nos. Pipe Culvert have been provided for Drainage
System.
xvi Drain Total 4650 mtr. RCC Cover and Open Drain have been provided along the Service
Road of the Project.
xvii Toll Plaza Full functional 2 Lane Staggered Toll Plaza with 4 Nos. Toll Both, Canopy,
Automatic Barrier, Toll Management System have been provided at Bakkhali
side at Chainage 114+440. Also 1 No. 2 storied Administrative Building and
1 No. Sub Station Building have been provided for smooth operation of Toll
Collection System.
xviii Illumination System LED Lighting System have been provided throughout the Project Stretch @ 30
lux lighting system.

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 27

 PAPER NO. 705
2.2 Departments/Institutions/Agencies involved:
i Funded/ Owner Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India
ii Client/ Authority Public Works (Roads) Directorate, National Highway Wing,
Govt. of West Bengal.
iii Authority’s Engineer/Consultant Chaitanya Projects Consultants Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
iv EPC Agency S.P. Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd., Panchkula Haryana
v Design Consultant B&S Engineering Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Noida, UP
vi Proof Consultant Dr. RS Jangid, Professor, Deptt. Of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay.
vii Safety Consultant Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala, Punjab.
2.3 General Arrangement Drawing:

Fig. 1a

Fig. 1b Kakdwip Side Viaduct and part of the Main Bridge

Fig. 1c Bakkhali Side Viaduct and the rest part of the Main Bridge
2.4 Design Data: Designed for Basic wind speed of 50 m/s without LL
Seismic data Another Design Case considering basic wind speed of 36
m/s with LL.
Structure lies in Seismic Zone -IV
3-Dimensional Static Analysis performed on Calculation
Z: Zone factor - 0.24 Model of the bridge.
I: Importance factor - 1.5 (service) & 1.0 (Constr.) Hydraulic data:
R: Response Reduction factor as per Table 9 of Design discharge: 4571 Cusec
IRC:6-2014. Velocity of flow: 2.56 m/sec
Static Analysis Performed on Calculation Model. Highest High Tide Level: 5.4 mt
Wind Loads Low tide level: -1.2 mt.
Load Calculation as per cl 209 of IRC-6:2014 MSL (Maximum Scour Level) : -20.194 mt

28 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 705
The structural design of the viaduct and the main bridge 3.4 Thus, for the above reasons and to avoid any accident
was done with Midas Civil 2015 software. The provisions during construction, change in the design was warranted
of IRC codes has been applied for the bridge design, where and the span arrangement of the bridge proper was thought
IRC is silent, AASHTO LRFD bridge design specification to be increased to 85+170+85=340 meter, in place of 270
had been referred. meters as per DPR, keeping in view of all mandatory
parameter i.e. lateral and vertical clearance fulfilling the
3. PRINCIPAL CHALLENGES FACED IN
navigational conditions.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT
3.5 With 85+170+85-meter span of the main bridge, the
3.1 Hatania Doania river is very near to the sea at the
scheme of the design had to change to extra dosed cable
location of the bridge, thus have a large tidal variation of
stayed bridge from PSC balanced cantilever bridge. But
6 meter. At the low tide, the river has around 120 meter
then the design of foundation of the massive 85+170+85-
of width which could not be blocked at any cost for the
meter span bridge and construction of it became the main
passage of the vessels, 100 meter being the mandatory
challenge. Increase of cost was also an important aspect
requirement.
(discussed later separately).
3.2 In the original proposal of the DPR, the bridge was
3.6 In the DPR, RCC section varying from hexagonal to
proposed with the span arrangement of 75+120+75-meter
rectangular hollow pier over 12.0 mt diameter circular
balanced cantilever. But for construction of foundation of
RCC well foundation of depth 70 meter was proposed
this proposal, the movement of vessels, barge, fishing troller
for the two piers located in the river and RCC rectangular
through the river would have definitely been restricted to
hollow pier over 1200 mm diameter RCC cast-in-situ pile
some extent and there would be chances for accidents.
foundation of depth 42 meter was proposed as foundation
Instead of taking up the construction simultaneously for
of the piers located at the banks.
both the foundation of the main bridge on the river, if
the construction of the foundation were taken one after 3.7 As suggested in the soil investigation report on P-13
another, it would have taken a time period of 3 years or so. and P-14 location, the alternative of pile foundation with
Thus, it was not a feasible solution. 2.0-meter diameter piles was initially thought of. But there
was problem with pile foundation because the criteria of
3.3 During January month of every year because of
the horizontal pressure for free standing height of pile
Gangasagar mela, this river is used as one of the main
would not have been satisfied. The available ROW was
routes to Sagar island from the main land. All construction
not sufficient to incorporate the required dimension of the
work during the entire month of January was suspended
massive pile cap.
by the District Administration for public safety.

Fig.2 PSC Box Segment.

