Attachment 4 - ACROW Bridge 700XS Technical Handbook 2015 Metric

ACROW 700XS TECHNICAL HANDBOOK
BUILDING BRIDGES. CONNECTING PEOPLE.
ACROW® 700XS® PANEL BRIDGE

TECHNICAL HANDBOOK
FOURTH EDITION 2015 (METRIC)
TYPICAL ACROW BRIDGE
COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015

LIFT BRIDGE AT QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS
ACCESS RAMP AT WORLD TRADE CENTER RECOVERY EFFORT, NEW YORK
2 COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015

ACROW CORPORATION
BUILDING BRIDGES. CONNECTING PEOPLE.
ACROW PANEL BRIDGING TECHNICAL HANDBOOK

700XS MODULAR BRIDGING SYSTEM
FOURTH EDITION 2015
This publication has been rewritten to reflect improvements recently made to the Acrow
700XS Modular Bridging System. It is intended to explain the design characteristics
and requirements of ordering and installing an Acrow 700XS Bridge. All dimensions
and other design factors are expressed in metric units.
COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 3

ACROW PANEL 700XS BRIDGE HANDBOOK
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION Page 7
SECTION 2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND USE 8
SECTION 3 DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS

3.1 Bridge Components 11
3.2 Footwalk Components 23
3.3 Launching Components 25
3.4 Construction Tools 27
SECTION 4 BRIDGE DESIGN

4.1 Specification 28
4.2 Site Assessment 29
4.3 Bridge and Truss Selection 29
4.4 Launching Design 30
SECTION 5 BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION

5.1 Introduction 31
5.2 Construction Area 32
5.3 Abutment and Site Layout 34
5.4 Roller and Equipment Layout 34
5.5 Construction of the Launching Nose 36
5.6 Construction of the Main Span 40
5.7 Installing the Bridge 45
5.8 Jacking the Bridge 51
5.9 Construction of Double-Storey Bridges 54
5.10 Construction of Footwalks 55
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4 ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)
SECTION 6 MULTIPLE-SPAN BRIDGES

6.1 General 57
6.2 Discontinuous Bridges 57
6.3 Continuous Bridges 57
6.4 Pier Towers 57
SECTION 7 BRIDGE MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION

7.1 Storage of Bridging Components 61
7.2 Bridge Inspection 61
SECTION 8 REFERENCE TABLES

8.1 Component Weights 64
8.2 Bridge Dimensions 66
8.3 Bridge Weights 68
8.4 Truss Constructions -
AASHTO (ASD) 69

DISCLAIMER
This Handbook is intended to provide only general information concerning the Acrow
700XS Panel Bridge (The “Bridge”). The information included in this Handbook is not
intended to be comprehensive, precise, definitive, or authoritative, and should not be
relied upon as such for any reason.
Neither Acrow nor any of its affiliates will be liable or in any way responsible for any
errors or deficiencies of any kind in the information contained herein.
More specific, definitive, and authoritative information is available from Acrow only by
contracting with Acrow specifically for on-site technical assistance. You may contact
Acrow for the rates, terms and availability of such technical assistance.
NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED IN AN INFORMATION OR

DATA RETRIEVAL SYSTEM OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS –
ELECTRONIC, MECHANICAL, PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING OR OTHERWISE – WITHOUT
THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF ACROW CORPORATION OF AMERICA.
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SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION
The Acrow 700XS Panel Modular Bridging System is now well established worldwide
as a leading bridge product, able to provide solutions to most difficult access situations.
Acrow 700XS Panel is a direct descendant of the military Bailey Bridge through
several well-known Acrow developments, and as such, is recognized as an
unsurpassed product in its field. It is fully modular and uses many of the same
principles incorporated in the Bailey concept, including: easy transportability to
remote locations, erection by unskilled crews with or without cranage, low
maintenance, and versatility.
The Acrow system has been designed to carry highway and pedestrian loadings as
specified by the American AASHTO bridge design code, and complies with most
national standards including Euro, British, and Canadian, as well as Military Tri-Lateral
specifications. The equipment is fabricated entirely from steel and is provided with a hot
dipped galvanized finish to ensure excellent weathering capability. The bridge is
assembled using only pins and bolts and requires no site welding. All components are
100% reusable.
Acrow’s 700XS bridging is manufactured in the United States. There is a core
group of typical components used in the assembly of a bridge. With these typical
components, one can assemble bridges of different widths and of varying weight-
carrying capacity from light trucks to the heaviest earthmoving mining trucks. Single
spans can range from six to ninety-one meters and, with multiple spans, any length of
bridge may be accommodated. Special components may also be designed and
produced for non-standard situations.
The standard deck units are orthotropic in design. This is a highly efficient design that
will support very heavy loads over decades of use. The panels forming the side
trusses are 2.29 meters in height, which provides a tall and efficient structural system.
All components, including the panels, are manufactured to extremely close
tolerances, ensuring that all components are always fully interchangeable
regardless of their year of manufacture.

SECTION 2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND USE
The Acrow 700XS Panel Bridge is a fully modular system intended to be used as a
permanent or temporary road bridge, or to provide an economical solution to an access
problem.
The system is based on steel, structural truss panels, measuring 3.05 x 2.26 meters,
which can be combined in a variety of configurations to provide a bridge side truss
designed for any specific purpose. Transoms (transverse deck beams) of various
standard lengths, link the trusses together and provide support for the deck. With these
variations, the Acrow 700XS Bridging system can accommodate a wide range of span,
width, and load specifications. A standard truss panel is illustrated in Figure 2.1.
Acrow bridges may be built as either simple span or multispan structures. Multi span
bridges may be designed either as continuous structures over intermediate piers or as
a series of simple spans linked together. The simple spans can vary in size from a
single lane bridge six meters long, to a two, three, or four-lane highway bridge with
spans up to ninety-one meters.
The side trusses comprise standard truss panels assembled in a variety of ways to suit
any particular design specification. The panels can be accommodated side by side and
also stacked. Further versatility and range is given by the use of reinforcing chords
attached to the tops and bottoms of the trusses. The various standard truss
configurations with their abbreviated names are illustrated in Figure 2.2.
The side trusses are connected by bridge transoms (transverse floor beams) which
are placed at 3.048 meter centers and accommodate the deck units spanning
longitudinally between them. The transoms are bolted to the panels and are also
connected by diagonal rakers.
The deck units are designed as orthotropic structures with longitudinal edge stiffening,
and are able to withstand the heaviest wheel loading at any point. The outside deck
units can be provided with integral welded curbs. The deck units are 1.83 meters wide
so that a single lane bridge has two curb units side by side, providing a deck width
of 3.67 meters. A two-lane bridge deck is comprised of two central decks and two
outside curb units giving a width of 7.35 meters. The deck units may be provided
with a plain galvanized finish suitable for an asphalt surfacing, or with a factory-
applied aggregate driving surface that prevents skidding.
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In addition to the single and two-lane bridges detailed above, the following alternatives
are available:
Extra Wide: Single lane bridge with a width of 4.2 meters
EW18: Single lane bridge, width 5.5 meters
2L30: Two-lane bridge, width 9.15 meters
3L36: Three lane bridge: width 11 meters
Cantilevered foot walks are available as standard equipment and can provide
pedestrian access on one or both sides of the bridge. The footwalks are fully
separated from vehicular traffic and allow complete pedestrian security. Foot walks are
described in Section 3.2.
The most common method of installation for an Acrow bridge is by a “cantilever
launch”. The bridge is partially built on rollers on the home bank of the gap and then
pushed across to land on the far bank. To prevent overturning, the front of the bridge is
extended with a lighter structure known as the “launching nose”. A modified version of
this method is the “crane-assisted launch”, which can be carried out with either a much
shorter nose or none at all. Both methods are described in Section 5. When cranes
of sufficient capacity are available, partially-built bridges may be lifted on to their
abutments without launching considerations.
FIGURE 2.1 STANDARD PANEL: AB701

FIGURE 2.2 STANDARD TRUSS CONFIGURATIONS
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SECTION 3 DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS
3.1 BRIDGE COMPONENTS

TRUSS MEMBERS
AB701 PANEL
The truss panel is the basic building block of the Acrow bridging system and provides
the structural strength of the bridge side trusses. They may be used singly on each side
of the bridge or combined together in various configurations to provide trusses with
enormous capacity, capable of carrying up to four lanes of highway traffic over
spans in excess of sixty meters. The truss panel is a welded steel fabrication,
comprised of top and bottom chords linked by a series of vertical and diagonal bracing
members. The chords at one end of the panel terminate in a male jaw, while the
other end has a female jaw; both jaws have a transverse pin hole. The panels connect
the male to female end, and are secured by inserting an AB051 Panel Pin through the
coinciding pin holes; AB052 Safety Clips secure the pin in position at both ends. The
AB701 Panel is capable of 267 kN in shear at its end.
The panel dimensions between pin hole centers are 3.05 long by 2.18 meters high.
The panels are fabricated from hot rolled steel sections of specification ASTM A572
Grade 65, also known as AASHTO M223, and are hot dip galvanized to ASTM A123,
as are all components.
AB702 SHEAR PANELS

A bridge truss will be comprised mostly of AB701 Panels. However, to generate
capacity at the bearings without the need to provide end posts, it is necessary to
include shear panels in the end bays of bridge. The AB702 Shear Panel has the same
overall dimensions as those of the AB701, but incorporates heavier bracing members,
thus enabling the traffic loads to be transferred to the bridge bearings.
NOTE: Because the correct positioning of different panels within a truss is essential to
the structural capability of the bridge, it is extremely important to correctly identify them
prior to commencing the build. The main distinguishing feature of the AB702 Shear
Panel is the use of solid rectangular sections as the end verticals and
rectangular tubes as diagonals. The AB701 is fabricated entirely from channel
sections.
AB708 HIGH SHEAR PANEL

The AB708 High Shear Panel is dimensionally similar, but has a greater load
capacity which will be required in some very large bridges. They are always used with

AB702 Panels in the adjacent bays. They differ from the AB702 Panels by the use of
solid rectangular sections for the diagonal members.
AB051 PANEL PIN
The standard panel pins are manufactured in compliance with 4140, Grade B7/ASTM
A193. They are 206mm long by 47mm in diameter and can carry a safe working load
of 650 KN in double shear. They are tapered at each end and can be safely
hammered home into the panel jaws using a 4kg hammer without damage. In use,
the pins are secured at each end with an AB052 Safety Circlip.
FIGURE 3.1 PANEL PIN : AB051 & AB052 CIRCLIP
AB620, AB621 REINFORCING CHORDS

Reinforcing chords are double channel fabrications similar to the top/bottom chord of
the AB701 Truss Panels. The AB620 is 3.28 meters in length; i.e., one bay in length,
and the AB621 is two bays long. The chords are used to increase the moment capacity
of the trusses, but do not add to the shear capacity. Reinforcing chords are bolted to
the top and bottom chords of the panels using eight AB584 Chord Bolts per
AB621 Reinforcing Chord and four AB584 Chord Bolts per AB620 Reinforcing Chord.
The chords are joined end to end with AB051 Panel Pins. In a reinforced bridge the
chords are typically used in all bays except the end bays which are un-reinforced.
Double and triple trusses may be partially reinforced to produce DSR1 and TSR2
trusses.
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FIGURE 3.2 REINFORCING CHORDS : AB620 AND AB621
AB622, AB623 HEAVY REINFORCING CHORDS

Fabricated from heavier channel sections, the heavy chords are used in a similar
manner to the AB620 & AB621 chords, but where greater moment capacity is required.
The AB622 Heavy Reinforcing Chord is one bay long and the AB623 is two bays long.
The heavy chords have a larger pinholes and are connected end to end with the AB079
Heavy Panel Pin.
AB079 HEAVY PANEL PIN
Similar to AB051 Pins but with a diameter of 56mm for use with heavy reinforcing
chords. They are secured at each end with a heavy safety ring, AB079A.

