• List out and describe the components of road and

bridge project.
Ans: The component of road and bridge projects are as follows:
1. Road Project
• Footpath :
In urban area where the vehicular as well
as pedestrian traffic are heavy footpaths are provided to
avoid accidents.
• Guard Rails :
These are provided at the edge of shoulder when the road
is constructed on a fill of height more than 3m to prevent
the vehicle from running of the track.
• Shoulder
These are the portion of the road way between the outer
edges of carriage way & edges of top surface of
embankment or inner edges of the side drains in cutting.
These are provided along the road edge to use in an
emergency lane for vehicle required to be taken out of
the pave mentor road way. Min width of shoulder 4.6m is
desirable so that a vehicle station at the side of the
shoulder would have a clearance of about 1.85m from the
pavement edge.
• Side Slopes :
These are the slopes provided of the side of earth work of
the road in embankment in cutting for its stability; side
slopes in the road are so design as to keep the earthwork
stable in embankment or in cutting. The nature of soil in
earth work, climate conditions, method of drainage
provided etc or the factors which affect the design of side
slope.
• Kerbs :
 Kerbs are the boundaries between the pavement &
shoulders or footpath.
• Parking Lane :
These are provided in urban roads to allow kerb parking.
Parallel parking should be allowed as far as possible. The
width of parking lane should be sufficient.
2. Bridge Project :
The bridge consists of the following components

• Superstructure or decking component

• Bearings
• Substructure Components
1) Superstructure Components of Bridges
The superstructure of the bridge structure consists
of deck slab, girder, truss etc. These components
vary based on the type of bridge (whether concrete
or steel or composite). Superstructure of the bridge
bears the load passing over it. This helps in
transmitting the forces formed by the loads to the
below substructures.

Decks
The decking is considered as the road or the rail
surface of the bridge. The decks are supported by
the girders or the huge beams that is in turn
supported by the piers. The whole arrangement is
supported with a deep foundation mainly piles and
cap arrangement.

2) Bearing
 The bearings in bridges allows the longitudinal
movement of the girders. This movement is created
due to the forces acting on the longitudinal
direction. The forces due to the moving loads and
the variation in temperature are the main causes for
longitudinal forces.

The selection of bearing is dependent on certain

parameters, which are: Loads acting, the geometry,
the extent of maintenance, the clearance available,
the displacement, rotation and deflection policy,
availability, preference of the designer, the
construction tolerances, and the cost criteria.

3) Substructure Components of Bridges

The components involved in substructure of bridges
are:

1. Piers
2. Abutments
3. Wing Walls and the Returns
4. Foundation
• Piers
The piers are vertical structures used to support
deck or the bearings provided for load
transmission to underground soil through
foundation. These structures serve as supports
for the bridge spans at intermediate points.

• Abutments
Abutments are vertical structures used to retain
the earth behind the structure. The dead and the
 live loads from the bridge superstructure is
supported by the bridge abutments.

• Wing Walls and Returns

Structures constructed as an extension of the
abutments to retain the earth present in the
approach bank are called wing walls. This portion
will otherwise have a natural angle of repose.
These are retaining walls constructed adjacent to
the abutments. This wall can be constructed
either integrally or independent with the
abutment wall.

• Foundation
Foundation are structures constructed to
transmit the load from the piers, abutments, wing
walls and the returns evenly on the strata. The
foundation provided for bridge structures are
deep in sufficient manner to avoid scouring due
to the water movement or to reduce the chances
of undermining.