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 29

 PAPER NO. 705
3.8 As proposed in the DPR, the circular well of
12 meter diameter was not sufficient because of the
change of the scheme from 270 meter balanced cantilever
bridge to 340 meter extradosed bridge. Then twin circular
well foundation was thought of but as per limitation of
codal provisions, minimum clearance between two well
foundation could not be obtained to accommodate the
foundation within available ROW.
3.9 After a number of trials, the optimum design option of
a double D well with the section of 16.5 meter* 8.25 meter
and 15.2 meter* 6.95 meter and a depth of 41 meter was
found suitable with the required dimension of Pylon being
accommodated in it’s well cap. The reduction in the outer
lateral dimension of the well being done above maximum
scour level. Finalisation of this critical design issue took
a substantial time. Now the challenge was shifted to the
construction of double D well just on the two banks of the
river.
3.10 The construction of the wells just on the bank of
a tidal river with the tidal variation of 6 meter, was not
at all an easy task. To place the cutting edge of the well
curb at the position of the well, construction of island was
required. The first attempt of construction of island with
ballah cofferdam with sand filled in it, was not successful
because the existing ground slided and the island collapsed.
Then sheet pile of length 18 to 24 meter was driven and
then sand was filled up. Even then, the whole island slided
towards river and on second attempt, the construction of
island with its top level a bit above the high flood level
could be made stable. This process of construction of
island also consumed considerable time.
3.11 On P-13, i.e., Kakdwip side, the fabrication of the
cutting edge with required reinforcement bound within it
and the liner of the well curb made with 8 mm MS plate
was done 40 meters away from the actual position of the
well. After completion of the fabrication of the assembly
of well curb and the reinforcement and construction of
the stable island, the whole well curb weighing around
40 MT was shifted with the help of two 75 MT Crawler
crane to its original position. Fabricating of the well curb
away from the actual position of the well and then shifting
the assembly to the actual position was done to avoid any
chance of further collapse of the island. The well curb was
sacrificial which was in the form of 8 mm MS plate liner
i.e, it was not released after the concreting of the well curb
was done, instead it was sunk along with the reinforced
concrete as it was. After that, the concreting and sinking of
the well was done upto the founding level with the normal
process (i.e. not with sacrificial steining), with tilt and shift
being checked as per the codal provision. After reaching
30 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
the founding level, the bottom plug of the well was done.
3.12 The advantage of the sacrificial well curb was, the
total assembly of the fabrication of the well curb along
with the reinforcement could be done away from the actual
position of the well to avoid the extra earth pressure on the
island and with the help of the cranes, the assembly was
shifted and placed at its actual position at the minimum
possible level on Kakdwip side ( P-13). Had it been done
with normal process of placing the cutting edge of the well
curb on the exact position of the well and after concreting
of the well curb, it was sunk, there might have been a
chance of the island to collapse. As the 8 mm MS plate
acting as the form work of the well curb was sunk along
with the RCC and not released after concreting, it is called
as sacrificial.
3.13 On the other side of the river, i.e., Bakkhali side
(P-14), as the heavy cranes were not possible to be
shifted, the sliding technology was adopted. After
completion of the fabrication of the cutting edge along
with well curb reinforcement keeping the sacrificial
liner of 8 mm steel plate, the total assembly was rolled
to the required position by sliding and sunk upto bed
level without any concrete. Upon reaching of the cutting
edge upto bed level, concreting of well curb was done
and further liner of well steining of 2.5 meter height was
added. Then sinking was done upto 1st lift of steining.
Concreting of 1st lift steining was done and further liner
of 2.5 meter height was added. Then the concreting was
done. Finally, after 8.00 meter of sacrificial liner was
completed, further concreting and sinking was done in
normal process i.e, without the liner and continued up to
the founding level with tilt and shift being checked as per
the codal provision. After reaching the founding level,
bottom plug of the well was cast continuously by two
sets of term (Refer: Photo 1 & 2)
3.14 From design point of view, the decision of larger
span of the main bridge and consequently, double D well
and from construction point of view, the construction and
sinking of the wells were the most challenging part of the
entire project.
4. THE INNOVATIVE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
APPLICATIONS MADE IN THE PROJECT:
4.1 From design point of view, to improve the riding quality
over the long viaducts, the number of expansion joints have
been reduced by making either two adjacent spans continuous
or three adjacent span continuous. To optimise the reduction
of the number of expansion joints, all groups of adjacent spans
cannot be made three span continuous module uniformly, so
 PAPER NO. 705
instead it was done two span continuous module for some
adjacent spans A1-P1-P1-P2, P8-P9-P-9-P-10 and P10-P11-
P11-P12 on Kakdwip side and A2-P26-P26-P25, P19-P18-
P18-P17 and P17-P16-P16-P15 on Bakkhali side in some
cases or three span continuous module for the rest, each
span being 40 meter length. On Kakdweep side, strip seal
expansion joints were provided on A1, P2, P5, P8 and P10
and modular expansion joint was provided on P12 and on
the other side of the river i.e., on Bakkhali side, strip seal
expansion joints were provided on P17, P19, P22, P25 and
A2 and the modular expansion joints were provided on P15.
The speciality of modular expansion joint is that, they have
large movement capacity, low maintenance characteristics
and are waterproof but around four to five times costlier
than normal strip seal joints.
4.2 In the DPR, the superstructure of the viaduct had
been proposed as 4 numbers precast PSC I-girders of 40
meter simply supported span. But with the application
of innovative design technique, the superstructure of the

Fig.3 Detailed Drawing of the Double D well. Details of the Well Curb.

Photo 1 Carrying and placing the assembly of double D well curb along with sacrificial form work with 8 mm MS
plate and the reinforcement with the help of 2* 75 MT crane at the actual position of the well where
island was done with the help of sheet pile. (P-13), Kakdweep side.

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 31

 PAPER NO. 705
viaducts had been designed without pier cap and bearings.
The girders have been made monolithic with the piers
with the help of diaphragm and thereby avoiding the
requirement of pier cap and bearings and also reducing
the hazard of maintenance of the substantial number of
bearings and expansion joints for the entire life span of the
bridge. The other advantages are better aesthetics over the
conventional simply supported girder bridge, better riding
quality, reduced number of expansion joints. However, for
this arrangement, the structure became indeterminate and
the design also became complicated for which specialized
software had to be adopted. Deformation and secondary
effects also needed to be considered. High precision
and a good workmanship were also exerted during
construction.
4.3 Bearing placed in this bridge were minimum possible
in numbers. There were no bearings on the viaduct
portion. However, the main bridge was supported on pier
at each of the P-12 and P-15 location with the help of 2
numbers of free float Pot cum PTFE bearing to transfer
the vertical loads on each location. To cater the horizontal
seismic force in transverse direction, 1 number of separate
metallic guided bearing had been provided on each end. It
was also checked against the uplift force to be generated
in the free float bearings. The layout details of 4 (four)
numbers of Pot cum PTFE free float bearing and 2 (two)
numbers of metallic guided bearing in total are shown
in the Fig. 7 The design of the bearings was done as per
IRC:83 Part-III.
Note: FR stands for free float bearing and MG stands for
metallic guided bearing
4.4 From construction point of view, the two outer PSC
girders G1 and G4 out of total four girders G1, G2, G3
and G4 were cast in situ on the central position, stressed
and grouted and then shifted simultaneously to their outer
position. This was done because, pre casting in the casting
yard and then erecting was not possible for non availability
of sufficient land nearby for casting yard and also non
availability of sufficient manoeuvring space for erection
of 40-meter long girders. The soil was also poor and was
not firm enough to support the load of staging. Thus, the
girders were cast on the central position on the staging

Photo 2 Assembly of Double D Sacrificial Well Curb Along with the Reinforcement Being Placed at its Position by
Sliding Arrangement on P-14, Bakkhali side.