BRACING MEMBERS
AB703 RAKER
Connects the panels to the transoms and provides vertical truss bracing. The bottom of
the raker is bolted to the web of the transom using a single AB547A Transom Bolt
which also passes through the end vertical of the outer panel of multiple panel trusses.
At the end bays where an AB702 or AB708 is used, the longer AB547AS Transom Bolt
is required. The upper end of the raker is bolted to the end vertical of the inner panel.
With multiple panel trusses, the same bolt also connects to the AB513 Raker Brace.
AB513 RAKER BRACE

The raker brace is bolted horizontally to the other panels in the truss assembly using
an AB549A Short Brace Bolt at each panel, or in shear panels with an AB548A Raker
Bolt.
It should be noted that all bolts passing through the panel end verticals should be
inserted from the panel side, and the securing nut placed in the gap between the
panels with the washer being placed at the head side of the bolt.
FIGURE 3.3 RAKER : AB703 AND RAKER BRACE : AB513
The raker brace is provided with an extra bolt hole to be positioned at the transom for
an AB547 bolt, only in a single truss configuration.
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AB514 CHORD BRACE and AB522 DIAGONAL BRACE

The AB514 Chord Brace is very similar to the AB513 Raker Brace described earlier. It
differs only in that it has no spacer plate welded to the bolt hole at one end. The AB514
Chord Brace and the AB522 Diagonal Brace are connected with AB549A bolts to the
underside of the top chords of all trusses to form a continuous "Z" brace for the whole
length of the truss. However the starting and ending transverse members are AB513
Raker Braces instead of AB514 Chord Braces. The spacer makes up for the lack of a
diagonal brace on one side.
The AB522 Diagonal Brace is the primary horizontal bracing system for multiple-truss
configurations.
FIGURE 3.4 CHORD BRACE: AB514 AND DIAGONAL BRACE : AB522

SWAYBRACES
Swaybraces form the main horizontal bracing system which ensures the bridge will be
built squarely and resists transverse forces on the bridge (wind, etc.). There are four
standard Swaybraces in use: AB590 Swaybrace used with the single lane and two-lane
bridges, and the AB591 Swaybrace EW used for Extra Wide bridges. There are also
the AB515 Swaybrace Heavy and AB516 Swaybrace Heavy EW which are heavy duty
braces used in two storey and long span bridges.
All swaybraces are fabricated from steel channel sections and are provided with a
clevis at each end. This fits over a cleat welded to the web of the transoms, and is
secured by a single AB536A Brace Bolt. In each bay of bridge there are two
swaybraces which, in single lane constructions, cross and are bolted together at the
center using a single AB549A Short Brace Bolt. In two-lane bridges, the swaybraces
form a “V” in each bay and must follow the bracing pattern to be effective.
FIGURE 3.5 EXTRA WIDE SWAYBRACE : AB591
AB518 & AB519 TRANSOM BRACE

Every transom must be braced vertically. This is accomplished by the use of transom
braces consisting of 76mm channels or angles in alternate bays. The braces are
placed in pairs in two parallel lines close to the trusses, and take the form of a simple
“X” brace bolted to the transoms and to each other where they cross, with AB549A
bolts. The AB518 Transom Brace Standard is used with all single lane bridges, and the
AB519 Transom Brace Two Lane with all two or three lane structures.

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FIGURE 3.6 TRANSOM BRACE: AB518
TRANSOM BEAMS
Transoms are the main floor beams which determine the width of the bridge. They are
available in the following typical lengths: Standard Carriageway (SCW), Extra Wide
(EW), Extra Wide 18 (EW 18), Two Lane (TL24), Two Lane (2L30) and Three Lane
(3L36). Other roadway widths can also be accommodated. The transoms are located
at the end of each bay over the panel pin position, and at each end of the bridge.
They are provided with special channels (Halfen Channels), welded to their tops into
which the deck units are located and secured with deck bolts. The transoms are
fabricated from standard hot-rolled beams.
AB511 SCW TRANSOM

The standard single lane transom which provides a deck width of 3.67 meters.
AB507 EW TRANSOM
A single-lane transom giving a deck width of 4.2 meters.

FIGURE 3.7 EXTRA WIDE TRANSOM: AB507
AB690 EW18 TRANSOM

A single-lane transom with a deck width of 5.5 meters for wider loads. All single lane
transoms are fabricated from steel beams having a 410 mm depth.
AB585 TL24 TRANSOM

The standard two-lane transom fabricated from a beam of 608 mm depth. The deck
width provided is 7.35 meters.
AB510 TL24 TRANSOM HEAVY

Heavy duty, two-lane transom with deck width of 7.35 meters, and a beam depth of
618mm.
AB890 3L36 TRANSOM

The standard three-lane transom fabricated from a beam 780 mm deep. The deck
width provided is 11 meters.
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DECK UNITS
AB601 DECK UNIT AND AB602 CURB UNIT
Deck units are constructed with a plain steel running surface having a cross sectional
depth of 137 mm. ( See Figure 3.8.) The deck units are fabricated as true orthotropic
structures with longitudinal edge stiffening and lateral tubes for distributing wheel loads.
The curb units are provided with integrally welded curbs.
Each deck unit provides an effective deck width of 1.80 m so that two curbs on a single
lane bridge gives a lane width of 3.67 meters and two curbs plus two decks give a
running width of 7.35 meters.
Deck units are bolted to the transoms using a special AB546 “T” Bolt which locates into
the special channel welded to the transom. Four bolts are used per deck unit, and all
bolting is carried out from the top of the deck. (See Figure 3.9)
The deck units are provided with end plates which are designed to allow all vertical
loads to be transferred from the deck to the transom close to the center of the beam
and thus directly into the web. This load pattern prevents any torsional loads being
imposed on the transom. Eliminating torsional loads results in a longer life for a
transom.
If required, the decks can be given an asphalt surface overlay on site. Alternatively, the
deck units may be provided with a factory applied, anti-skid epoxy and aggregate
driving surface.
AB604 EW INFILL DECK UNIT

In order to provide the wider lane of the Extra Wide bridge, the AB604 EW Infill Deck is
used between the two curb units to give a deck width of 4.2 meters. Each infill
panel/unit is bolted to the transom with four deck bolts.
FIGURE 3.8 DECK UNIT: AB601

FIGURE 3.9 DECK HOLD DOWN SYSTEM
AB720 & AB721 EOB INFILL UNITS

Because the deck units locate to the center of the transoms, there will be a gap at each
end of the bridge between the last deck unit and the abutment of approximately
140mm. The EOB (End of Bridge) infill units fill this gap with an AB720 EOB Infill used
adjacent to each end deck or curb unit, and the AB721 EOB Extra Wide Infill where the
AB604 EW Infill Deck has been used. Each EOB Infill is bolted down with two AB546
Deck Bolts.
BEARINGS
AB503/AB504 BEARING BLOCKS
The bearing block is pinned to the bottom of the AB702 Shear Panel or AB708 Heavy
Shear Panel at the end of the bridge. The bridge loads are transferred to the bearings
through AB503 Male Bearing Block or AB504 Female Bearing Block seated on an
AB587 Bearing. (See Figure 3.10)
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FIGURE 3.10 BEARING BLOCKS: AB503 AND AB504

AB587 BEARING
Located on the abutment beneath the AB503 Male or the AB504 Female Bearing
Block. It is effectively a rocker bearing that can be bolted down or restrained to an
abutment or pier for a fixed bearing, or it can sit on top of the AB587U & AB587L for a
sliding bearing condition. The bearing capacity is 588 kN. (See Figure 3.11)
FIGURE 3.11 BEARING: AB587
AB587U & AB587L UPPER & LOWER BEARING ELEMENT

For the expansion bearings of a bridge, a sliding bearing elements are provided, and
are located beneath the AB587 Bearings at the free end of the bridge. The AB587L
Lower Bearing Element consists of a 178mm x 127mm x 3mm steel plate with a
152mm x 102mm x 3mm Teflon pad bonded to it. It is placed on the abutment or pier

with the Teflon pad facing up, and secured with epoxy adhesive selected for the
application. The AB587U Upper Bearing Element is a 292mm x 216mm x 3mm
stainless steel plate, which is placed on top of the Teflon. The AB587 Bearing is then
placed on top of both plates. (See Figure 3.12)
FIGURE 3.12 UPPER AND LOWER BEARING

ELEMENTS: AB587U AND AB587L
BOLTS
All bolts used in the bridge are grade A325 and have a galvanized finish. They are
all provided with a galvanized washer and nut. The typical location for each bolt type is
described below. However, Acrow bridge plans provide explicit, detailed locations and
bolt designations for the entire bridge assembly. All connection bolts in the bridge are
to be properly tightened during the assembly process.
AB536A BRACING BOLT LONG

25.4mm diameter by 89mm long. It is used for bolting the swaybracing to the
transoms. Also used as the bottom raker bolt for single truss constructions and for
connecting the AB517 EOB Strut.
AB546 DECK BOLT

19mm diameter and 102mm long. It is provided with a “T” head which fits into the
special channel on the transom and bolts the deck units down. This bolt comes as an
assembly incorporating a square washer plus the round washer and two nuts. (See
Figure 3.9)
AB547A TRANSOM BOLT

25.4mm diameter by 108mm long. It is used to secure the transoms to the AB701
Panels.
AB547AS TRANSOM BOLT SHEAR

25.4mm diameter by 140mm long. This bolt is used to bolt the transoms to the end
verticals of the AB702 or AB708 Shear Panels.
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AB548A RAKER BOLT

25.4mm in diameter and 64mm long. This bolt is used to secure the AB703 Raker to
the end vertical of either the AB702 Shear Panel or the AB708 Heavy Shear Panel.
AB584 CHORD BOLT
32mm in diameter and 88mm long. This bolt is used to secure reinforcing chords to the
truss panels (see Figure 5.7 for orientation)
3.2 FOOTWALK COMPONENTS

A cantilevered footwalk system can be attached to the transoms at either or both sides
of the bridge. The standard walk surface is 5’ wide. However, other widths are also
available to suit the site requirements.
AB480 FOOTWALK BEARER
Bolted to the top of the transom with AB053 Bearer Bolts. The footwalk bearer consists
of double channels which will support the footwalk deck units. Tubes welded to the top
of the bearer receive the footwalk railing posts.
AB481 FOOTWALK POST

A square tube which fits into the post receptacles on the footwalk bearer and are
secured with AB487 Post Bolts. Plates welded to the sides of the post accommodate
the AB482 Footwalk Handrail.
AB482 FOOTWALK HANDRAIL

Consists of a 76mm wide channel which is secured to the AB481 Footwalk Post, with
AB485 Footwalk Rail Bolts.
AB483 FOOTWALK DECK

The Footwalk Deck unit measures 3.04 meters by 1.5 meters, and is provided with
small curbs to prevent debris falling from the footwalk and to satisfy toe plate
requirements. The deck units are secured to the AB480 Footwalk Bearer with AB486
Footwalk Deck Bolts. A deck unit can be supplied with the epoxy-aggregate, anti-skid
surface, or a galvanized, checker plate surface.
AB484 FOOTWALK BEARER STRUT

Consists of a steel angle which bolts to the transom and supports the end of the AB480
Footwalk Bearer as a diagonal strut. The connection to the transom is with an AB549
Bracing Bolt Short.
AB053 BEARER BOLT ASSEMBLY

