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TEMPORARY SUPPORT AND FREEZING OF BRIDGE BEARINGS DURING

BALANCE CANTILEVER CONSTRUCTION FOR NEW BRAHMAPUTRA BRIDGE
AT GUWAHATI

Article · October 2021

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 PAPER NO. 672

TEMPORARY SUPPORT AND FREEZING OF BRIDGE BEARINGS

DURING BALANCE CANTILEVER CONSTRUCTION FOR NEW
BRAHMAPUTRA BRIDGE AT GUWAHATI

RAKESH K. MEHTA1 SUDEEP KULKARNI2 V. N. HEGGADE3

ABSTRACT
In earlier days, the majority of superstructure of cantilever bridges used to be designed by
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GHÀHFWLRQGXHWRFUHHSDWWKHFDQWLOHYHUWLSVREVHUYHGLQDOPRVWDOOEULGJHVEXLOWRQWKHWKHQVWDWH
of the art design philosophy, now-a-days most cantilever bridges are designed as continuous over
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GHWHUPLQDWH7KLVHOLPLQDWHVWKHSUREOHPRIH[FHVVLYHGHÀHFWLRQDWFDQWLOHYHUWLSDQGDWWKHVDPH
time increases the service life of bridge. For the construction of such cantilever superstructure,
SUHFLVHGHVLJQRIFRQVWUXFWLRQV\VWHPVLVRIXWPRVWLPSRUWDQFH,QWKLVFRQWH[WWKHSDSHUGLVFXVVHV
WKHGHWDLOVRIWZRVXFKLPSRUWDQWFRQVWUXFWLRQV\VWHPVLHWHPSRUDU\VXSSRUWIRUFDQWLOHYHUGHFN
and temporary freezing arrangement for free bearing adopted during the construction of New
Brahmaputra Bridge at Guwahati, Assam.
7KH DGYDQFHPHQWV LQ WKH ¿HOG RI EULGJH HQJLQHHULQJ KDYH OHG WR LQFUHDVH LQ WKH VSDQ OHQJWK RI
cantilever arms. Due to increase in the span of cantilever arms, the dead load of the superstructure
also increases for which high capacity temporary support and freezing arrangements need to be
provided in comparison to the conventional system for smaller span cantilever arms. This paper
also presents the progressive advancements on the development of construction systems to cater to
the challenges thrown by construction of longer cantilever arms.

1. INTRODUCTION In this package, NHAI also proposed the Three

The National Highway Authority of India
(NHAI) has undertaken the construction of
Rs 4765 Crore Four-Lane East-West corridor
from Silchar to Srirampur in the state of Assam.
Part of this corridor i.e up gradation of NH-31
was awarded to Gammon India Ltd. between
Ch 1121+241 to 1125+320 (Package-AS-28).
Lane Bridge across the Brahmaputra River to
connect Guwahati city with North Guwahati
WR UHGXFH WKH WUDI¿F FRQJHVWLRQ RYHU WKH
existing Saraighat Bridge and enable faster and
smoother traveling across Brahmaputra. This
QHZ%UDKPDSXWUD%ULGJHLVSDUDOOHOWRWKH¿UVW
Rail-cum road Saraighat Bridge Fig. 1. This

}
1
General Manager (Technical), E-mail: rakesh.mehta@gammonengineers.com Gammon Engineers &
2
Deputy Manager (Technical) Contractors (P) Ltd,
3
President (Engineering) Mumbai

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018 1

 PAPER NO. 672

Bridge will provide succor to people for North
Guwahati and connect north east India with
the rest of the country. The new Brahmaputra
Bridge is 1493.58 meters long and has 3.5 km
of approach road.
Fig.1 Site Layout
Brief Description of Project
The total length of the new Brahmaputra bridge
is 1493.584 m, consisting of 2 spans of 105 m, 2
spans of 150 m and 8 spans of 122.6948 m. The
foundation for bridge is of well foundation type
having double D shape of size 16 m X 10 m.
Deck of the proposed bridge consists of single
cell PSC box girder of varying depth and deck
is cast by segmental cantilever construction
method. Top width of deck is 13.875 m and
bottom width is 8.075 m. The piers are of tapered
RCC wall with semi-circular end of size 14 m X
7.0 m at well cap level and size 12 m X 5 m at
bottom of pier cap.
Total length of Viaduct portion at Amingaon
side is 144 m and at Guwahati side is 108 m,
consisting of 6 spans of 24 m (3 span continuous)
at Amingaon side and 4 spans of 27 m (4 spans
continuous) at Guwahati side. The general
arrangement of bridge is given in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 General Arrangement of Bridge