Photo 3 Sacrificial Steining Were Being Added to Well Curb at P-14 Location, Bakkhali Side.

32 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 705
erected over the existing hard crust of the road and shifted
to their original position. After that on the same staging,
G2 and G3 were cast, stressed and grouted to complete
the span.
4.5 After shifting of the outer girders G1 and G4, the central
girders G2 and G3 were cast and stressed, diaphragm was
cast and then the deck slab was cast after ensuring the
achievement of the full strength of the PSC girders.
5. CONSTRUCTION OF THE SEGMENTAL PSC
BOX WITH STAY CABLE
5.1 The width of the PSC box segments of the main bridge
was 15.6 meter to 19.00 meter. (Refer Fig. 2) Casting of
such high width box segments in the casting yard and
erecting over a river with very high tidal variation was not
preferable. Thus, the segments were constructed cast in
Fig.3 Layout Plans of the Both Side via-Ducts.
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
situ by cantilever gantry construction.
5.2 The Pylon diaphragm wall and the first segment of
pier head PS-1 was cast simultaneously in three phases
with the staging done from the well cap.
5.3 Followed by the fixing of CCL gantry, the casting of
the box segments on both the sides of the pylon i.e., on
upstream side (towards the river) and downstream side
(away from the river), U-1 and D-1, U-2 and D-2, U-3
and D-3 and so on were taken up one after another with
the movement of form traveller FT-1 and FT-2 on both
sides with every segment requiring at least 3 days or
attending the minimum specified strength whichever is
later. The cable profiling for tensioning and the grouting
through the segments was done as per the profile in
drawing.
33
 PAPER NO. 705
5.4 At construction stage 8, the segment, U-7 and D-7
was cast as the first set of segments with stay blisters and
transverse rib for the stay cable to be fixed.
5.5 At construction stage 24, PSC box segments were cast
upto U-23 and D-23 on either side of the Pylon with the
above method with stay blisters and transverse rib cast at
U-7 D-7, U-10 D-10, U-13 D-13, U-16 D-16 and U-19
D-19 for fixing 5 stay cables on either side of pylon i.e.,
40 cables in total.
5.6 At construction stage 25, the end segment ES-1 was
cast on the river side and ES-2 was cast on away from the
river side with modular expansion joint to be fitted on that
side. This was followed by the casting of stitch segment
on the river side bridging the two sides at construction
stage 26.
5.7 Then the suspended platform for casting of stitch
segment was dismantled. After completion of stitch
segment, Crash Barrier and Railing concrete was done.

Fig.6 Module of 3*40 Meter Continuous Span with PSC Girders and Diaphragm Wall but Without any Pier Cap and Bearing.

Photo 4 The Arrangement of Pier, 4 PSC Girders, Diaphragm Wall, and Deck Slab in the viaduct Portion.

34 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 705
5.8 Saddles had been used at the head of the pylons which
provided simple alternative to anchorages but at the same
time designed to resist the deferential forces from opposite
sides of the tower. It has provided easier option for the
change of stay cable when required.
5.9 One of the main challenges of a cable stayed bridge
is the corrosion protection of the stay cables on which
the durability aspect of the whole system depends a lot.
Here it was done with two nested barriers. The external
barrier of HDPE (High density polyethylene) sheathing
provided direct protection from corrosive elements, while
the interior barrier provided an additional backup system
if the external barrier is somehow breached. Grouting
with cementations grout is no longer considered to be a
good method for filling up the space between the external
sheathes and the prestressing strands in the stay cables.
Instead, strands of stay cables were hot-dip galvanized
and encased in a sheath filled with wax and that way triple
protection was provided: hot-dip galvanization of the
strands, wax and external HDPE sheathing.
5.10 After that wearing coat and other finishing items were
done, it was followed by load testing of the bridge before
opening the bridge to the traffic.
Fig.6
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
6. APPLICATION OF IMPROVED CONCRETE
AND ITS LONG-TERM TESTING
6.1 Different grades of concrete were used in this project
for different components of the bridge as per the design
requirement. For all components of the substructure, i.e,
pile and pile cap for viaduct portion and well and well
cap for the main bridge portion, culverts, drains etc.,
Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) was used. And for
superstructures where stressing was applied like girders
in the via duct portion, PSC box segments of the main
bridge, including the piers and pylon columns, pier heads
and deck slab, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) of 43/53
grade was used.
6.2 Though it was not included in the quality control
program as per the tender obligation, still to compare
the strength of PPC and OPC, number of cement mortar
cubes both by PPC and OPC (43 grade) both from Ambuja
Cement were cast and the cube strength were noted down
for a long period from 7 days to 2 years with an objective
of comparative study. Results were plotted and shown
in the Table-2 which shows the early strength of cement
mortar cubes with OPC is a bit higher than that with PPC
whereas the long-term strength with PPC is almost at par
with that of OPC. This is mostly in conformity with the
35
 PAPER NO. 705
DESIGN PERAMETERS
NON-SEISMIC: SEISMIC:
Vertical (Max) = 135.00 MT Vertical (Max) = 150.00 MT
Vertical (Min) = 30.00 MT Vertical (Min) = 35.00 MT
Horizontal Longitudinal = 13.50 MT Horizontal Longitudinal = 15.50 MT
Horizontal Transverse = 00.00 MT Horizontal Transverse = 00.00 MT
Rotation (radius) = 0.002 MT Rotation (radius) = 0.002 MT
Longitudinal Movement = 280 mm (+140/-140 mm)
Transverse Movement = 10 mm (+5/- 5mm
Details of 135 MT free float bearing

DESIGN PERAMETERS
NON-SEISMIC: SEISMIC:
Vertical (Max) = 00.00 MT Vertical (Max) = 00.00 MT
Vertical (Min) = 00.00 MT Vertical (Min) = 00.00 MT
Horizontal Longitudinal = 00.00 MT Horizontal Longitudinal = 00.00 MT
Horizontal Transverse = 10.00 MT Horizontal Transverse = 170.00 MT
Longitudinal Movement = * 182.5mm

Fig. 7 Details of 170 MT of Metallic Guided Bearing.