19mm diameter by 89mm. Connects the AB480 Footwalk Bearer to the transom. This
comes as an assembly including a bevelled washer to compensate for the bevelled
flange of the bearer channel. (See Figure 3.18)
FIGURE 3.13 FOOTWALK BEARER: AB480 FIGURE 3.14 FOOTWALK POST: AB481
FIGURE 3.15FOOTWALK HANDRAIL: AB482 FIGURE 3.16 FOOTWALK DECK: AB483
FIGURE 3.17 FOOTWALK BEARER STRUT: AB484 FIGURE 3.18 FOOTWALK BEARER BOLT: AB053
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AB485 FOOTWALK RAIL BOLT

13mm diameter by 38mm; it is used to secure the AB482 Footwalk Handrail to the
AB481 Footwalk Post.
AB486 FOOTWALK DECK BOLT

13mm diameter by 50mm; it is used to secure the AB483 Footwalk Deck to the AB480
Footwalk Bearer.
AB487 FOOTWALK POST BOLT

13mm diameter by 102mm. This bolt is used to secure the AB481 Footwalk Post to the
AB480 Footwalk Bearer receptacle.
3.3 LAUNCHING COMPONENTS

AB043 ROCKING ROLLER
These rollers are used at the abutments as both the launching and receiving rollers
during a launch. Each roller is located on a AB587 Bearing and has the ability to
articulate so that it is able to receive the launching nose in the correct alignment, and
also to allow the taper chords to pass over easily. The unit contains two built-in
horizontal rollers, and the bridge alignment is maintained by two vertical guide rollers.
The total safe working load is 25 tonnes. (See Figure 3.19)
FIGURE 3.19 ROCKING ROLLER: AB043

AB042 PLAIN ROLLER

The launching nose and bridge are built on the plain rollers which are typically placed at
7.5 meter centers behind the rocking rollers. The number of stations of plain rollers
depends on the available length of build area and on the bridge length. One side of the
roller has a vertical side plate which acts as a guide to the bridge as it is pushed
forward. The side plate side is usually orientated to the outside of the truss. The Plain
Roller has a working capacity of 15 tonnes. (See Figure 3.20)
AB654 LAUNCHING LINK

This link is pinned between two adjacent panels in the launching nose. It lengthens the
bottom chord and elevates the nose sufficiently to overcome deflection during launch.
(See Figure 3.21).
FIGURE 3.20 PLAIN ROLLER: AB042 FIGURE 3.21 LAUNCHING LINK: AB654
AB660 TAPER CHORD MALE

These units are typically required when launching a reinforced bridge to enable the
reinforcing to pass easily over the rocking rollers. Bridges are normally built female end
forward and the AB660 Taper Chord Male is pinned to the front female end of the bottom
reinforcing and typically bolted to the underside of the front AB702 Shear Panel with a
single AB584 Chord Bolt. (See Figure 3.22)
FIGURE 3.22 TAPER CHORD MALE: AB660
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AB661 TAPER CHORD FEMALE

Similar to the AB660 but used at the rear of the bridge, and is pinned to the end of the
reinforcing chords. This allows the reinforcing chord to pass over the rocking rollers.
(See Figure 3.23)
FIGURE 3.23 TAPER CHORD FEMALE: AB661
AB662 TAPER CHORD MALE HEAVY & AB663 TAPER CHORD FEMALE HEAVY
The components have the same functions as the AB660 and AB661, but are used
when a heavy reinforced bridge is launched. They are pinned to the reinforcing chords
using an AB079 Panel Pin Heavy.
3.4 CONSTRUCTION TOOLS:

AB205 SNAP RING PLIERS
Used to place the AB052 Safety Circlips on the Panel Pins.
AB207 HYDRAULIC JACK

Used to lift the bridge from the rollers and lower it on to the bearings, with a maximum
27 tonne capacity.
Other construction tools required for bridge assembly generally consist of standard
ironworker’s tools including ratchet wrenches, 4kg and 1kg hammers, come-alongs
and pry bars. Thin wall sockets required are: 27mm, 41mm and 51mm plus a 200mm
extension and universal. String lines and measuring tapes are also suggested. These
tools are typically provided by the erector, but can be provided by Acrow for additional
cost.

SECTION 4 BRIDGE DESIGN
4.1 SPECIFICATION
A bridge will be specified by a number of parameters, some of which are as follows:
Bridge width required
Required span
Loads to be carried
Need for Pedestrian Footwalks
Single or Multispan
Simple spans or continuous spans
Having determined the basic requirements, a bridge can be selected from the
design tables in Section 8. These will provide the recommended truss configuration
based on deck width, and enable the weight of the structure to be calculated.
It should be noted however, that while the size and weight of a bridge may be
determined from the tables for purposes of estimating and construction planning,
Acrow Corporation will always provide their clients with a full engineering service.
This service will include all design calculations and construction drawings
ready for submission to interested authorities. Within these calculations will be a
bearing reaction table, which will be transmitted to the bearings thus enabling the
foundations to be designed.
For a nominal fee, Acrow Corporation will provide on-site technical personnel to
oversee the construction of the bridge, which is strongly recommended to assure
proper assembly.
Once the size and weight of the bridge have been determined, the method
of construction can be decided upon. The common method of construction is by
cantilever launch. However, there may be circumstances which can make this
either difficult or impossible, and other solutions must be considered. For a
launch it is necessary to construct most of the bridge plus a launching nose on
rollers behind the home abutment. A site survey is required to determine if an area
of sufficient size is available, since the entire launch procedure and details are
dependent on the available build area behind the home rollers.
If cranes of sufficient size are available, a bridge may be also lifted into position.
Specific rigging details would be developed with the erector to assure a safe lift plan
and avoid damage to the bridge.
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4.2 SITE ASSESSMENT

If an Acrow Bridge is being built to replace a damaged structure as an emergency
structure, or is being used as a temporary bypass to a permanent bridge under
reconstruction, there may be some flexibility as to its exact location. In this case it is
important to assess the approaches to the bridge and access for vehicles delivering
the components in order to determine the optimum bridge location. If the location is
pre-determined, the site should be assessed as to the suitability of the available
working area behind the abutments, and to decide from which end the bridge should
be launched.
If possible, the home and far bank bearing elevation should be the same.
However, if a longitudinal slope greater than 2% (1 in 50) is inevitable, special
precautions may be necessary and Acrow should be consulted on the design.
Transverse cross-slopes are to be avoided. The build area for the structure should be
straight and in line with the center line of the bridge. It should preferably be at least
equal to the span length and have a working width three meters wider than the
transom length. If the build and launch area is less than that suggested, the result
may be a more difficult, restricted build, necessitating extra counterweights and extra
steps during the launch.
The build area and launch plane must be level laterally and, if possible, longitudinally.
If there is a longitudinal slope, it is most important that the top of the rollers lies in
a single continuous plane. The soil surface should be compacted enough to
accommodate the reactions to be imposed by each roller station.
The landing area on the far side of the gap should be sufficient for at least two bays of
bridge to pass beyond the landing rollers. Ideally it should be possible for the
complete nose to pass the abutment to avoid unnecessary pauses during the launch.
The bridge/nose reactions at the landing rollers must also be considered in
developing the launch plan to avoid overloading the rollers or the truss members.
4.3 BRIDGE AND TRUSS SELECTION

From the specification parameters listed in 4.1 above, the span and required width will
be determined together with the load to be carried. For AASHTO loadings, the truss
size can be selected from Table 8.4 which gives the recommended truss configuration
for single span bridges with various deck widths.
If the bridge requires footwalks or is a multispan structure, then further design work
must be carried out by Acrow’s engineers. If only one footwalk is required, it is
possible for the side truss carrying it to be of stronger configuration than the truss with
no footwalk.
The Tables in Section 8 are to be used only for estimating purposes and to assess
the bridge dead loads imposed on the abutments. All design loads will be confirmed
by Acrow, although it should be noted that Acrow does not design sub-structures.

4.4 LAUNCHING DESIGN

It is not within the scope of this book to give a full description of the launch design pro-
cedure. Launching a bridge is potentially hazardous and the design of the launching nose
and launching procedure, i.e. length, truss size, position of the launching link, required
counterweights, etc., is technically complex.
1. In general terms the length of a launching nose is commonly half the bridge span
plus one bay.
2. A bridge is usually launched with some counterweight in the rear bays of the bridge.
3. The bridge can also be launched with the rear half of the bridge deck in place,
providing additional counterweight for the launch.
4. The object of the design and launch procedure is to always know the position of the
center of gravity of the structure as built, and to ensure that the C.G. always re-
mains behind the launching rollers with a degree of safety.
Acrow Corporation can always provide the full launching design including drawings and
project specific procedures. A launch procedure should only be carried out under
the supervision of an Acrow-appointed engineer or Field Representative.
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SECTION 5 BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION

5.1 INTRODUCTION
Acrow bridges may be built and installed by several methods, the most common one
being a full cantilever launch from the home bank to the far bank. This method requires
the construction of a launching nose at the front of the bridge. The nose is built on
rollers and is comprised of standard panels braced to transoms to form a light-weight
structure which lengthens the bridge and enables the whole structure, nose plus bridge,
to be pushed out over the gap. By adding counterweight to the rear of the structure, it
is possible to ensure that the center of gravity of the build always remains behind the
launching rollers located on the home abutment, until the nose reaches the receiving
rollers on the far abutment.
If a crane with sufficient capacity is available, a crane-assisted launch can also be
used. This method requires either a very short nose or none at all, and utilizes the
crane located on the far bank and hooked to the front of the bridge. The crane provides
the increasing lift of the tip to prevent overturning as the bridge nears the far bank. This
method requires great care and skill by the crane operator, and should only be
undertaken with Acrow if all those concerned are confident of success, given the
circumstances.
If sufficiently large cranes are available, bridges may be also lifted into place either
complete or without the deck. The lifting points should always be at transom level and
incorporate straps or wire rope, of adequate capacity, around the lower truss chords
with adequate blocking to prevent damage of the bridge. Any construction method
should be engineered by Acrow engineers and supervised by a qualified Acrow
Representative.

5.2 CONSTRUCTION AREA

BUILDING AREA
For a conventional launch, it is preferable to have an area behind the launching rollers
equal in length to the span. The area should be approximately 3m wider than the
transoms in use and have room to stack components within easy reach of the as-
sembly equipment. A typical arrangement is shown in Figure 5.1.
FIGURE 5.1 TYPICAL BUILD AREA LAYOUT (EW BRIDGE)
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The working area should be such that the plain and rocking rollers can be placed level
transversely and in a common plane longitudinally. If the launch is on a gradient, either
positive or negative, the slope should not exceed 2 percent. Bridges launched on a
slope must be fully secured at all times during launch and assembly, by being tied to
the launch vehicle or an external restraint, in order to prevent accidental movement
during construction. In all cases it is imperative the rollers be level or at a constant
gradient and level transversely.
The careful positioning and levelling of rollers prior to the build will often be a time
consuming operation, but is essential in order to ensure that the first bays of bridge are
built square, and allowing the easy insertion of all the bracing bolts. Time spent on
accurately placing and levelling rollers will be repaid with dividends during construction
and launching. Setting the rollers to an accuracy within 5 mm vertically is
recommended. Care must be taken to ensure that the support grillage for rollers is
able to take the loads without sinking or failing. Timber grillages are usually used to
support the plain rollers, but if the soil conditions do not permit the use of timbers,
concrete pads may be used. If concrete is used, the minimum size is 1500mm by
1500mm by 300mm thick with re-bar for structural integrity. It is critical to note that all
rollers and cribbing/grillages must be restrained to resist the longitudinal thrusts
inherent with any launch procedure.
If the available construction area is less than the ideal, it may be necessary to construct
the bridge ‘restrictively’ or in stages. Counterweights will be required at the rear of the
bridge as constructed during any launch procedure to ensure that the center of gravity
remains behind the launching rollers at all times. When short interim launch pushes are
required in a restrictive build, it will be necessary to place counterweights for the push
and then to remove them following further construction. Inevitably this will involve
double handling of counterweight material and increase the time required for the build.
A longer nose can sometimes be usefully employed in a restrictive build. Deck units
are ideal for use as counterweights, as they may be readily stacked on the transoms in
the rear bays.
LANDING AREA
A sufficiently clear space is required on the far bank to allow at least two bays of nose
to pass beyond the landing rollers. Ideally, it should be possible for the complete
launching nose to pass the rollers so that unnecessary interruptions of the launch may
be avoided. It is also necessary to be aware of the structural integrity of the nose plus
bridge before removing any nose as partial removal may compromise the structure.
During construction of the bridge, the engineer must always be cognizant of weather
conditions. Wind gusts can add unwanted weight to the bridge and apply lateral forces
that may affect the alignment of the bridge during a launch. Therefore, it is not
recommended to launch a bridge with sustained winds of 40 km/h or gusts of 55 km/h
or greater.