Foundation of viaduct portion is pile foundation counterfort Retaining wall on 1.20 m/0.75 m dia.
of 1.2 m dia. pile. Superstructure of viaduct pile foundation. The design data for the bridge is
portion is cast-in-situ PSC T beam. Approach given in Table-1.
embankment protection is to be done by
2. SALIENT FEATURES OF THE BRIDGE
i) Total Length of Bridge : 1493.584 m + 144 m + 108 m = 1745.584 m
ii) Total no. of Span : 2 Span of 105 m + 2 Span of 150 m + 8 Span of 122.948 m
6 Spans of 24 m (Amingaon Side- 2 x3 Span Continuous)
4 Spans of 27 m (Guwahati Side- 4 Span Continuous)
iii) Type of Foundation : Main Bridge - 12 Nos. Well Foundation (Double D – 16 x 10 m)
Viaduct to Main Bridge – 11 Nos. Pile Foundation
iv) Piers & Abutment : Main Bridge -12 Nos., Viaduct – 11 Nos.

2 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018

 PAPER NO. 672

v) Type of Superstructure : Main Bridge Cast-in –situ segmental continuous Pre-stressed box girder
Constructed by Balanced cantilever method (Length = 1433.584 m) and
cast-in-situ pre-stressed box girder constructed by supporting arrangement
(Length = 60 m)
Viaduct Portion : Cast-in-situ Pre-stressed T- Girder (Length = 252 m)
vi) Bearing : Pot/PTFE Free bearing at P6 to P11 & P13 to P18, Pot/PTFE Fixed bearing at P12
vii) Seismic Transmission : 3 Nos. of 4 MN Capacity at each Pier Location except Fixed Pier P12
Unit (STU)
Expansion Joint : Modular strip seal type for movement of 800 mm at P6 & P18
Table 1. Design Data

Max. Discharge of River = 72400 Cum/sec

0D[9HORFLW\RIÀRZ = 5 m/sec
Formation Level = 69.072 m
High Flood Level = 49.881 m
Low Water Level = 40.2 m
Max. Design Scour Level = 7.684 m
Founding Level = -11.402 m
Live Load = 3 Lane of class A or 1 Lane of Class 70 R as per IRC:6:2000
Seismic Forces = Zone V with I.F = 1.5 as per IRC:6:2000
Grade of Concrete = M35 for Foundation, Substructure and
M60 for Superstructure
Grade of Steel = Fe 415 for Foundation, Substructure and
)HIRU6XSHUVWUXFWXUHFRQ¿UPLQJWR,6
Pre stressing = 19T15 (19 nos. of 15.2 mm HT strands class-2 low relaxation as per
IS-14268)
Pre stressed Box Girder = Depth – Varies 8 m to 4.25 m
Bottom width – 8.075 m
Top width – 13.875 m
3. CANTILEVER CONSTRUCTION The Cast-in-situ segmental pre-stressed box
APPROACH girder is constructed by Balance cantilever
segment construction method by means of
a cantilever construction gantry or form
traveler. An expansion joint of 800 mm
modular strip type is provided over end
support/abutment P18 and P6 location.
The entire bridge span between P6-P18 i.e.
length of 1493.584 m is continuous and free
bearings are provided at each pier location
except over pier P12 (i.e. Center of bridge
OHQJWK  ZKHUH EHDULQJ LV ¿[HG DQG HQWLUH
permanent horizontal forces are taken by
WKH¿[HGEHDULQJV7KHPD[LPXPZHLJKWRI
segment to be cast by the gantry is 165 ton.
A typical cross section of the box segment is
Fig. 3 Typical Cross Section of Box Arrangement Summary shown in Fig. 3.