Fig. 8 Fig. 9

36 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 705

Photo 5a Photo 5b

Fig.10

Fig.10
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 37
 PAPER NO. 705
Photo 6 Construction Stage -26 i.e., Casting of Stitch Segment.
knowledge of cement and concrete technology as per the
available literature.
6.3 The concrete those were done with OPC, upto M-45
grade of concrete were constructed with OPC 43 grade
M-50, used for some PSC box segments for the main
bridge was done with OPC 53 grade and M-60, used for
Pylon columns and some other PSC box segments was
done with OPC 53 grade of cement.
6.4 For imparting extra durability in the concrete, in the
high grade i.e., M-50 grade concrete, cement was partially
replaced by micro-silica [as per IS: 15388, (2003)] upto
5% by weight of cement and for M-60, cement was
partially replaced by micro-silica upto 8%. Though the
concrete strength M-50 (not M-60) could be achieved
with chemical admixture only, still micro-silica as the
mineral admixture had been incorporated in the project
for achieving better durability of concrete as per the
literatures available in the field of concrete technology.
The advantage of addition of micro-silica had been studied
in the same way by taking number of concrete cubes of
same grade (M-40 and M-50, though for any structural part
of the bridge M-40 with micro-silica was not done, only
for carrying out the study M-40 concrete cubes were cast
with micro-silica ) with and without micro-silica and their
compressive strength were tested for starting from 7 days
Photo 7 Load Testing on the Completed Bridge.
38 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
to 540 days as an investigative quality control measure
in the project laboratory though was not included as per
tender obligation. It is true that with the facility available
at the project site laboratory, the compressive strength of
the concrete cubes could be tested only. It may not reflect
the true picture of durability of the concrete because the
facility of carrying out Rapid Chloride ion permeability
test as per ASTM C 1202 at 56 days [the designated test
for durability of concrete ref. cl 1714.4 (i) of Ministry’s
specification for road and bridge works] was not available
at the site laboratory but compressive strength being
the key characteristics of concrete, will indeed give an
indirect reflection of durability. From the results shown in
Table-1 and Table-2, it is seen that addition of micro-silica
in concrete is definitely improving the concrete quality.
However, micro-silica is around four times costlier than
cement and adding micro-silica to the concrete makes the
concrete costlier. It is a good scope of further research to
optimise the dose of micro-silica in concrete for important
structures keeping in view of the overall sustainability.
6.5 Details of Concrete Mix Proportions
6.6 The Principal Construction Material Consumed
in the Bridge Proper and the viaduct.
In Table-5, the consumption of the main construction materials
such as different grades of concrete, TMT rebars, CRS steel
Photo 8 Completed Bridge.
 PAPER NO. 705
bars, HT strand and stay cables used in different components
of the bridge has been shown. Corrosion Resistant Steel (CRS)
was used for the well foundation and the substructure of the
main bridge to resist the possible corrosion for exposure to
the river water of tidal variation and the higher salinity of the the inherent advantage of the EPC projects.
water being very near to the sea.
7. THE ADVANTAGE OF THE EPC CONTRACT
7.1 The main purpose of the EPC mode of contract
operation is to execute the project with best technical
solution without any cost and time overrun. For that, the
contractor needs to have the freedom to change the design
and construction options to best suit the site condition as
well as to achieve the economy without compromising the
specific requirement of the project. This could be achieved
through the EPC model of contract in this case.
7.2 In the DPR of this project, the main bridge was mentioned
to be constructed as 75+120+75=270-meter balance
cantilever bridge. Though in the DPR, the other option of
greater span length and thus, a costlier scheme of extra dosed
cable stayed bridge was discussed, but to avoid increase in
project cost, that option was rejected. It is the advantage of
EPC contract, for which the contractor had to go for the right
technical option with increased span of 85+170+85=340-
meter which was not possible with PSC balanced cantilever
type superstructure and extra dosed cable stayed bridge type
superstructure had to be adopted. It was not only the right
technical solution but also an aesthetic marvel. And very
importantly, this could be achieved without any extra cost,
without any litigation due to the inherent freedom laid down
in the framing of the EPC contract.
Table 1
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
7.3 On the other side, the contractor adopted many design
and construction innovative techniques which have been
discussed above, are also turned out to be very beneficial
and in some cases economical. This was also possible for
7.4 A bit of time delay occurred in this project, but that was
mostly attributed to the Gangasagar Mela in the month of
January every year. Four such Gangasagar mela and their
cascading effects along with some issue of delay in the
acquisition of apart of land required for the project were
quite genuinely considered by the authority as per the
tender provisions for time extension and the project was
successfully completed within a span of a bit more than
four years which is otherwise a very tight time schedule
considering all the challenges met in the project. This can
also be considered as the success of EPC contract.
7.5 All the facilities described in schedule “B” of the EPC
contract could be achieved without any litigation and
any extra cost. This is another achievement due to the
advantage of EPC contract.
8. PROBLEMS FACED
8.1 The access to the bridge construction site was entirely
from one side. Before and during the construction of the
bridge, there was ferry service on Hatania Doania river
for general public. The EPC contractor had to make their
own arrangement of ferry service and construction of jetty
on both the sides of the river to shift different material
and machineries for the entire part of the construction on
Bakkhali side, from P-14 to A2.
39
 PAPER NO. 705
8.2 Initially, there were encroachments almost along the
entire alignment of the bridge. District administration
helped to remove the most part of the encroachment,
still because of delay in shifting a few structures, the
construction of the jetty for the constructor’s own ferry
service got delayed a bit which consequently delayed the
start of the constructional activity on Bakkhali side.
8.3 The ROW available was around 33 meters within
which the viaduct of the bridge and approach road
(Refer Fig.12) on the two sides of the via duct had to be
constructed. It was a tight situation considering material
procurement, stacking construction material, form works,
machinery manoeuvring etc.
8.4 At the location of P-14, the ROW available was
eccentric, for that, the alignment of the bridge had to be
changed and the GAD had to be revised.
8.5 Because of the access from one side and scarcity of
land available for setting up of constructional facilities
like concrete batch mix plant, the setting up of the plant
had to be done on one side , i.e., Kakdwip side of the
bridge and the green concrete within transit mixtures had
to be carried by ferry service on to the other side, i.e.,
Bakkhali side which was greatly dependent on the time
of high tide. So, all the planning of the entire concreting
work had to be done with due care of the timing of high
tide and low tide.
8.6 Procurement of silver sand for filling of the RE wall
portion on the two extreme sides of the bridge and four
sides approach roads was a big problem. Ultimately, the
entire quantity of around one lakh cubic meter of silver
sand was collected from the dredging of the water route
from Kakdwip to Gangasagar through small boats.
8.7 Lastly, due to Gangasagar mela in “Makarsankranti”
during the month of January for four years during the time
of the construction of the bridge is one of the major causes
of delay in completion of the bridge. In Gangasagar mela,
lakhs of people gather in Sagar Island and the location of
the bridge and Hatania-Doania river is one of the major
routes to Sagar Island. Thus, for the public safety, District
Administration closed the constructional activity of the
bridge for around twenty days every year but its cascading
effect, because of erecting of long barricading and other
temporary structures like watch tower and consequent
dismantling, continued for more than a month every year.