5.3 ABUTMENT AND SITE LAYOUT

The home and far bank construction areas should be cleared, graded and compacted if
necessary, so that roller foundations can be placed, components stored, and
construction traffic can operate upon it without uneven or undue subsidence.
Acrow does not design foundations, although we will provide typical drawings showing
the dimensional requirements. The abutments must be designed to accommodate
Acrow’s design loads considering the underlying ground conditions. Except for emer-
gency situations, the abutments are usually formed in reinforced concrete as spread
foundations, or by constructing a pile cap on bearing piles. Alternatively, the bridge
bearings can be located on steel beams which themselves will be located on bearing
piles.
If the abutments are concrete, the launching and landing rollers should be set out on
the bearing shelf, usually in front of the bearing positions to avoid the need for a tail
during the launch. It is always recommended that the rear retaining walls of the abut-
ment (the end dam walls), be left off until the bridge is in place on its bearings. Also
that the grading behind the abutments is left low enough to accommodate the plain
roller and pads. If this is not done, the rollers have to be located at a higher elevation
requiring temporary blocking, and work involved in subsequent jacking down is consid-
erably increased. If the bridge is on steel foundations, provisions must be made to ac-
commodate the home roller positions, and the end retaining wall may be formed by
sheet piling or possibly stone Gabions.
5.4 ROLLER AND EQUIPMENT LAYOUT

Set out the centerline of the bridge by sighting a line from the far bank abutment across
the gap and back into the construction area. The line from the home abutment can be
marked with a string line, against which can be marked the centerline positions of the
construction rollers. The ideal positions of the launching and landing rollers are
marked on the bearing shelf 750mm in front of (i.e. toward the gap) the bearing posi-
tions. If the rollers can be placed in these positions, it will shorten the effective span by
1.5 meters and also simplify the eventual jacking down procedures.
Plain rollers are typically placed at 7.62m centers behind the launching rollers on lines
at right angles to the centerline. The rollers are set in pairs located under the inner and
outer panel lines of each truss. (See Figure 5.1) Other configurations may also be re-
quired as dictated by the site-specific launch procedures generated by Acrow engi-
neers.
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The distance at which the rollers should be set from the centerline of the bridge is as
follows:
CENTERLINE OF BRIDGE TO CENTER OF INNER ROLLERS OUTER ROLLERS

Standard Wide (SCW) 2.019m 2.705m
Extra Wide (EW) 2.477m 3.162m
Extra Wide 18 (EW18) 2.896m 3.581m
Two Lane (TL24) 3.848m 4.534m
Two Lane (TL30) 4.859m 5.544m
Three Lane 36 (3L36) 5.690m 6.375m
When laying out the construction equipment, plan to place the components for the
launching nose and fifty percent of the bridge trusses at the midway point of the
storage area and the remaining fifty percent plus deck, at the rear of the storage
area. Storage of the components should be to the side of the build area but within
reach of the assembly crane.
Many project sites will not meet the ideal layout as shown in Figure 5.1, and the area
must then be adapted to suit the conditions. Bear in mind the general principle that
the material stockpiles should be placed as near as possible to the positions in the
bridge where they will be used during assembly.
FIGURE 5.2 CANTILEVER LAUNCH OF ACROW BRIDGE
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®
CORPORATION2015
2015 3535
5.5 CONSTRUCTION OF THE LAUNCHING NOSE

INTRODUCTION
This description of a typical launching nose build is for use with an Extra Wide bridge
and a 17-Bay (51.82m) span. The truss construction of the bridge will be Double
Single Reinforced Two (DSR2) and the nose will be 27.43 meters (9 Bays) in
length, and its truss construction will be 7 bays of Single Single (SS) plus two bays of
Double Single (DS) construction.
The bays of the structure (each 3.048 meters long), are numbered from the front of the
nose through to the rear of the bridge. Therefore Bays 1 to 7 (nose) are Single
Single construction, Bays 8 & 9 (nose) are Double Single, and Bays 10 to 26 are the
bridge itself using Double Single Reinforced Two construction.
CONSTRUCTION OF BAYS 1 TO 3 OF NOSE

The first Bay of the launching nose consists only of two AB 701 Panels without a
forward transom. For this reason the building commences with Bay 2. For ease of
construction, bridges are usually built with the female jaws of the panels towards the
gap (Female Forward).
With the rollers laid out as described in Section 5.4, the first AB507 Transom is placed
on blocking about 5 meters ahead of the first pair of plain rollers, at right angles to the
alignment of the bridge. The position of this transom must be such that the inner panel
connection holes are in line with the rollers. This first transom is placed with the
“cut-outs” in the top flange facing away from the gap. (see Figure 5.3). The transom
must be located on packing so that its underside is at least 100mm above the tops of
the rollers. (see Figure 5.4A)
An AB701 Panel is now brought up to the transom with female jaws forward, and bolted
to it at the inner position using AB547A Transom Bolts. The rear end of the panel is
supported on blocking placed approximately 500mm from the rear jaw for stability of the
panels (see Figure 5.4.A). An AB703 Raker is now bolted to the transom at the outer
panel position and to the panel at the bolt hole near the top of the end vertical member.
The connection to the transom uses an AB536A Bracing Bolt Long and the connection
to the panel is made with an AB549A Bracing Bolt. The procedure above is then
repeated for the panel on the other side of the bridge.
The rear transom of Bay 3 may now be placed in position, located on the male jaws
at the rear of the panels. The “cut-outs” for this transom will be facing towards the gap,
and it should now be bolted to the trusses as above, and the rakers installed. All the
remaining transoms in the nose will be placed with “cut-outs” facing towards the gap,
except for the one between bays 7 & 8, which is the start of the Double Single
construction. (see Figure 5.3).
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FIGURE 5.3 LAYOUT OF TRANSOMS AT LAUNCHING NOSE

Every bay of bridge or nose contains a pair of AB519 Swaybraces. These braces,
which are placed as a cross brace, ensure that the bridge bays are accurately squared
and also function as the plan braces resisting lateral forces in the bridge. The
swaybraces are placed by hand, the lower one first, located with its channel flanges
pointing downwards and connected to the transom using the boltholes located in the
lower flange near the truss panel position. The second, upper swaybrace is located with
its flanges pointing up.
The bolts used at the transoms are AB536A Bracing Bolt Long. Where the swaybraces
cross at their centers, they are bolted together using an AB549A Bracing Bolt Short. At
this stage, bolts should be only hand tightened.
If the initial transom was situated correctly, the panels of Bay 3 should now be located
directly over the first pair of plain rollers. If they are slightly out of position or out of line,
this is the time to make corrections as the whole construction can be easily lifted and
moved by the crane to achieve the correct alignment.
Bay 3 may now be constructed in a similar sequence behind Bay 2, and supported on
packing.
Bay 1 may now be constructed by adding two panels to the front of Bay 2. Bay 1 does
not have either a front transom or swaybracing. With a nose of 9 bays, the AB654
Launching Links would be installed between Bays 2 & 3, connected to the bottom jaws
of the truss panels. Once the first three bays are complete the structure can be lifted off
the front packing and lowered on to the plain rollers.
CONSTRUCTION OF BAYS 4 TO 9 OF NOSE

Bays 4, 5 and 6 may now be added to the rear and once these are built, Bays 1 to 3
may be fully tightened with wrenches. This procedure of tightening three bays ahead of
construction should be followed throughout the nose and bridge build in order to allow
flexibility of the assembly for component installation.
The rear packing may now be removed and the remainder of the nose built on the
rollers. Restraints should be attached to the structure to prevent any movement during
the remaining build. Bay 7 may now be added and as this is the last SS bay before the
start of the DS Bay 8, the transom at the rear should be placed so that the top flange
cut outs are facing away from the gap. This enables the outer panels of Bay 8 to be
bolted to that transom.
The transom should be temporarily bolted to the Bay 7 trusses with AB547A Transom
Bolts or tied to the panels to prevent it from falling. The swaybraces are then installed
at which point the temporary restraints can be removed. The raker is not connected at
this time.

38 COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 38
FIGURE 5.4A POSITIONING OF FIRST TRANSOM
FIGURE 5.4B CONSTRUCTION OF NOSE BAY 2

Construction of Bay 8 starts with the connection of the inner panels pinned to the rear
of the Bay 7 panels. The transom resting on the end of the Bay 7 panels can now be
bolted to the Bay 8 truss panels. An AB703 Raker is connected to the top of the inner
truss panel, together with an AB513 Raker Brace using the same bolt. One end of the
raker brace has no washer welded to it and it this end which shares the AB549A Brac-
ing Bolt Short used to connect the raker to the panel. A second AB701 Panel is
brought up to the outer bolting position of the transom, and is bolted to it, together with
the lower end of the raker, sharing an AB547A Transom Bolt. The rear end of the outer
panel should be supported on temporary packing. The raker brace is bolted to the out-
er panel using an AB549A Bracing Bolt Short. The panels for the other side truss are
installed in a similar manner.
Bay 8 is completed with the installation of the rear transom (cut-outs facing the gap),
rakers and raker braces and the installation of the swaybraces. Any temporary packing
may now be removed. Bay 9 is now built by connecting all four panels to the rear of
Bay 8 and the rear transom added. The transom to be placed at the rear of Bay 9 will
be the leading transom of the main bridge and as such, it must be reversed so that the
cut outs in the top flange are facing away from the gap. As it is ultimately to be bolted
to the front of Bay 10, it should be supported temporarily in position using AB547A
Transom Bolts prior to installing the swaybraces as was described above for Bay 7.
While the structure is still relatively light it is usually advantageous to push the nose
forward so that it passes over the AB043 Rocking Rollers acting as launching rollers on
the abutment. Final adjustments to alignment may then be made with little difficulty.
Note that the location of the assembled system C.G. (center of gravity), must be known
so that it is always safely behind the rocking rollers for stability.
5.6 CONSTRUCTION OF THE MAIN SPAN

INTRODUCTION
Following immediately on from the construction of Bay 9, the last bay of nose, will be
Bay 10 which is the first bay of the bridge. The bridge under discussion here has a
51.82 meter span consisting of 17 bays numbered from 10 to 26, with a truss construc-
tion of Double Single Reinforced Two (DSR2). As with all reinforced bridges of the
Acrow 700XS bridging system, the first and last bays are un-reinforced with the rein-
forcing starting in the second bay and ending in Bay 25.
ASSEMBLY OF THE FIRST BAY OF BRIDGE