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018 3

 PAPER NO. 672

Numbers of in-situ segments and length in construction of unbalanced cantilever arms of

Cantilever Span over P10 to P14 is shown in spans 61.474 and 47.948 m on either sides of the
Fig. 4 and over P-7, P-8, P-16 & P-17 is shown piers P9 and P15. The detail for segments over
in )LJ . A unique feature of the bridge is the P9 and P15 is shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 4 Segments Arrangement over Pier P10 to P14

Fig. 5 Segments Arrangement over Pier P7,P8 and P16, P17

Fig. 6 Segments Arrangement over Pier P9 and P15

The length of segment is of two types: 2.915 m Adopted Procedure for Casting of in-Situ
and 3.75 m. The summary of Cantilever span Segments for cantilever arm is as follows:-
arrangement for the main bridge is given in i) After the casting of pier cap, bearings and
Table 2. sand jacks (temporary supports) are placed
Table 2. Span Arrangement Summary over pier cap. The bearings are provided
with conventional freezing arrangement
Sr. Cantilever No. of No. of 5HPDUNV
and are locked in position Fig. 7a.
No. arm (m) segments on T-arms
each side ii) The pier head i.e. units 1a and 1b of total
9 m length are cast by providing brackets
1 75 22 4
from pier cap. After the pier head achieves
2 61.474 16 5 VXI¿FLHQW VWUHQJWK WKH FRUUHVSRQGLQJ
3 61.474- 16-14 2 Unbalanced cables are stressed. Temporary supports in
47.948 cantilever the form of cables are provided in the pier

4 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018

 PAPER NO. 672
head and pier cap which act as anchorage
Fig. 7a
Fig. 7a and 7b Casting of Pier Head and First Segment for Cantilever Arms
iii) The advanced freezing arrangement is now
provided and the conventional freezing
arrangement is released.
iv) The next units 2a and 2b are also cast on the
same bracket arrangement from pier cap
and the corresponding cables are stressed.
v) The Cantilever construction gantries (CLC
gantry) are erected on segment nos. 2a and
2b on either side of the pier.
vi) Using the CLC gantry, segments 3a and
3b are cast. After the concrete achieves
VXI¿FLHQW VWUHQJWK WKH FRUUHVSRQGLQJ
cables are stressed.
vii) In this manner the entire cantilever span
is completed on either side of the pier
Photo-1.
Photo 1 Balanced Cantilever Construction
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018
during casting of cantilever units Fig. 7b.
Fig. 7b
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Shock Transmission Unit (STU) is placed
in position.
ix) On completion of casting of all segments,
the CLC gantries are brought symmetrically
towards the Center of pier and dismantled
before casting of continuity unit.
x) After casting of adjacent T-arms, the continuity
unit is cast by providing a suspended platform
from the tip of the cantilever.
xi) The advanced freezing arrangement is
released, the temporary support 19K15 strands
are cut and the continuity cables are stressed.
[LL  *HQHUDODQG¿QLVKLQJLWHPVDUHFRPSOHWHG
4. REQUIREMENT OF ENABLING
WORKS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF
CANTILEVER SPAN
For the New Brahmaputra Bridge, numerous
enabling systems were required, right from caissons
for substructure to form traveler for superstructure.
However, two of the most important construction
systems were the temporary support during
cantilever construction and freezing arrangement for
bearing. The temporary support is required to make
the structure stable or determinate during cantilever
construction and the freezing of bearing is required
to restrict the longitudinal and transverse movement
of free bearings i.e. to restrict all horizontal forces
developed either due to wind or seismic loads, or
due to stressing of the longitudinal cable during
cantilever construction.
5
 PAPER NO. 672