Table 2 M-40 Grade Concrete with and Without Micro-Silica

Table 3 M-50 Grade Concrete with and Without Micro-Silica

40 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 PAPER NO. 705
Table 4 Mix Design Adopted for M-50 and M-60 Grade Concrete
Materials M-60 grade concrete M-50 grade concrete
Cement 444.80 kg/m3 (Ultratech, OPC 53 grade confirming to 436.00 kg/m3 (Ramco, OPC 53 grade confirming
IS:12269) to IS:12269)
Water 144.0 kg/m3 151.1 kg/m3
Natural Sand 698 kg/m3 ( Source: Ajoy river, Illambazar, Dist 698.4 kg/m3 ( Source: Ajoy river, Illambazar,
Birbhum, West Bengal) Dist Birbhum, West Bengal)
10 mm Aggregate 564 kg/m3 (Source : Rampurhat, Dist : Birbhum, West 627.0 kg/m3 (Source : Rampurhat, Dist :
Bengal) Birbhum, West Bengal)
20 mm Aggregate 689 kg/m3 (Source : Rampurhat, Dist : Birbhum, West 627.0 kg/m3 (Source : Rampurhat, Dist :
Bengal) Birbhum, West Bengal)
Chemical Admixture 3.12 kg/m3 (Hind Plast super plasticizer-SCA, 2.14 kg/m3 (Hind Plast super plasticizer-SCA,
confirming to IS:9103) confirming to IS:9103)
Micro Silica 35.52 kg/cum, 8% by weight of cement.(Source: 21.80 kg/cum, 5% by weight of cement. (Source:
Hindcon Chemicals, confirming to IS: 15388-2003 & Hindcon Chemicals, confirming to IS: 15388-
ASTM C 1240) 2003 & ASTM C 1240)
Water Cement Ratio 0.30 0.33
Table 5 Concrete & Steel used in Main structure

9. ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE PROJECT

Photo 9 MoRTH, Govt. of India’s National Highway
Gold Award of Excellence in the Category of
Outstanding work in Challenging Situation Outstanding
work in Challenging Situation
9.1 At the time of completion of the bridge, it was the
longest span extra dosed cable stayed bridge in India with
170 meter length. The other known such type of bridges
are 2nd Vivekananda Bridge, Kolkata with 110 meter
span, Pragati Maidan, Delhi Metro with 91 meter span,
Moolchand, Delhi Metro with 65.5 meter span, Weh,
Mumbai Metro with 83 meter span and Veer-Kunwar Setu
in Gujrat with 144 meter span.
9.2 The project had won the prestigious National
Highways Excellence Award 2019 in the category “Gold”
for “Outstanding Work in Challenging Situation” conferred
by MoRTH, Govt of India.
10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
10.1 Selection of the right model for such a challenging
bridge project is very important. It may not be always

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 41

 PAPER NO. 705
possible to appreciate all the practical difficulties during
the process of feasibility study thus, the right technical
solution may not be prescribed.
10.2 In this project, the span arrangement of the main
bridge as proposed in the DPR was not the right solution.
When every ground reality was faced, the right span
arrangement was worked out to be 85+170+85 meter
instead of 75+120+75 meter proposed.
10.3 Because of the change in the span arrangement, the
scheme of the main bridge was changed from PSC balanced
cantilever bridge to extradosed cable stayed bridge.
10.4 Consequent upon that, the foundation scheme was
also changed to double D well foundation, the construction
of which was the most challenging part of this project.
10.5 In the design part of the viaduct, the spans were
designed to be continuous without pier cap, bearing and
reducing the number of expansion joints to as minimum
Fig. 12 Cross-Section at Viaduct portion
with enough freedom on the hand of the contractor for
design and construction methodology, stood appropriate
for successful completion of the project.
10.8 Structural health monitoring of such an important
bridge structure should be done as the further scope of
work.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is indebted to the engineers of the EPC
contractor, the engineers of the Authority’s Engineer,
42 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
as possible improving the riding quality, aesthetics, future
maintenance in comparison to the conventional simply
supported structures.
10.6 The construction of the PSC girders for viaducts were
done ‘cast in situ’ on centrally staged support and pushed
to the edges to take the advantages of the better ground
support condition. For main bridge, PSC segmental boxes
also done cast in situover the tidal river, with the help of
CCL gantry with the stay cable tying up the deck slab and
the pylon fan unit as done in an extra dosed cable stayed
bridge, which has produced a much better aesthetic view.
10.7 EPC contract, where the design part is also the
responsibility of the contractor fulfilling the specific site
requirement ( here it was 10 meter vertical clearance and
100 meter horizontal clearance), without any time and cost
overrun on the part of the authority but at the same time
fellow engineer colleagues of PWD, Govt of West Bengal
and MoRTH, Govt of India associated with the project for
the support provided by them to write this paper.
REFERENCE
1. Project documents, Drawings, Photographs, Soil
Investigation Reports, Quality Control Reports, FSR,
Review meeting copies.
2. Concrete Bridge Practice- Analysis, Design and
Economics by Dr.V K Raina
 PAPER NO. 705