Following on from the nose construction, the last transom placed at the rear of Bay 9,
will be the first transom of the bridge main span. It is placed, with the cut-outs on the
top flange facing away from the gap, on the rear jaws of Bay 9 and temporarily bolted
to Bay 9 panels as described above.
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The panels for the first bay of the main span of bridge (Bay 10) are AB702 Shear
Panels. All four panels are pinned to the rear of those of Bay 9, and the transom which
has been temporarily bolted to Bay 9, is released and in turn bolted to the Bay 10
panels using AB547AS Transom Bolts Shear. The AB703 Rakers and AB513 Raker
Braces are connected at this time by an AB548 Raker Bolt with the raker sharing the
outer transom bolt. The top of the raker and the ends of the raker brace are bolted to
the shear panels using AB536A Bracing Bolts with the two components sharing the
bolt at the inner panel.
NOTE: The transom bolts (AB547A or AB547AS) should always pass through the panel
vertical first and then the transom so that the nut and washer are located between the
panel verticals with the washer on the head side. (See Figure 5.5)
FIGURE 5.5 SINGLE CONSTRUCTION

The next transom is now positioned on the rear jaws and bolted to the panels using
AB547AS Transom Shear Bolts, together with the AB 513 Raker Braces and AB 703
Rakers. This transom is placed with the cut-outs facing forward towards the gap, as
will all the remaining transoms in the bridge. The AB 591 Swaybraces are now
installed in Bay 10 as described above.
AB518 TRANSOM BRACES

In addition to the swaybraces, the bays of the main span also have the additional
bracing of AB518 Transom Braces. A pair of transom braces takes the form of an X
brace providing vertical support to the transoms and such a pair is placed on each
side of a bay, parallel and adjacent to the panels.
The transom braces are connected to the transoms using four AB549A Bracing Bolts
Short and where they cross at their centers they are connected together using
another AB549A Bracing Bolt Short. The transom braces are placed in every second
bay, which insures that every transom is supported vertically against traffic forces.
However, in a bridge with an even number of bays it is necessary to have transom
braces in two adjacent bays at one end of the bridge. (See Figure 5.6)
FIGURE 5.6 TRANSOM AND SWAYBRACE LAYOUT
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TRUSS PLAN BRACING

This bracing takes the form of continuous Z-bracing on the underside of the top chords
of all Double Single or Triple Single truss constructions. The bracing is installed for the
first bay with an AB513 Raker Brace as the first member. This is bolted to the outside
panel at the first bolting plate from the female jaw on the underside of the panel top
chord. The end bolted to the outer panel is that which has a welded washer. At the
inside panel, an AB522 Diagonal Top Chord Brace is also attached sharing a common
bolt. The end of the AB513 Raker Brace is located under the end of the AB522 Diagonal
Chord Brace. All connections on the Z-bracing are made using AB549A Bracing Bolts
Short. The other end of the diagonal brace connects with an AB514 Chord Brace
transversely positioned at the next bolting plate in the truss chord. The Z-bracing is now
continuous throughout the length of the bridge using AB522 Diagonal Chord Braces and
AB514 Chord Braces alternately and will terminate with a final AB513 Raker Brace in
Bay 26.
AB660 TAPER CHORD MALE

In order to allow the reinforced bridge to roll onto the launching rollers, it is necessary to
install AB660 Taper Chords Male at the rear of Bay 10. They are bolted to the
underside of each of the Bay 10 panels each using a single AB584 Chord Bolt, and are
pinned to the reinforcing chords, which begin in Bay 11.
AB620 & AB621 REINFORCING CHORDS

Reinforcing always starts in the second bay of a bridge (Bay 11), and finishes in the
penultimate bay, Bay 25 in this case. With a bridge having an odd number of bays, it will
be necessary to include one bay of AB620 Reinforcing Chords Short; the remaining
chords will be the two-bay, AB621 Reinforcing Chords Long.
With the taper chords in position in Bay 10, the first bottom reinforcing chords may be
placed under the panels of Bays 11 and 12. If the bridge is to have a bay of short
chords, these should be used in the first reinforced bay as they will be easier to handle.
FIGURE 5.7 CHORD BOLT CONNECTION DETAIL

The front (female) of each chord may now be lifted and pinned to the rear of the taper
chord. When this connection is made, it is easy to lift the rear of the chords and bolt
them to the underside of the panels using four AB584 Chord Bolts per bay for each
chord (See Figure 5.7). Subsequent bays of reinforcing are installed in a similar
manner, by pinning to the rear of the preceding chord and subsequently bolting to the
underside of the truss. Note that the bottom reinforcing chords should be in place on
the rollers and/or blocking, prior to setting the truss panels.
Top reinforcing chords will be lifted into place with the crane and bolted to the panels
with four AB584 Chord Bolts per bay. The female jaws are forward and the pin holes
of the chords will be directly over the pin holes of the panel joints.
Top Z-bracing is attached to the underside of the top chords of the trusses and made
continuous to the end of the bridge after the top R/C’s are installed.
Repeat the above procedure to complete Bays 13 & 14 insuring that every second
bay contains AB518 Transom Braces. Construction may now continue to complete
as many bays as the length of the construction area allows.
At any point determined by the supervisor, the structure may be pushed forward,
always being very aware of the position of the center of gravity. After any push always
ensure that restraints are repositioned to prevent unwanted movement during
the build procedures.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE LAST BAY OF BRIDGE
Bay 26 will be the final bay and will consist of AB702 Shear Panels. The lines of
reinforcing will end in Bay 25, but Bay 26 will include four AB661 Taper Chords
Female bolted to the underside of the panels and pinned to the rear of the reinforcing
chords in Bay 25.
COMPLETION OF DECKED BAYS AND USE OF COUNTERWEIGHT

As the bridge nears completion it is necessary to consider the installation of
counterweight. The engineer in charge of the launch must know prior to any launch
procedure, the location of the centre of gravity of the as-built structure. It is essential
for any bridge build, that a design plan must be developed for building and launching,
and this plan must be adhered to in the field unless other factors dictate a change.
For this example build, Bays 21 to 26 will be fully decked and extra counterweight
decks will be placed in Bays 25 & 26. The decking components of an Extra Wide
Bridge are AB602 Curb Units, AB604 Center Infill Units and AB546 Deck Bolt
Assemblies. Before placing any decking in a particular bay, it is necessary to ensure
that the swaybrace and transom brace bolts are fully tightened, as they are difficult to
reach after decking is complete.
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The decking units are lifted individually with a 4-way Deck Lifting Sling which is fitted
with 10mm (3/8”) chain slip-hooks that locate into the bolt access holes in the deck
units. First, an AB602 Curb Unit is lifted into place on the bridge in bay 21 such that it
spans between the two transoms and is located to one side of the bridge. The units
locate so that their ends are positioned at the center of the transoms. The bolt holes
will now be located over the hold-down (Halfen) channels on the transom. Once the
unit is placed on the transoms, final adjustment to the correct positioning can easily be
carried out with a pry bar. An AB604 Center Infill Deck Unit is next lifted into position
alongside the first curb unit, and following this, the second curb unit to complete the
decking in this bay is installed. Decking for Bays 22 to 26 is now placed and all
decking is secured with the AB546 Deck Bolt Assemblies, four per deck unit. The
extra deck units required for counterweight may be piled on the rear bays of bridge but
should be securely tied down to prevent movement.
5.7 INSTALLING THE BRIDGE

INTRODUCTION
It should always be remembered that launching a bridge across a gap is potentially
hazardous and that all precautions should be taken to avoid errors in the procedure.
The launch plan should always be based on an Acrow site-specific procedure. A
checklist has been included below, and this should be followed in preparation for a
launch. It is most important that only one person controls and directs the launching
procedure. They should always be aware of the calculated position of the center of
gravity of the structure prior to pushing forward, and ensure that this point remains
at least 2.5 meters behind the launching rollers. Acrow will provide the launching
calculations and a suggested launching plan for all bridge builds, and they should be
followed by the on-site supervisor.
While the description in this section is specific to launching a 51.8 meter (17 bay)
bridge with a 27.4 meter (9 bay) nose, the principles are the same for all launches.
When developing a plan for a launch it should be determined at the outset, how many
stages of launch will be used. The number of pushes and how much assembly should
take place between them, are to be decided by the supervisor. This will be based on
site conditions and tactical requirements and also on the available build area and
receiving area on the far bank. There should not usually be less than two, or more
than five, stages of build and launch, but frequent stops during a launch to assess the
current situation are to be welcomed. Because the various operations prior to any
pushing operation, e.g. bringing up and connecting the dozer, can be time consuming,
it is best to limit the number of pushes to a minimum.

Consideration must be given to the length of construction carried out before a pushing
procedure, taking into account the number of construction roller sets/stations that
are available. A maximum of 25’ or 30’ of bridge should not extend beyond the last
roller station to avoid overloading of the rollers or bottom chords. The bridge should
not be built to a point where it might overturn backwards on the last roller because too
much of the bridge has been constructed before pushing. The cranes in use must
always work within their safe radius. With a bridge and nose totalling 26 bays as is
discussed here, four launching operations should be sufficient as long as the build
area is adequate. Therefore, the plan for the bridge described in this section will be to
launch it fully in four operations.
The most important and critical concerns during launching are firstly to prevent the
bridge from over-balancing, and secondly to stay correctly on line.
All personnel involved in the launch must be briefed as to their responsibilities and
all observers shall be able to stop the launch by signal should something unforeseen
occur. However, ONLY the person in charge should order the launching to re-
commence and should be in contact with the driver of the pushing vehicle at all times.
Pushing forward should be carried out slowly and methodically, checking rollers and
line of movement at all times.
PULLING A BRIDGE
As an alternative to pushing, a bridge may be pulled from the far bank if a suitable
winch and cable system is available. However, it is still necessary to have a
vehicle connected to the rear of the bridge to provide a braking system. Pulling a
bridge across, particularly a long, multiple-span bridge has the advantage of more
accurate alignment. If a pulling system is used, the winch cable attachments to the
Acrow bridge must first be approved by Acrow engineers.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS DURING THE LAUNCH

The rollers should be set out as described in Section 5.4 and the tops of all rollers
should be set at the same level. If a level launch is not possible then it is essential that
the roller tops are set in a single inclined plane, and that pairs of rollers on either side
of the bridge are at the same level. The inclination should not however, exceed 2%.
Launching uphill or downhill adds considerably to the difficulties of a launch, and
it may be preferable to prepare a shorter, but level build area and carry out a restricted
build.
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The ground conditions at the roller positions should be carefully considered, and
sufficient packing material used to spread the loads adequately to avoid settlement of
the rollers during the assembly and launch. Time spent levelling and preparing the roll-
ers is well spent and should not be rushed or trivialized.
The pushing equipment, which can be almost any suitable tracked vehicle or a front
end loader, must be connected to the bridge so that it will be able to apply braking
forces as well as pushing force. The vehicle should be connected by chains or wire
rope to the rear transom(s). To avoid damage to the transom, timber packing should be
placed between the vehicle and the transom or possibly to the last two transoms. Addi-
tionally it is sometimes necessary to brace the rear two transoms together so that the
pushing forces are spread.
LAUNCHING CHECKLIST
 Start with a step-by-step launch plan for the complete operation.
 Inspect the entire structure as constructed for completeness according to the plans, and
that all bolts are tight and all pins and safety clips are in place.
 Calculate the position of the C of G of the structure to be pushed.
 Mark the C of G on the structure and mark a point 2.5m ahead.
 Brief all personnel and assign duties.
 Check that rollers are centered under trusses, in contact with the bottom chord, and are
on firm and level ground.
 Check that the pushing vehicle is correctly centered and fully connected to the structure.
 Remove all roller brakes and restraints.
 Commence launch.
BRAKING AND PUSHING FORCES

The forces required to push and launch a bridge can be considerable. They are
developed as a result of friction in the rollers and any unevenness or slope in the
launch plane. If the rollers are set on level ground and have been well maintained and
lubricated, the friction forces should not exceed 5% of the weight of the bridge.
However, allowance must be made for contingencies and the the pushing vehicle
should be capable of overcoming forces up to 15% of the bridge weight to get the
structure moving and up the slope at the taper chords. Once the bridge is in motion,
the forces are considerably less and often the pusher must act as a brake to stop the
launch when required.
When the front AB660 Taper Chords Male reach the AB043 Rocking Rollers (launching
rollers) there is a considerable forward force imposed on these rollers. Great care must
be taken to observe the rocking rollers as the taper chords move forward and pass
over the rollers to ensure that no displacement takes place. If possible, an observer
should be designated for every roller station, but particularly the launching rollers. If the
launching rollers are located on packing more than 300mm high, it is advisable to phys-
ically restrain them, either using ground anchors or to the abutment, to prevent any
accidental movement of these rollers and the packing during a launch procedure.