Suitable development and precise design of these on temporary support in active direction was 250
construction systems is as important if not more ton as per the proposed construction sequence.
than permanent design of any cantilever bridge, For Jaigarh bridge 125 ton capacity sand jack was
large or small span. If any of the above two systems provided on each temporary support just below the
fail or do not work properly during construction, it web of box units. Temporary supports are square
is more disastrous than the failure of bridge due to RCC column of size 900 x 900 mm and it rests on
wrong design. projected part of well cap photo 2.
4.1. Temporary Support For Superstructure
Generally, now-a-days for continuous cantilever
EULGJHV EHDULQJV HLWKHU ¿[HG RU IUHH DUH SURYLGHG
at center of piers and this is the main support which
transfers all the vertical or horizontal forces to
substructure/foundation from superstructure. But
during construction, the bearing support acts as a
single support till the stich segments of individual
spans are cast. So, temporary supports on either side
of the bearings are required which provide stability
to the cantilever span during construction.
The temporary supports are in the form of either
sand jacks or stability cables, depending upon Photo 2 Temporary Support For Jaigarh Creek Bridge
instability reaction developed based on total self-
weight of cantilever arms and their construction
methodology/sequence of casting of segments
Fig. 8.
The sand jacks of required capacity are provided
HLWKHU GLUHFWO\ RQ SLHU FDS LI VXI¿FLHQW VSDFH LV
available) or above RCC/steel column which
is resting over well cap/pile cap or temporary
foundation.

Photo 3 Temporary Support For Balason Bridge

Fig. 8 Arrangement of Temporary Supports During CLC
Such supports were provided in some of our
previous similar projects such as Vijaydurgh and
Jaigarh bridges in Maharashtra and Balason Bridge
in West Bengal. In Vijaydurgh and Jaigarh creek
bridges, distance between temporary support on
either side of bearing was 9.0 m / 7.2 m and reaction
In Balason bridge, distance between temporary
support on either side of bearing was 7.0 m and
reaction coming on temporary support in active
direction was 600 ton as per the construction
sequence proposed. For Balason bridge 325 ton
capacity sand jack was provided on each temporary
support just below the web of box units. Temporary
supports are steel built-up column size of 1000x1000
mm and it rests directly on well cap Photo 3. Here
steel column was proposed in place of conventional
RCC temporary column for ease of erection and
dismantling of temporary support, however cost of
steel temporary support is more in comparison to
RCC column.

6 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018

 PAPER NO. 672

In Brahmaputra Bridge, initial distance between that reaction on temporary support reduces. After
temporary supports on either side of bearing was increasing the pier cap width, it was possible to
proposed as 4.46 m considering maximum space provide the temporary supports above pier cap and
availability on pier cap. For that proposed 4.46 the distance between them increased from 4.46 m to
m distance between temporary support, reaction 7.310 m. The vertical forces in temporary support
coming on each side of temporary support was 6200 were recalculated in lieu of increased distance
ton considering all in-situ segment cast in single between supports and found out that load on each
pour, however this reaction further reduced to side support was 4250 ton considering in-situ box
4100 ton by considering segments cast in 3 stages. segment cast in single pour and 2600 ton considering
Such high reactions were coming as each segment segments to be cast in 3 stages. Typical casting
weight varies from 160 ton to 140 ton and form sequence for box segments is shown in Fig. 10.
traveler self-weight is 90 ton. Total self-weight of
one pair of cantilever arm is 7000 ton. To reduce
the vertical reaction in temporary support, it was
required to increase the distance between temporary
supports or construct another temporary support
in between cantilever arms. The construction of
another temporary support in between the cantilever
arms was ruled out as construction of any extra
foundation in Brahmaputra River for temporary
support is not cost effective as well as it increases
the construction period. Therefore only option was
to increase the center to center distance between
temporary support and these temporary supports Fig. 9 Change in Pier Cap Width
would be constructed either from well cap or outside
the well cap on temporary foundation as designed
pier cap width was only 6.2 m. Support from well
cap or outside well cap was not advisable as the
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YHU\KLJKFXUUHQWYHORFLW\DQGZLWKORWVRIÀRDWLQJ
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than 5 m/sec. So with debris coming along with
high water current velocity, there is always a chance
to hit or damage the temporary support. Also if we
were going for temporary foundation for temporary
support from outside the well cap then construction Fig. 10 Segments Casting Sequence
of temporary foundation for vertical load of around
2000 ton in each support location required number The entire construction sequence is planned such
of piles and very large dia. pile either RCC/steel due WKDWWKHUHLVVXI¿FLHQWIDFWRURIVDIHW\IRUUHVWRULQJ
to very high water current velocity and scouring moment over the overturning moment. The
nature of bed. It was found that construction of following loads were considered in the calculation
temporary foundation from outside of well cap was of the forces on the temporary support:-
not viable due to time and cost consideration and i. Self-weight of the box girder (2.5% extra
at the same time dismantling those foundations was for dimensional imbalance for shore side
not possible. segments)
To overcome these problems, it was necessary to ii. Self-weight of the cantilever construction
increase the Center to Center distance between gantry = 90 ton.
temporary supports and so it was decided to increase iii. Wind load acting upwards on one cantilever
the pier cap width from 6.2 m to 8.55 m Fig. 9, so arm