INFORMATION SECTION

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 43

 INFORMATION SECTION

44 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 INFORMATION SECTION
ACCELERATED CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES (ACB)
DR. V.K. RAINA1
1. WHAT IS ACCELERATED CONSTRUCTION
OF BRIDGES (ACB)?
Basically, it is:
• Designing and Detailing a Bridge that has to be
Constructed and Assembled quickly
• Minimizing lane closure times with innovative
phasing and rapid construction
• Accelerating construction of entire bridge using
pre-fabricated elements as much as possible
• Extremely quick replacements over weekends and/
or over-night closures using total superstructure
replacement techniques where possible.
2. HOW TO ACHIEVE ACB?
The work essentially (though not entirely) revolves around
Prefabrication, and comprises basically of :
• Using Precast Superstructure Elements
• Using Precast Substructure Elements and
• In some cases Precasting entire structure, with
some cast-in-place work.
Fig. 1 Conventional Bridge Construction
1.
Consultant, World Bank, E-mail:rainavk@gmail.com
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
3. RAPID CONSTRUCTION, BUT COSTLIER
Technologies for Accelerated Construction of Bridges
(ACB) are helping many of the US State Departments of
Transportation (DOTs) replace some of their bridges within
48 to 72 hours and reduce planning and bridge construction
efforts significantly but at ‘some’ cost! The accelerated
project construction durations significantly reduce traffic
delays and road closures but the costs are higher compared
to conventional methods of construction. However, these
may reduce as the use of ACB Technologies increases.
4. THE MAIN ACB TECHNOLOGIES
Three particular ACB technologies are: Prefabricated
Bridge Elements and Systems (PBES), Slide in Bridge
Deck Construction (SIBDC) and Geosynthetic Reinforced
Soil-Integrated Bridge System (GRS-IBS).
4.1 Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems
(PBES)
PBES are structural components of a bridge that
are cast/built away from the bridge-site or adjacent
to the site – and includes construction methods
that reduce the onsite construction time compared
with the time required by the conventional
construction methods.
Fig. 2 Accelerated Bridge Construction
45
 INFORMATION SECTION
4.2 Slide-in Bridge Deck Construction (SIBDC)
Slide-In Bridge Deck Construction is a cost-
effective technique for deploying PBES, or for
quickly replacing an existing bridge deck. A
new bridge deck is built on temporary supports
parallel to an existing bridge deck. Once the deck
construction is complete, the road is closed, the
existing bridge deck structure demolished or slid
out of the way, and the new bridge deck slid into
place, tied-in to the approaches and paved within
48 to 72 hours.
4.3 Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil-Integrated Bridge
System (GRS-IBS)
GRS-IBS is a construction method combining
closely spaced geosynthetic reinforcement and
granular soils into a new composite material.
The method is used to construct abutments and
approach embankments that are then less likely
to settle (hence avoiding a bump at the ends of
the bridge). The GRS-IBS is easy to build and
maintain and about 30 to 40 percent cheaper than
the conventionally constructed rigid structures if
costing is done honestly.
5. THE THREE ITEMS THAT CAN CONSTITUTE
ACB
5.1 Substructures
It would be best if existing substructures could be re-
used. In some cases the existing substructures may be
able to receive a new superstructure with minimal repairs.
In some cases abutments can be modified to receive a
wider superstructure than the existing. Scour and stream
migration should be carefully evaluated in the decision to
re-use existing substructures.
The use of precast piles may be successful on some ACB
projects. Piles can be precast into manageable length
pieces and joined together to form longer length piles with
closure pours. The designer and constructor should give
careful consideration to the connection details.
A Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil-Integrated Bridge
System (GRS-IBS) may be acceptable for use only in
suitable locations. The proper location could be a single
short span dry or wet crossing where the safe Bearing
Capacity of substrata at higher elevations is insufficient
and settlement problems are thus avoided. A wet crossing
should be stable with low stream velocity and no evidence
of stream migration. These types of locations could be
susceptible to scour, so the use of the GRS-IBS may not
be possible.
46 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
5.2 Superstructures
Side-by-side-placed-box-beams for the deck have been in
use for many years and can be considered as a possible
solution. The wearing surface can be 10 cm cast-in-place
concrete, although this (casting-in-situ) technically is not
ACB. As the slab is cast directly on the boxes no form-
work is required for it, and its construction could be
relatively quick. If construction time or the situation does
not allow for a cast-in-place concrete wearing coat, the
designer should next consider an asphalt wearing surface
over a waterproof membrane. Using the side-by-side box
beams with no wearing surface may be adopted only in
extreme cases such as an emergency replacement.
Precast slab type bridge decks can also be used. Slabs
should be precast in sections that can be lifted by
common construction cranes. The designer should
give consideration to lifting-locations within the slab
and provide adequate reinforcement to allow for lifting
stresses. Notes about lifting and joining should be clearly
indicated in the Drawings. Shear transfer techniques
should be used longitudinally between adjacent slabs
along with connecting details.
Designers may also consider slabs precast onto rolled steel
girders for use in superstructure. Transporting and weight
of elements are of main importance when determining the
size and the number of girders to use in a single section.
Careful consideration should be given to the connection
details.
Other superstructures include precast deck panels, slide-in
possibility of entire superstructures and the use of self-
propelled modular transport vehicles to lift partial or entire
superstructures into place.
5.3 Contract Methods
The simple use of certain contract methods can reduce the
time of construction (and these can be used to reduce the
time even for conventional construction).
The simplest way to achieve accelerated construction is
to accelerate the construction work and bring backwards
the completion date. Contractors can be innovative and
can find ways to meet such dates, whether it is by adding
workforce or diminishing lead times for materials. PBES
may be a part of this equation. If the time frame is the
only consideration, then it may be appropriate to let out
the project based on conventional construction techniques
and then let the contractor decide to propose the use
of PBES to meet the deadlines with/without a Bonus
clause.Alternative PBES techniques may be allowed
for in the contract documents of normal conventional
construction.
 INFORMATION SECTION