When the launch is almost complete, the rear AB661 Taper Chords Female will pass
over the launching rollers. As they do so, a forward momentum is placed on the
bridge and the pushing vehicle may be required to act as a brake. The final few
meters of a launch must always be carried out slowly and carefully to avoid pushing
the bridge too far. Remember that the distance the launching rollers are set in front
of the bearing position is the absolute limit of “too far”, which if exceeded, may result
in injury and damage. If, however, the bridge is only pushed a few millimetres ahead
of its final position, the pushing vehicle will be able to pull the bridge back to the
correct position. A common safety measure to overcome the problem of pushing too
far is to provide a single bay of “tail”. This will usually be an extra bay of Double
Single construction (Bay 27) without a rear transom, thus providing three meters of
safety. The tail can also be usefully used during the jacking phase.
RESTRAINTS
Between launches, when the structure is stationary on the rollers, it must be
restrained against unintended movement before the connections to the pushing
vehicle are removed. Various methods are available:
 Ground Anchors. The bridge may be physically tied to ground anchors at several points.
 Jacking the bridge off a pair of construction rollers and replacing with firm packing will
also achieve stability during building periods.
 Placing a roundbar through the bottom bridge chord into a rocking or construction
roller is a quick and effective restraint on the bridge. However, the bar should be
substantial and more than one should be used at any time.
CONTROL AND ADJUSTMENTS DURING THE LAUNCH

Controlling a bridge launch is probably the most critical part of any bridging operation
and must always be under the control of a single person. The controller must be in
direct contact with the operator of the pushing machine, and able to stop the launch at
any point. However, all personnel who are designated as observers must be able to
signal the controller to stop at any time. An observer should be allocated to each of
the roller stations, and others should take an overall view of the operation. It is equally
important that the controller is the only person who can re-commence a launch.
Bridge launching must always proceed slowly and carefully. Roller setting is crucial to
a good launch. If pairs of rollers are not at the same level, the bridge will tend to travel
laterally towards the lower roller. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that time spent
on roller placement and levelling is well worth the effort.
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The roller observers are watching for any adverse conditions which may include:
 Lateral movement of the bridge on the roller producing pressure on the side guides.
 Sinking of a roller or any movement due to subsidence.
 Rollers not freely turning due to dirt or lack of lubrication.
 Movement of the entire roller station.
If the pushing vehicle is centrally and correctly attached to the bridge, and is pushing
directly along the center line of the bridge, the alignment during launch should be
maintained. However, in practice, the pusher driver will be able to make slight
adjustments to his line of travel, which will slightly move the rear of the bridge laterally
and keep the structure on the required center line.
If a roller becomes displaced during the launch, the launch must be stopped and the
bridge jacked up locally to remedy the situation.
LAUNCHING STAGES
The launching plan for the 17 bay bridge under consideration is described below.
However as mentioned above, it is not within the scope of this book to consider
the design aspects of the launch, so it is given here as an example only:
STAGE 1
The Stage 1 push is when the launching nose, Bays 1 to 9, plus the first bay of
bridge, Bay 10, are complete. The center of gravity of the structure built to Bay
10 is calculated to be at 17.12 meters (5.61 bays) from the front of the nose.
Therefore, in order to maintain a safety margin of 2.5 meters (0.82 bay) it is safe to
push forward until the nose reaches the launching (home bank) rocking rollers, and
then further pushed to a point where 14.60 meters (4.8 bays) are in cantilever over
the launching rollers. This launch should be carried out irrespective of the build area
available, even if there is room to completely build both bridge and nose. It is easier
to push the nose structure forward to engage the launching rollers rather than wait
until the complete bridge has been built. Also, once the nose is located on the
launching rollers, it is possible to more accurately align the bridge along the proposed
line of travel.

STAGE 2
Following Stage 1, the structure is again restrained against movement and the
construction of the Stage 2 bridge, Bays 11 to 18, can commence.
When these eight bays are complete, the center of gravity of the whole structure will
be at 31.64 meters (10.38 bays) from the tip of the nose. Therefore, using the
required safety margin of at least 2.5 meters, it is permissible to push the bridge
forward until 28.96 meters (9.5 bays) are in cantilever over the launching rollers.
STAGE 3
With the bridge again restrained, Stage 3 building may now be started. This requires
four bays to be built (Bays 19 to 22), of which bays 21 and 22 will be decked.
With the bridge built to Bay 22 and the required decking, the C of G is at 41.1 meters
(13.48 bays) from the nose tip, and the structure may be pushed so that 38.1 meters
(12.5 bays) are in cantilever.
STAGE 4
The bridge is again restrained and building may now be completed to Bay 26. Bays
23 to 26 are decked and 12 curb units are placed as extra counterweight in each of
Bays 25 and 26.
With the bridge and nose completed, the center of gravity of the complete structure,
including the counterweights, will be at 54.50 meters (17.88 bays) from the tip of the
nose. This is greater than the span length by 2.68 meters, and will therefore enable
the bridge to be fully launched in cantilever until the nose, engages the landing rollers
on the far bank. If the launch plan has been correctly designed, the upturned nose
should contact the landing rollers approximately halfway down the first bay, thus
ensuring a smooth transition from cantilever to support on the landing rollers. The
bridge should never have to overbalance or pivot about the launching rollers in order
to land onto the far bank receiving rollers.
FINAL POSITIONING OF THE BRIDGE

Following contact of the nose with the far bank rollers, pushing the bridge is continued
until the ends of the main span are over the final bearing positions. It is good practice
to push for only two or three bays at a time, and then to pause to check alignment of
the bridge and stability of the rollers. As the bridge is launched, the structure will
variably deflect throughout its length, and it is normal for contact with some of the
construction rollers to be lost at times during the launch.
The bridge will now be resting with its ends over the abutment bearing positions and
supported entirely on the launching and landing rollers. The pushing vehicle remains
attached to the bridge. The front end of the bridge should be restrained and the rear
end must be transferred on to packing to prevent any further movement. (See Section
5.8 for details of jacking the bridge).
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The nose should now be completely removed. While it is possible to partially remove
the nose as it passes over the landing rollers, care should be taken to ensure that
the stability of the bridge is not compromised by changing the moment distribution of
the structure during the remaining launch procedure.
Remove the counterweight decks from Bays 25 and 26 to facilitate the jacking down of
the bridge.
5.8 JACKING THE BRIDGE

INTRODUCTION AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Once the bridge has been launched to its final position and restrained from accidental
movement, it is ready to be jacked down. Jacking is an important procedure that must
be monitored very closely to prevent any damage to the bridge or injuries to the
workers.
The following safety precautions should be observed while jacking the bridge:
 The jacking operation is controlled and monitored by the construction/contractor’s
Supervisor.
 Always ensure that any jacking grillage is positioned on firm, level ground capable of
supporting the jacking loads. Final jacking procedures should be performed over the
abutment.
 Once jacking has started, the grillage must be positioned under the bottom truss chords
so that at no time the gap between the chord and packing is greater than 75mm. This
minimizes the risk of damage or injury should there be any failure of the jacks.
 The bridge should only be jacked on one end at a time. The bridge must never be
supported only by jacks at both ends.
 While jacking at one end, make sure that the load is evenly distributed by operating
the jacks each side in unison.
 Never exceed the safe working load of the jack.
JACKING PROCEDURE
With the nose and counterweight removed, the bridge may now be jacked down onto
its bearings. The first procedure will be to remove the launching and landing rollers
and support the bridge on a timber grillage. At one end place a suitable grillage under
the truss near the bearing position, and jack the bridge up enough until it is possible
to remove the rollers. Replace the rollers with timbers and jack the bridge down onto
them. Repeat this procedure at the other end of the bridge. Set the bearings in
position to the required elevation with hold-down bolts located loosely. The AB503 and
AB504 Bearing Blocks should now be pinned to the end panels and should be located
directly over the AB587 Bearings.
Jacking can now proceed to lower the bridge onto its bearings, remembering to only
jack one end at a time.

PROPER USE OF JACKS

The AB207 Hydraulic Jack is rated for a safe working load of 27.2 tonnes. It is
imperative that this load is not exceeded during the jacking operation. Each jack comes
with a handlebar. The small end of the bar fits over the pressure release valve located at
the base in front of the jack.
In order to raise the jack piston, turn the valve clockwise until snug. Remove the
handlebar from the knob and insert it into the tube adjacent to the main cylinder.
Continually raise and lower the end of the handlebar until the desired height is achieved.
The jack piston will have a stroke of 180mm from a closed position.
In order to lower the piston, position the small end of the bar over the knob and turn it
counter-clockwise to release the pressure and lower the piston and load.
Refer to Figure 5.8 for acceptable jacking points on the truss panels. The anticipated
jacking forces must be compared to the truss panel capacity to prevent damage or
potential failure of either the jack or bridge members. Jacking of the transom should never
be performed without the use of properly installed jacking posts.
FIGURE 5.8 JACKING/BLOCKING LOCATIONS
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COMPLETION OF THE DECK

With the bridge jacked down onto the bearings, the remaining deck in bays 10 to 20
can be completed. Prior to launch, all the bolts in the bridge should have been fully
tightened. However, it is sensible to re-check their tightness as later access will be
restricted once the deck is in place.
Each deck unit is bolted down with four AB546 Deck Bolts. The deck ends are com-
pleted by the installation of the AB720 EOB Infill Deck Unit and the AB721 EOB EW
Infill Deck Unit. Each of these is bolted down by two AB546 Deck Bolts. Note the cor-
rect orientation of the EOB units as shown in Figure 5.9.
Once decking is complete and the bridge is at the correct level, the bearings and hold-
down bolts may be grouted and the bolts subsequently tightened at the fixed bearings.
FIGURE 5.9 END OF DECK UNITS

5.9 CONSTRUCTION OF DOUBLE-STOREY BRIDGES

If the bridge is to be Double Storey, the upper panels are added one bay behind the
construction of the lower storey. The upper and lower panels are connected together
through their chords using four AB584 Chord Bolts per panel. The top storey, is
braced above every transom using two AB513 Raker Braces and an AB703 Raker
bolted together to form a vertical “Z” brace (See Figure 5.10).
If the bridge is reinforced, the reinforcing chords are first bolted to the top storey, and
the top truss bracing is then bolted to the underside of the top chord to form the
continuous horizontal “Z” bracing.
It should be noted that only multi-panel trusses are built as Double Storey as this
construction never applies to single truss configurations.
FIGURE 5.10 DOUBLE STOREY CONSTRUCTION
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5.10 CONSTRUCTION OF FOOTWALKS

INTRODUCTION
The Acrow 700XS Bridging System includes a standard footwalk provision which is
cantilevered on the side of the bridge, and therefore completely separates pedestrian
and vehicular traffic. The standard footwalk is 1.5 meters wide and can be located on
either or both sides of the bridge. It is provided with handrails on both sides. (See
Figure 5.11). It is recommended not to install the footwalk deck panels until the launch
has been completed. Also note that any footwalk components installed prior to a
launch, must be considered when calculating the C.G.
The live load capacity of the footwalk is 5kN/m2.
CONSTRUCTION OF A FOOTWALK
Although the footwalk may be completely constructed after the bridge is in place, the
work is much simplified if it can be partially built and launched with the bridge.
The support for the footwalk is the AB480 Footwalk Bearer, which is braced with the
AB484 Bearer Strut. If these two components are connected to the bridge prior to the
launch, the subsequent operation of completing the footwalk is sped up considerably.
The AB480 Footwalk Bearer connects to the transom using a pair of bolt holes which
are located at the end of the top flange of the transom. The connections are made
using two AB053 Bearer Bolts. The AB484 Bearer Strut acts as a diagonal brace and
connects to, and supports the bearer approximately midway along its underside. The
AB484 Bearer Strut uses a single AB549A Bracing Bolt Short. (See Figure 5.11).
When the bridge is in position and has been decked, the footwalk can be constructed
from the deck using a small truck crane or excavator working its way along from one
end of the bridge.
The AB483 Footwalk Deck Unit provides the walkway surface. It is 3.04 meters long
by 1.5 meters wide and is provided with welded curbs. The deck units span between
the AB480 Footwalk Bearers, meeting at their centerlines.
The AB480 Footwalk Bearers are provided with two welded receptacles on their top
flange, which locate the AB482 Footwalk Posts.
AB483 Footwalk Deck Units are laid successively from one end of the bridge to the
other. They are lifted by the truck crane working from the deck of the bridge, over the
side truss and into position on the bearers. The AB483 Deck Unit is located on the
bearers between these receptacles, and is bolted to the bearer with a single AB486
Footwalk Deck Bolt at each corner of the deck unit.