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018 7

 PAPER NO. 672

iv. Downward random loading of 0.05 ton/m2

v. Conc. Load of 50 ton acting at the tip of
cantilever
Designing the Sand jack as a temporary support
above pier cap for 1300 ton capacity in each
location (i.e. 2600 / 2 = 1300 ton) was not possible
as required size of sand jack was proving to be very
large. Also a large diameter of pot was required
in which dry sand is placed for exerting pressure
in sand. Functionality of the dry sand taking such
large vertical load by dispersing over large dia.
of sand pot was questionable. So the proposal for
providing the sand jack as a temporary support was
ruled out and instead the 14 nos. of 19K15 strands
as temporary supports for taking the vertical uplift
forces of 2600 ton was adopted. These strands were
anchored between the pier cap and pier head units of
cantilever arms. Proposing 14 nos. of 19K15 strands
was on the basis that UTS of each strand shall not
exceed 0.5 times of UTS i.e. capacity of one 19K15
strand shall be restricted to 0.5 x 506 t = 253 ton.
So total capacity of 14 nos. of 19K15 is 3542 ton
in comparison to total reaction or tension required
of 2600 ton. The purpose for restriction of capacity
of one strand to only 0.5 times of UTS is because
the strands are repetitively subjected to tension and
compression (relaxation) as the segments are cast
stage by stage Fig. 11.
Fixed anchorage cone was provided in pier cap
and initial pre-stressing force of 5 ton was given
Table 3 Summary of Reaction on Temporary Support Arrangement Summary
Fig. 11 Strands Anchoring Arrangement as a
Temporary support between Pier Head and Pier-Cap
from Pier head side to remove the initial slag
in strands. Provision of strands as a temporary
support, that take the unbalanced tension
force during casting of cantilever arms as per
construction sequence is a yielding support
in comparison to the sand jacks which is a
non-yielding support. Yielding of support i.e.
H[WHQVLRQ RI VWUDQGV JLYHV DGGLWLRQDO GHÀHFWLRQ
in cantilever arms during construction. To control
WKLVGHÀHFWLRQDQGDVLWZDVQRWSRVVLEOHWRDGMXVW
WKHGHÀHFWLRQLQSUHFDPEHUGXULQJFRQVWUXFWLRQ
it was proposed that the strands be grouted in
length provided in pier cap and pier head units of
cantilever arm. So these strands were not reusable
and are later cut in between pier cap and bottom
of pier head unit after stich segment of individual
cantilever arms were cast. A comparison of type
of temporary support and quantities for various
bridges are given in Table 3.

Project Name Total Length Total Self C/C Reaction Temporary Support Details
of Cantilever Weight of Box distance on One
Arm Units for One between Temp. Type Dimension Total
Cantilever Temp. Support Quantities
Arm support (R1/R2)
Jaigarh Creek 64 m 1250 ton 9.0 m 250 ton RCC with 900 x 900 Concrete
Bridge (1-Stage 125 ton mm - 45 cum
Casting) Capacity HYSD Steel
Sand Jack – 4 ton
Balason Bridge 128 m 2800 ton 7m 600 ton Steel With Built- Structural
(2-Stage 325 ton up-1000 x Steel
Casting) Capacity 1000 mm – 42 ton
Sand Jack
Brahmaputra 148.5 m 7000 ton 7.31 m 2600 ton HT Strand 14 nos x 19 HT-Strands
Bridge (3- Stage K15 – 4.6 ton
Casting)