(A + B) Contract-bidding methodis a mechanism that disruptions cannot be avoided, scheduling construction at

combines the normal project costs (forming the “A” no-peak times, such as at nights or weekends, can also
component) with a time element (the “B” component). help reduce work zone safety concerns.
The time element is the number of days perceived to
6.3 The offsite production of PBES and shortened
complete construction (quoted by the contractor) times
construction durations with slide-in construction can
a money amount per day based on the delay costs. The
reduce the environmental effect at construction sites. ACB
project team should give careful consideration to the delay
techniques may also be an effective solution, or alternative,
costs as this can be used for an incentive to ‘reward’ the
for environmentally sensitive areas in which construction
contractor for completing in less than the number of days
may have to be delayed or timed around environmental
quoted, and also to use as a ‘penalty’ for exceeding these
limitations, such as in fish spawning seasons.
number of days. The contract documents should also limit
the maximum number of days to be quoted for the “B” 6.4 The construction of PBES in climate-controlled
component. The details of the A + B bidding should be settings is another added benefit of ACB. Temperatures,
carefully noted in the contract documents. An example of humidity, rain and wind can affect quality of conventional
an A + B bidding contract note is included for example on-site construction and cause delay. PBES can be carried
on the ABC website of Kentucky state Department of out in prefabrication yards to avoid exposure to inadequate
Transportation. weather conditions.
6. BENEFITS 7. WHY USE ACB ?
6.1 When coupled with appropriate quality assurance, 7.1 Main ACB Advantages
safety, project management and construction engineering • Minimize personal and commercial business time
practices, the following table lists the benefits of each (e.g. due to getting stuck in traffic!)
ACB technology:
• Increased Safety since workers not working over
Tabel 1 List of ACB Technology live traffic
Benefits GRS-IBS PBES SIBC • Public satisfaction surveys - high approval ratings
Enhances Safety • • • • Less pollution
Can Lower • • • • Less impact on environment
Construction Costs
7.2 Typical construct-in-place items of work-such as
Reduces Mobility • • • erecting formwork, erecting beams, tying deck reinforcing
Impacts steel, placing deck concrete, and allowing concrete to cure
Shortens Onsite • • • are time consuming; these and other sequential onsite
Construction Time construction activities can disrupt traffic. Since ACB
Reduces • • • entails prefabricating many of the bridge components,
Environment consequently road closures and traffic disruptions are
Impact minimized.
Can Improve • • • 7.3 ACB applications have developed two different
Quality approaches: accelerated construction of bridges in place,
Wider margin of • • • using prefabricated systems; and the use of “bridge-
Constructability deck movement technology” to move almost completed
Eliminates “Bump • bridge decks from “away from site” location into the final
at the Bridge” position.
Accommodates On- • 8. STRATEGIES
Site Modifications 8.1 For ACB to be successful, its designs must be
6.2 Construction along ‘active’highways can be dangerous • as light as possible
for workers and motorists alike. ACB technologies • as simple as possible
help improve motorist and worker safety by shortening
• as simple to erect as possible
travel lane restrictions and road closure durations and by
carrying out construction away from traffic. When traffic 8.2 Standardized designs geared for conventional crane-

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 47

 INFORMATION SECTION

based erection would allow for repetitive use of modular • Integral abutments
superstructure systems, which could make contractors • Semi-integral abutments
more willing to invest in equipment-based methods of
erection to speed up the assembly. Repetitive use would • Precast approach slabs
allow contractors to spread the equipment costs over • Precast complete pier systems
several projects, which would help bring overall costs in
line with those of conventional construction. Where site • Conventional piers
condition makes crane-based erection difficult, overhead • Superstructure Modular systems
erection methods using ACB construction technologies,
• Decked steel stringer system
will provide an attractive alternative.
• Concrete deck (T-sections and Slab sections)
9. ACB STANDARD CONCEPTS
• Bridge erection systems
9.1 Standard concepts were developed for large scale
bridge replacement applications.They include complete • Erection using cranes
prefabricated modular systems and construction systems • Manual and motor driven carriers, moving atopa
as outlined below: deck
• Precast modular abutment systems • Launching systems

Fig. 3 Descriptive Diagramsof Prefabricated Components For Various Members

Photo 1 Placing The Precast Footing On The Sub- Photo 2 Complete Segmental Precast Footing
Footing. The Sub-Footing Does Not Need To Be (Source: PCI)
‘Formed’(Source PCI)

48 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 INFORMATION SECTION

Photo 3 Placement Of Precast Abutment Section Photo 6 Completed Integral Precast Abutment Section
(Source: PCI) (Source: PCI)

Photo 4 Precast Abutment With Pin Connection Photo 7 Schematic Of Precast Deck Assembly
(Source: PCI) (Source: PCI)

Photo 5 Assembly Of A Precast Pier Cap

Photo 8 Placing Precast Deck Slabs
(Source: PCI)

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 49

 INFORMATION SECTION

(Source: PCI) Photo 9 a (iii)

10. ACB Tools B) Transverse Sliding
A) Pre-Cast Prefabricated Elements

Photo 9 a (i) Photo 9 b

C) Jacking

Photo 9 c
Photo 9 a (ii)
D) Launching

50 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020

 INFORMATION SECTION

Photo 9 d (i)