When a run of footwalk deck units are in place, the AB482 Footwalk Posts may be
installed. Two of these posts are installed per bearer and they are placed into the
receptacles and bolted to them using a single AB487 Footwalk Post Bolt at each post.
Each footwalk bearer has two posts, one on each side of the footwalk.
Once a sufficient quantity of AB482 Footwalk Posts have been installed, the AB482
Handrails may be added. The handrails are 3 meters long and are bolted to the cleats
provided on the footwalk posts using one AB485 Footwalk Rail Bolt at each end. Four
handrails are installed per bay, two inner and two outer.
FIGURE 5.11 FOOTWALK CONSTRUCTION
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SECTION 6 MULTIPLE-SPAN BRIDGES

6.1 GENERAL
Where it is necessary to construct a bridge with more than one span, there is a design
choice between a simple (discontinuous) or continuous structure. A continuous multi-
span bridge is where the trusses are connected structurally throughout the length of the
structure and are able to transmit the bending forces over the intermediate supports. If
the ratio between end spans and inner spans falls within certain parameters, a
continuous structure can become more efficient, usually resulting in lighter trusses.
The selection of the most efficient design is usually an engineering decision depending
on the loads to be carried, the spans involved, and whether the spans are similar in
length or very different. If the site conditions dictate that span lengths have to be very
different and the end spans will be shorter than those in the center, then a bridge with
broken spans will be preferred.
For a continuous two-span structure, the mid support should be near to the center so
that the spans are of equal or near equal length. For a three span bridge the most
efficient continuous layout will be when the length of the side spans are between
70-80% of the central span. For a bridge with four or more spans the inner spans
should all be similar in length, with the end spans again 70-80% of the inner ones.
6.2 DISCONTINUOUS BRIDGES

Once the length and layout of the spans has been determined, the truss configurations
will be assessed. Generally each span will be designed as a separate bridge which will
eventually be connected with broken span equipment, to the other spans over the piers.
Broken span equipment allows for a bridge to be launched as a complete multispan
structure, and for the spans to then be separated once the entire bridge is in place over
the bearings.
6.3 CONTINUOUS BRIDGES

Because the trusses of several spans are built as a long continuous structure, a
continuous bridge may be launched from one abutment to the other, over the piers.
Once the bridge is in the correct final location, rollers on the piers may be removed and
replaced with bearings and distribution beams.
6.4 PIER TOWERS

In some cases existing piers may be used for the Acrow bridge, but there are two
standard types of Acrow® piers available which may be built to support the bridge.
Towers are usually placed in pairs so that each is supporting one side truss bundle.
The towers are constructed using standard truss panels.

TWO-PANEL TOWERS
This is a rectangular tower utilizing two vertical truss panels braced together
horizontally with side bracing frames, and topped by a crib top frame supporting the
bridge (see Figure 6.1). Towers can vary in height from a minimum of 2.8 meters,
including crib top and sole plates, up to 20 meters without special bracing. Maximum
axial load will be 200 tonnes, subject to height and end-fixing arrangements. Special
bracing may be required for heavier loading.
FIGURE 6.1 TWO-PANEL TOWER CONSTRUCTION
58 COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015

FOUR-PANEL TOWERS
This tower is constructed using four panels in a square arrangement which are con-
nected together with AB030 Corner Brackets. Each bracket uses two AB584 Chord
Bolts and there are eight brackets per 3 meter panel section (See Figure 6.2).
The bases of the panels are supported by AB033 Female Sole Plates to which they are
pinned. The top of the towers is completed by two AB878 Crib Top Beams which sup-
port an AB879 Crib Top Bearing Beam which supports the bearings. Maximum loading
will be 400 tonnes subject to height and crib top limitations. Higher capacities can be
achieved with other Acrow components.
FIGURE 6.2 FOUR-PANEL TOWER

If the bridge is continuous, the bearings on the piers will be AB022 Distribution Beams
(See Figure 6.3). If discontinuous, the bearing will be an AB505 Pier Bearing Block.
(See Figure 6.4) Note that an AB505 bearing block must be positioned directly under
a panel pin, whereas, the AB022 distribution beam can be located anywhere along
the truss. Either of these two components are seated upon an AB587 Bearing.
FIGURE 6.3 DISTRIBUTION BEAM
FIGURE 6.4 AB505: BEARING BLOCK
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SECTION 7 BRIDGE MAINTENANCE & INSPECTION

7.1 STORAGE OF BRIDGING COMPONENTS
If bridging components are not to be used immediately, they should be stored in a
manner which will protect them from the weather and from accidental damage.
Large components such as panels, transoms and decks, can be placed uncovered in
outside storage where the galvanized finish will sufficiently protect them from the
elements. If the components have been previously used, they should be fully inspected
prior to storage, which will ensure that any damage of the galvanizing or to the steel
members can be noted and repaired if necessary.
Panels may be stored horizontally in stacks with suitable timber packing between
groups of ten panels. The flanges of adjacent panels will interlock and will form a stable
pile which can be easily handled by fork lift truck. Alternatively, they may be stored
vertically in groups which should be tied together such that they are stable and unable
to fall over. Storing the panels vertically will ensure that no rainwater can be retained
within the panels.
Transoms should be stored horizontally in layers, separated by timbers with the webs
vertical. Horizontal storage of the beams would allow water to collect and be held
between the flanges, and potentially bend the beams in weak axis.
Deck panels should be stored flat in piles with timbers between every second unit. This
will allow fork lift trucks to easily access the stacks for later handling. Curb units can be
stacked in alternative orientation to avoid damage to the curb plates.
Swaybraces, transom braces, etc., should be kept in labelled bundles of twenty so that
they can be easily identified. All labels should be weatherproof.
Small components should be stored under cover. Small braces should be in numbered
and labelled bundles on pallets, as should bearings, bearing blocks and launching
equipment, such as launching links and rollers.
Bolts, nuts, and washers are delivered in labelled bags and they should remain like this,
either on pallets or in drums and protected from the elements. Panel pins should be
kept in the original shipping crates.
7.2 BRIDGE INSPECTION

All bridges in service require regular inspections. A bridge should be visually inspected
after its first month of use, and any bolts not properly tightened or located should be
attended to. For instance, a loose and noisy deck unit indicating one or more loose
deck bolts, will be very obvious.
All panel pins should have safety clips in place. Any clips missing or damaged should
be replaced with new clips. One in ten of the bolts should be checked by hand for
looseness, and if any are found to be loose, they should be tightened by wrench and
the remainder of bolts should also be checked.

Expansion Bearings should be checked to ensure the bearing area is clean, working
correctly, that all plates are in position, and thermal movements of the bridge are not
impeded in any way. Any accumulated debris around the bearings should be cleared.
Following the first inspection, bridges should be checked at intervals which reflect the
usage. A bridge on a heavily-trafficked public road should be checked at three-month
intervals, as should a construction site bridge used regularly by off-highway trucks.
Bridges with lighter traffic may be checked at six-month intervals.
The bridge should also be checked for accident damage. If damage to the galvanizing
on any component is apparent, it can be repaired with zinc-rich paint following the
manufacturer’s instructions. If there is any damage to the trusses due to traffic impacts,
it should be assessed by Acrow Corporation and appropriate action taken as directed
by Acrow engineers.
Items to be checked during a bridge inspection include:
 General overall condition of bridge
 Alignment of bridge
 Alignment of the top chord of both trusses
 Abutments and bearings
 Towers and tower foundations
 Pins and safety clips
 Panels, rakers, and transom conditions
 Truss bracing and associated bolts
 Swaybracing, transom bracing, and associated bolts
 Decks and deck bolts
 Guide rails
 Footwalks
 Deck joints @ backwalls
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SECTION 8
REFERENCE TABLES
INDEX
Page
Table 8.1 Component Weights 64
Table 8.2 Bridge Dimensions 66
Table 8.3 Bridge Weights 68
Table 8.4 Truss Selection 69

TABLE 8.1: COMPONENT WEIGHTS
Part No. Description Weight

kgs
AB022 DISTRIBUTION BEAM 136.1
AB024 DISTRIBUTION BEAM. END FRAME 29.5
AB030 ANGLE BRACKET 24.9
AB033 FEMALE SOLE PLATE 22.2
AB042 PLAIN. ROLLER 37.2
AB043 ROCKING ROLLER w/GUIDES 108.9
AB044 BALANCE BEAM ASSY. 317.6
AB051 PANEL PIN 2.7
AB052 CIRCLIP 0.0
AB053 BRACING BOLT 0.1
AB079 HEAVY PANEL PIN 5.4
AB207 HYDRAULIC JACK 45.4
AB480 SIDEWALK BEARER 43.1
AB481 SIDEWALK RAIL POST 13.6
AB482 SIDEWALK HAND RAIL 21.8
AB483 SIDEWALK DECK UNIT 219.2
AB484 SIDEWALK KNEE BRACE 13.6
AB485 SIDEWALK RAIL BOLT 0.1
AB486 SIDEWALK DECK BOLT 0.1
AB487 SIDEWALK POST BOLT 0.1
AB503 BEARING BLOCK MALE 9.5
AB504 BEARING BLOCK FEMALE 9.5
AB505 BEARING BLOCK BROKEN SPAN 18.1
AB507 TRANSOM EXTRA WIDE 457.8
AB509 TRANSOM EXTRA WIDE (HEAVY) 576.0
AB510 TRANSOM TWO LANE HEAVY 1284.0
AB511 TRANSOM SCW SINGLE LANE 353.9
AB513 RAKER BRACE 6.8
AB514 PLAN BRACE 6.8
AB515 SWAYBRACE HEAVY 52.2
AB516 SWAYBRACE HEAVY EXTRA WIDE 66.2
AB517 EOB BRACE TWO LANE 45.4
AB518 TRANSOM BRACE STANDARD 22.7
AB519 TRANSOM BRACE TWO LANE 27.2
AB522 TOP CHORD BRACE 14.1
AB546 DECK BOLT ASSEMBLY 0.2
AB547A TRANSOM BOLT 0.2
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Part No. Description Weight