8 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018

 PAPER NO. 672

4.2 Bearing Freezing Arrangement
The next important construction system for cantilever
construction of bridges is the freezing of bearings.
This freezing arrangement restricts the longitudinal
and transverse movement of free bearings during
cantilever construction. POT/PTFE free bearings are
provided at Piers P6 to P11 and P13 to P18 location
for the continuous cantilever span, which is free to
move in longitudinal direction only and POT/PTFE
¿[HGEHDULQJVDUHSURYLGHGDW3LHU3ORFDWLRQWR
restrict the movement in both direction Figs. 12 and
13 and Photo 47KHQRV¿[HGEHDULQJVSURYLGHG
at P12 location are for 3560 ton vertical load and 630
ton horizontal load in longitudinal direction as well as
transverse direction, whereas at other pier locations,
2 nos. free bearings are provided for varying vertical
loads and 630 ton horizontal load in transverse
direction. Bearing load details at each pier location for
bridge are given in Table 4 and the layout is given in
Fig. 14.

Fig. 12 Free Guided Bearing (2089 x 2412 mm) Fig. 13 Fixed Bearing (1858 x 1454 mm)
Table 4 Bearing Loads and Movements

Fig. 14 Bearing Layout Diagram

Photo 4 Fixed/Free Bearing Photo 5 STU Arrangement

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018 9

 PAPER NO. 672

To avoid occurrence of a large amount of horizontal
IRUFHLQVHLVPLFFRQGLWLRQDWWKHRQO\¿[HGEHDULQJ
i.e. P12 location for 1.493 km long continuous span,
Shock Transmission units (STU) are provided at all
free bearing pier locations. These STU’s are designed
to distribute the sudden loads due to seismic and
braking etc. uniformly on all piers at the same time
allowing the movement for slowly induced loads
due to temperature, creep and shrinkage.
At every free pier location (i.e. At Piers P7 to P11 &
P13 to P17-10 locations), three numbers of STU’s
are provided having maximum capacity of 400 ton.
The approx. weight of STU is approx. 3 ton and it is
connected to the pier cap with 10 nos. 39.5 dia. high
VWUHQJWKEROWVDQGFRQQHFWHGWRWKHVRI¿WRIEULGJH
deck with 12 nos. 36 dia. high strength bolts
The general arrangement of STU is shown in Photo
 and )LJ while the details of connection of STU
units between pier cap and segments of cantilever
arm is shown in Photo 6 and Fig. 16.

Photo 6 STU Connection Fig. 15 Typical Detail of STU

Fig. 16 STU Connection

The conventional system used in most cantilever around the bearing and locked together by tie
bridges for freezing the bearing is by arresting bolts or any type of tension rod. The general
the bearing at the bearing location itself. The arrangement has been shown in Figs. 17, 18 and
arrangement consists of two steel beams provided Photo 7.

10 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018

 PAPER NO. 672

7DEOH/RDG&DOFXODWLRQIRU)UHH]LQJ$UUDQJHPHQW

Description Load in ton

For Conventional Bearing Freezing Arrangement
Dead load – Pier head segments (Segment 1 on each side) 1120
Reaction on one bearing 693
Horizontal load to be consider (0.23 x Reaction on Bearing). 158
Design Capacity for system 160
For Longitudinal Restrainer
Dead load- Segments 1 to 5 on each side 2400
Reaction on one bearing 1200
Horizontal load to be consider (0.23 x Reaction on Bearing). 276
Design Capacity for system 300

Fig. 17 Sectional Elevation – Detail of Freezing Around Bearing

Fig. 18 Plan – GA of Freezing Around Bearing Photo 7 Freezing Around Bearing

The conventional freezing arrangement comprises
of the followings-
i. Steel built up beams (2 nos.) designed for the
horizontal force.
ii. Packing either by wooden or steel.
iii. High tension bolts connecting the two steel
built up beams.
When the bearing tries to slide, it is arrested by
the built up beam which takes reaction from the
pedestal of the bearing through the packing. The
entire system is held in position by the tie/tension
bolts.
In case of New Brahmaputra bridge, the arrangement
had to resist the total desired horizontal force of
300 ton 7DEOH  before STU is activated. As the
force was quite large, the conventional freezing
arrangement as described above could not be
designed and therefore, alternate arrangement had to
be thought of to freeze the free bearing till the STU
becomes active. So the conventional arrangement
was provided only to lock the bearing till the time
the main advanced freezing arrangement was to
be provided. The design horizontal force for the
conventional freezing arrangement was 160 ton
7DEOH.

JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018 11

 PAPER NO. 672

A special type of longitudinal restrainer was pier cap to allow rotation within the permissible
developed for P7 and P17 based on High friction limits of the bearing.
grip bolt mechanism. This longitudinal restrainer
was designed to resist the 300 ton horizontal forces
as mentioned in 7DEOH. The freezing arrangement
comprised of steel built up beam connected to the
VRI¿WRIWKHER[JLUGHUQHDUWKHIDFHRIWKHSLHUFDS
7KH EXLOW XS EHDP ZDV ¿[HG WR WKH VRI¿W RI ER[
girder by high friction grip bolts (Macalloy bar). An
HODVWRPHULF SDG ZDV SURYLGHG WR WKH ÀDQJH RI WKH
built up beam that would hit the face of the pier cap
thus transferring the horizontal force to the pier cap.
The arrangement was provided on both sides of the
pier cap Photo 8.

Fig. 19 Side elevation–Longitudinal Restrainer

Photo 8 Longitudinal Restrainer

This Longitudinal restrainer arrangement is
comprised of the followings:-
i. Two nos. of corbels – 0.718 m x 1.29 m x 2.4
PWRWKHVRI¿WRIWKHER[JLUGHU
ii. Steel built up beam attached to the corbel by
means of Macalloy post tensioning system.
The diaphragm of the pier head unit had to be
extended to the second unit for the provision of
corbels. The general arrangement is given in Figs. 19
and 20. The corbel and the steel built up beam were
designed for the horizontal forces of 300 ton. A gap
was maintained between the elastomeric pad and
Fig. 20 Cross-Section –Longitudinal Restrainer
The built up beam Fig. 21 was to be later removed
after deactivation of freezing arrangement and
casting of continuity unit.
The position of the corbel was such that it lay partly
LQ¿UVW3LHUKHDGXQLWLHDEDQGSDUWO\LQVHFRQG
unit i.e. 2a/2b. Therefore, the design of pier head
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the entire portion of this arrangement (i.e. corbel)
could be cast along with Pier head unit.