Photo 9 d (ii)
E) Self-Propelled Modular Transport (SPMT) Photo 9 e (iv)

Photo 9 e (i)

Photo 9 e (v)

11. SPMT (SELF PROPELLED MODULAR

TRANSPORTERS MOVING A BRIDGE-
DECK)
When replacing a bridge using SPMTs, the new
superstructure is built on temporary supports off-site
in a designated area near the bridge site. Once the new
superstructure is constructed, the existing structure can
Photo 9 e (ii) be removed quickly with SPMTs or can be demolished
in conventional time frames, depending on the project-
specific needs. Once the existing super structure is
removed, the new superstructure is moved from the
staging area (i.e. from where it was constructed) to the
final location using two or more lines of SPMT units. The
SPMTs lift the superstructure off the temporary abutments
and transport it to site and place it on the permanent
substructure. The placement of a bridge superstructure
using SPMTs often requires only one or two nights of full
road closure and many bridges in the United States have
Photo 9 e (iii) been placed successfully in a matter of hours.

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020 51

 INFORMATION SECTION
12. DECISION MAKING AS TO: ‘ACB OR NOT’
??
The cost of using ACB technology can be higher than
the cost based on conventional construction and contract
methods. So the decision to use the ACB techniques should
be carefully weighed in order for the travelling public to
obtain full benefit from these extra expenditures in the
form of less construction traffic congestion and having to
use lengthy (often substandard) detours.
The decision to use (or not to use) the ACB technology
should be made by the Project Team in the beginning itself.
Primary factors to consider are bridge site-conditions,
traffic volume, detour routes and conditions, cost estimates
and environmental impacts.
12.1 Bridge Site Conditions
Bridge sites conducive to ACB methods have to be easily
accessible by trucks delivering PBES units or must have
a ‘staging area’ nearby where precast elements could be
pre-cast on site itself. The ease of constructing a diversion
at the site together with the cost of recurring maintenance
should be weighed-in as well. The cost of additional right-
of-way for the staging area or savings in not having to use
a diversion will count in the decision-making. A bridge
site that is conducive to phased construction may be better
suited for conventional construction method. The skew of
the bridge should be considered. Skews of 30° or more
could cause design and construction difficulties in the
connection details. Must instead consider ‘lengthening a
span’ in order to eliminate any skew for practical ACB.
But such consideration is generally limited to spans under
22 M. Unless the ACB technology for substructures is
convenient, adopting PBES on multiple span bridges may
be difficult unless the existing piers can be re-used. For wet
crossings the Project Team should consider the potential
of scour and stream migration. Scour can be detrimental
to any type of construction, but will be extremely risky
to some forms of ACB such as Geosynthetic Reinforced
Soil-Integrated Bridge Systems (GRS-IBS).
12.2 Traffic Volume
Bridge replacement projects where the traffic volumes are
high should be considered for ACB. Higher traffic volume
would relate to higher congestion issues. The Project Team
should carefully consider how much weight to give to
issue. Projects with low Average Daily Traffic (ADT) may
still warrant the use of ACB due to other factors such as
emergency replacement required or no alternative access
routes for traffic.
52 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY-MARCH 2020
12.3 Detour Routes
Deck replacements where it is otherwise necessary to close
the road and detour the traffic should be considered for
ACB. The Project Team should give weight to the length
and the maintenance cost of the detour.
12.4 Structure Costs
Cost comparisons between ACB and conventional
construction can be difficult if contractors and fabricators
are not in favour of additional costs for PBES. Although
costs of ACB can be high, in cases of ‘no alternative
routes’ or in case of ‘emergency replacement required’, it
may still be a prudent choice.
13. PROJECT CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE
(ACB: ONLY IF THE PROJECT IS PRIMARILY
‘BRIDGE- CENTRIC’)
The Project Team should consider the project’s construction
time schedule when evaluating for ACB. A project with
extensive road work may not need the bridge so quickly
and therefore ACB may not be necessary. …..New routes
across country (i.e. the green projects) should obviously
have a low priority for ACB. Projects that are “primarily”
‘bridge or superstructure replacements’, may have a high
priority for ACB, but still need careful weighing of other
factors mentioned earlier.
REFERENCES
1. PCI 2006. Guidelines for Accelerated Bridge
Construction Using Precast/Prestressed Concrete
Components. Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute
North East, Belmont, MA
2. FHWA Manual – Connection Details for Prefabricated
Bridge Elements and Systems www.fhwa.dot.gov/
bridge/prefab/
3. PCI 1997. Bridge Design Manual PCI MNL-133-97.
Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago, IL.
4. ACI 2001. Emulating Cast-in-Place Detailing
in Precast Concrete Structure ACI 550.1R-01,
American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI
ACI 550.1R-01
5. CPCI 2007. Design Manual, Precast Prestressed
Concrete, Fourth Edition. Canadian Precast/
Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI), Ottawa ON,
CAN
6. TAC, 2007. Precast Options for Bridge Superstructure
Design. Fowler J and Stofko B.
 R.N.I. Registrations No. 17549/57 ISSN: 0258-05500

CONTENTS
Paper No. 703
¾ An Investigation on Mechanical Properties and Rutting Performance of Plant
Produced High Modulus Asphalt Mixes 03-11
by Anil Kumar Baditha, Arun Kumar Goli, Prof. M Amaranath Reddy
& Prof. K Sudhakar Reddy

Paper No. 704

¾ Geotechnical Characterisation of Zinc Slag Waste Material for
Embankment Construction 12-23
by Suresh Badavath, Dr. A.K. Sinha & Dr. Shrabony Adhikary

Paper No. 705

¾ Construction of High-Level Major Bridge on River Hatania-Doania of
NH-117 in the District of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal- Challenges,
Innovations and Success of EPC Model 24-42
by Rajib Chattaraj

Information Section
¾ Accelerated Construction of Bridges (ACB) 43-52
by Dr. V.K. Raina

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