kgs
AB547AS TRANSOM BOLT SHEAR 0.9
AB548A RAKER BOLT 0.2
AB549A BRACING BOLT SHORT 0.2
AB584 CHORD BOLT 1.0
AB585 TRANSOM TWO LANE 1147.5
AB587 BEARING 29.0
AB587L LOWER BEARING ELEMENT 0.5
AB587U UPPER BEARING ELEMENT 0.5
AB590 SWAYBRACE 37.2
AB591 SWAYBRACE: EXTRA WIDE 97.0
AB601 DECK UNIT 690.5
AB601A CHECKER PLATE DECK UNIT 735.9
AB601C DECK UNIT: COATED 745.0
AB602 CURB UNIT 723.2
AB602A CHECKER PLATE CURB UNIT 768.6
AB602C CURB UNIT: COATED 768.6
AB604 EXTRA WIDE INFILL DECK UNIT 400.0
AB604A CHECKER PLATE INFILL UNIT 208.7
AB604C EW INFILL DECK UNIT: COATED 204.4
AB620 LIGHT REINFORCING CHORD 3.05m 87.5
AB621 LIGHT REINFORCING CHORD 6.10m 164.7
AB622 HEAVY REINFORCING CHORD 3.05m 137.0
AB623 HEAVY REINFORCING CHORD 6.10m 213.2
AB624 SUPER HEAVY REINF CHORD 3.05m 170.0
AB625 SUPER HEAVY REINF CHORD 6.1m 295.0
AB653 TWO LANE LAUNCHING TRANSOM 384.3
AB654 LAUNCHING LINK 13.6
AB660 TAPER CHORD MALE 34.0
AB661 TAPER CHORD FEMALE 36.3
AB662 TAPER CHORD MALE HEAVY 47.6
AB663 TAPER CHORD FEMALE HEAVY 49.9
AB664 TAPER CHORD MALE SUPER HEAVY 58.0
AB665 TAPER CHORD FEMALE SUPER HEAVY 63.0
AB701 PANEL 314.4
AB702 SHEAR PANEL 406.5
AB703 RAKER 16.3
AB708 HEAVY. SHEAR PANEL 526.3
AB720 EOB INFILL DECK UNIT 68.0
AB721 EOB EXTRA WIDE INFILL DECK UNIT 22.7
AB878 CRIB TOP BEAMS 386.0
AB879 CRIB TOP BEARING BEAM 732.0
AB891 SWAYBRACE 3 LANE 36 100.0
AB957 TRANSOM 3 LANE 36 3265.8

FIGURE 8.2 BRIDGE DIMENSIONS
COPYRIGHT
TABLE 8.2 BRIDGE DIMENSIONS
BRIDGE WIDTHS
Dimension SCW EW EW18 2L24 2L30 3L36
A 3.85 4.77 5.62 7.51 9.53 11.541

B 3.67 4.20 5.50 7.35 9.15 10.973
C 5.63 6.55 7.38 9.29 11.30 13.305
D 4.03 4.95 5.79 7.69 9.71 11.705
E 0.77 0.77 0.79 1.00 1.00 1.292
F 1.64 1.64 1.62 1.43 1.43 1.130
G 1.74 1.74 1.73 1.54 1.54 1.232
H 4.02 4.02 4.01 3.82 3.82 3.518
I 3.92 3.92 3.91 3.72 3.72 3.416
J 0.65 0.65 0.67 0.85 0.85 1.156
K 0.75 0.75 0.77 0.95 0.95 1.10
Dimension Descriptions: See Figure 8.1
A Clearance between trusses

B Roadway clearance between curbs
C Overall width; length of transom
D Center to center inner trusses
E Top of steel deck to underside standard bearing
F Deck level to top of un-reinforced single storey truss
G Deck level to top of reinforced single storey truss
H Deck level to top of reinforced double storey truss
I Deck level to top of un-reinforced double storey truss
J Deck level to underside of un-reinforced truss
K Deck level to underside of reinforced truss
Notes:
1 If deck is asphalted, thickness should be deducted from F, G, H & I

2 If deck is asphalted, thickness should be added to E, J & K
3 For Heavy Chords, dimensions G, H & J increase by 25mm
4 Use of teflon plates on sliding bearing increases depth by 10mm
5 Center to center bearings = (N x 3.048) - 0.146 meters
6 Overall length of deck = (N x 3.048) + 0.381 meters
where N Is number of bays
7 If deck is timber, dimension E increases by 180 mm and other
dimensions must be adjusted.

TABLE 8.3 WEIGHTS OF BRIDGES

PART A
Weights of Decks and width-dependent components
Weights are given in metric tonnes per bay of bridge
Bridge Total weight Weight Weight of

width including without decks decks only
decks
SCW 2.028 0.549 1.479

EW 2.309 0.649 1.660
EW18 3.026 0.844 2.182
2L24 4.306 1.416 2.890
2L30 5.685 2.092 3.593
3L36 6.965 2.663 4.302
PART B
Weights of Truss Components
Weights are given for bays of bridge and are for both trusses
Truss Tonnes Truss Tonnes
SS 0.721 DD 2.868
SSR 1.003 DDR1 3.149
SSRH 1.080 DDR1H 3.226
DDR2 3.426
DS 1.502 DDR2H 3.584
DSR1 1.783
DSR1H 1.860 TD 4.206
DSR2 2.060 TDR2 4.746
DSR2H 2.219 TDR2H 4.923
TDR3 5.045
TS 2.187 TDR3H 5.281
TSR2 2.750
TSR2H 2.908 QD 5.531
TSR3 3.026 QDR4 6.652
TSR3H 3.267 QDR4H 6.969
Notes:
1 To compute the weight of a bridge, add the value from Part A for the bridge
width to the figure from Part B for the particular truss. The sum is
multiplied by the number of bays to give the total weight.
2 Asphalt surfacing adds 61 kg per square meter per 25mm of thickness
3 Aggregate coating adds 14.5 kg per square meter for factory application
COPYRIGHT
Table 8.4 Truss Constructions
AASHTO Loadings (ASD)
Nominal Span
Bays 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Meters 15.2 18.3 21.3 24.4 27.4 30.5 33.5 36.6 39.6 42.7 45.7 48.8 51.8 54.9 57.9 61.0 64.0 67.1 70.1 73.2 76.2
HS15-44
SCW SS SS SS SSR SSR SSR SSR SSR DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR2 DSR2 DSR2H DDR1 DDR1 DDR1H DDR2 DDR2 DDR2

EW SS SS SS SSR SSR SSR SSR SSRH DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR2 DSR2 DSR2H DDR1 DDR1 DDR1H DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H
EW18 SS SS SSR SSR SSR SSR SSRH DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR2 TSR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 TDR2 TDR2 TDR3
2L24 SS SS SSR SSR DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR2 DSR2 DSR2H TSR2 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR2 TDR2H TDR3 TDR3H QDR4
2L30 DS DS DS DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR2 DSR2 DSR2H TSR2 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR2 TDR2H TDR3 QDR4 QDR4 QDR4H
3L36 DS DS DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2H TSR2 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 TDR2H TDR3 TDR3H TDR3H QDR4 QDR4H
HS20-44
SCW SS SS SSR SSR SSR SSR SSRH DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2H DDR1 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H
EW SS SS SSR SSR SSR SSR DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR2 DSR2 TSR2 TSR3 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 TDR2 TDR2H
EW18 SS SSR SSR SSR SSRH DS DSR1H DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2 DDR1 DDR1 DDR1H DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR2H TDR3 TDR3
2L24 DS DS DS DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2 DSR2H DDR1 DDR1H DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR3 TDR3 TDR3H QDR4 QDR4 QDR4H
2L30 DS DS DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2 DSR2H DDR2 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR2H TDR3 TDR3H QDR4 QDR4H QDR4H
3L36 DS DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 TSR2 TSR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR3 TDR3H QDR4 QDR4 QDR4H
HS25-44
SCW SS SS SSR SSR SSR SSRH DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2H DDR1 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR3 TDR3
EW SS SSR SSR SSR SSRH DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR2 DSR2 TSR2 DDR1H DDR1H DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 TDR2 TDR3 TDR3
EW18 SS SSR SSR SSRH DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2 DSR2H DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR3 TDR3 TDR3H TDR3H
2L24 DS DS DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2H TSR2 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR2H TDR3 TDR3H QDR4 QDR4H
2L30 DS DS DSR1 DSR1 DSR1H DSR2 DSR2H TSR2 DDR1 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2H TDR3 TDR3 TDR3H QDR4 QDR4H
3L36 DS DSR1 DSR2 DSR2 DSR2 TSR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 DDR2 TDR3 TDR3 TDR3H QDR4 QDR4H QDR4H
CAUTION: *** Special Notes***
1).The truss constructions within this table are provided as a guide to assist the reader. The actual truss construction used in a bridge may
vary from this table. Prior to the assembly of a bridge, all truss constructions shall be reviewed by the engineering staff of Acrow.
2). This table is based on epoxy aggregate deck coating, and no footwalks.
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ACROW 700XS TECHNICAL HANDBOOK

BUILDING BRIDGES. CONNECTING PEOPLE.

ACROW® 700XS® PANEL BRIDGE

FOURTH EDITION 2015 (METRIC)

TYPICAL ACROW BRIDGE

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015

LIFT BRIDGE AT QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS

ACCESS RAMP AT WORLD TRADE CENTER RECOVERY EFFORT, NEW YORK

2 COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015

ACROW PANEL BRIDGING TECHNICAL HANDBOOK

FOURTH EDITION 2015

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 3

ACROW PANEL 700XS BRIDGE HANDBOOK

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION Page 7

SECTION 2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND USE 8

SECTION 3 DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS

SECTION 4 BRIDGE DESIGN

SECTION 5 BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)

SECTION 6 MULTIPLE-SPAN BRIDGES

SECTION 7 BRIDGE MAINTENANCE AND INSPECTION

SECTION 8 REFERENCE TABLES

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 5

NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED IN AN INFORMATION OR

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 7

SECTION 2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND USE

FIGURE 2.1 STANDARD PANEL: AB701

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 9

FIGURE 2.2 STANDARD TRUSS CONFIGURATIONS

SECTION 3 DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS

3.1 BRIDGE COMPONENTS

AB702 SHEAR PANELS

AB708 HIGH SHEAR PANEL

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 11

FIGURE 3.1 PANEL PIN : AB051 & AB052 CIRCLIP

AB620, AB621 REINFORCING CHORDS

FIGURE 3.2 REINFORCING CHORDS : AB620 AND AB621

AB622, AB623 HEAVY REINFORCING CHORDS

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 13

AB513 RAKER BRACE

FIGURE 3.3 RAKER : AB703 AND RAKER BRACE : AB513

AB514 CHORD BRACE and AB522 DIAGONAL BRACE

FIGURE 3.4 CHORD BRACE: AB514 AND DIAGONAL BRACE : AB522

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 15

FIGURE 3.5 EXTRA WIDE SWAYBRACE : AB591

AB518 & AB519 TRANSOM BRACE

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015

FIGURE 3.6 TRANSOM BRACE: AB518

AB511 SCW TRANSOM

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 17

FIGURE 3.7 EXTRA WIDE TRANSOM: AB507

AB690 EW18 TRANSOM

AB585 TL24 TRANSOM

AB510 TL24 TRANSOM HEAVY

AB890 3L36 TRANSOM

AB604 EW INFILL DECK UNIT

FIGURE 3.8 DECK UNIT: AB601

COPYRIGHT ACROW ® CORPORATION 2015 19

FIGURE 3.9 DECK HOLD DOWN SYSTEM

AB720 & AB721 EOB INFILL UNITS

FIGURE 3.10 BEARING BLOCKS: AB503 AND AB504

FIGURE 3.11 BEARING: AB587

AB587U & AB587L UPPER & LOWER BEARING ELEMENT