Fig. 21 Details of Built up Beam

12 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018

 PAPER NO. 672
Since Pier head unit and pier cap for pier P7
DQG 3 ZHUH ¿UVW UHDG\ DV VXFK WKLV W\SH RI
ORQJLWXGLQDO UHVWUDLQHU ZDV SURYLGHG ¿UVWO\
for Piers P7 and P17. However, the formwork
DUUDQJHPHQW EHFDPH GLI¿FXOW IRU WKH UHYLVHG
shape of pier head and hence took more time.
Similarly, during installation of freezing units,
stressing of 48 Nos. of 4.2 m length Macalloy
tension bars at each pier location also increased
the time cycle. At the same time the cost increased
due to the cost of 48 nos of Macalloy bars of 4.2
m length i.e. 42 ton considering all pier locations.
So, overall the entire process led to increased
time cycle and increased costs as compared to
time cycle and costs considered in construction
schedule.
So, it was necessary to modify the proposed
longitudinal system provided at Piers P7 and P17 to
a seismic longitudinal restrainer type system at other
pier locations to save extra time and cost. This was
done by providing the restrainer type corbel over
pier cap and another corbel from outside of web of
pier head unit. In this bridge, permanent longitudinal
Fig. 22 Elevation View–Longitudinal Restrainer
Photo 9 Details of New Proposed Longitudinal
Restrainer
JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018
seismic restrainers had not been proposed due to
provision of STU. A gap of 1000 mm between the
two corbels was kept and this gap was packed with
a steel built-up girder. The Gap of 1000 mm was
provided as the maximum longitudinal movement of
span is 800 mm so that after completion of the entire
bridge the corbels should not restrict the longitudinal
movement of expansion joint. A 50 mm elastomeric
pad was provided on the front face of built-up steel
girder to take care of the impact of longitudinal
horizontal force during construction. A 10 mm gap
was also maintained between the elastomeric pad
and corbel to allow rotation within the permissible
limits of the bearing. The elevation and plan view of
longitudinal restrainer is shown in Figs. 22 and 23.
The construction of this longitudinal restrainer did
QRWLQFXUDQ\VLJQL¿FDQWDGGLWLRQDOFRVWVRUGHOD\HG
the time cycle as compared to the earlier proposed
longitudinal restrainer. The corbel of longitudinal
restrainer is cast along with pier cap and pier head
XQLWVDWDOOSLHUORFDWLRQVH[FHSW¿[HGSLHU37KH
details of revised longitudinal restrainer are given
in Photo-9.
Fig. 23 Plan View–Longitudinal Restrainer
After activating the longitudinal restrainer,
conventional freezing arrangement of
bearing was removed. As per construction
methodology, this longitudinal restrainer had to
be deactivated after installation of STU units,
but the deactivation of the restrainer was done
only after casting of continuity units as an
additional safety precaution. Also longitudinal
restrainer was designed for 40 % more load
as required 7DEOH for safety precaution only.
For deactivation of longitudinal restrainer, only
built-up steel girder along with elastomeric
13
 PAPER NO. 672
pad was removed. Total quantities required in
earlier proposed longitudinal restrainer and
Table 6 Details of Quantities for Longitudinal Restrainer for One Pier Location
Concrete
(m3)
First proposal- Longitudinal Restrainer 40.5
New Proposal-Longitudinal Restrainer 14
For the new proposal, high quantity of reinforcement
was required in comparison to concrete because
almost 45 % of the reinforcement quantity was for
the purpose of anchorage provided in the existing
pier cap and pier head diaphragm as both the
restrainers were corbel structures.
 &21&/86,21
Progressive developments in the design of bridges
will have to be supported by equal advancements
in the construction systems for the successful
completion of the project. The temporary support
Photo 10 Completed Aerial View of the Bridge
The New Brahmaputra Bridge at Guwahati was
opened to public on 29.01.2017. The new bridge
has decreased congestion on the existing Straight
Bridge and has improved connectivity across the
Brahmaputra. With the completion of the Jalukbari
À\RYHUWKHHQWLUHDUHDKDVJRWDEHDXWLIXOPDNHRYHU
6. REFERENCES
 91+HJJDGH³%HDULQJV WKHLU&RQ¿JXUDWLRQV
with in Bridge” System, The Bridge and Structural
Engineer, Vol 43/Number 4/December 2013, pp.
23-35.
14 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ROADS CONGRESS, JANUARY - MARCH, 2018
View publication stats
new proposed longitudinal restrainer is given in
Table-6.
Structural Reinforcement High Tension
Steel (ton) (ton) Bar (ton)
8 7.1 4.2
3.8 9 -
arrangement and freezing of bearing are very
important undertakings for balanced cantilever
bridges where sliding bearings are proposed. For
New Brahmaputra Bridge at Guwahati, as the
dead weight of superstructure was very large,
new solutions had to be developed to cater for
the huge horizontal forces. The solutions also had
WR EH HFRQRPLFDO ZLWK PLQLPXP PRGL¿FDWLRQ
to the existing structure and enabling simplicity
LQ H[HFXWLRQ 7KH ¿QDO SURSRVDO IRU ORFNLQJ RI
bearings scores better on both cost and effort
parameters.
Photo 11 Connecting Jalukbari Flyover
2. Dr. V. K. Raina, Avinash Y. Mahendrakar,
Amrendra N. Singh, “Philosophy of CAMBER-
&255(&7,21WR2EWDLQ&RUUHFW'HFN3UR¿OHLQ
Cantilever Construction…. Brahmaputra Bridge
at Guwahati, India”, ING-IABSE seminar Mysore
2014 on Elevated Transport Corridors. pp. 160-
169.
3. V N Heggade, A.N.Singh, “New Saraighat Bridge-
Vital Link to Gateway of North East”, CEMCON
2017, ICI Pune centre, Pune 14 to 16 September
2017, pp 93-106.