Multi-Span Large Bridges – Pacheco & Magalhães (Eds.

)
© 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-1-138-02757-2

Design and proof checking of foundation, substructure and

superstructure of Rail cum Road Bridge at Munger, Bihar, India

H.M. Farook & G.S. Babu

L&T Infrastructure Engineering Limited, India

ABSTRACT: The total length rail cum road bridge across river Ganga near Munger, in the state
of Bihar, India, is about 3690.20 m. The bridge consists of 29 nos of 125 m spans and 2 nos of
32.60 m. The superstructure is of truss type to carry a broad gauge railway line at the bottom chord
level and a three lane road carriage way at middle level of the superstructure. The truss planes are
connected together through cross girders, portal bracings, and sway bracings and lateral bracings
at top, bottom and middle level. The substructure comprises of RCC twin circular pier with RCC
pier cap resting on well foundations. All the components of this Rail cum Road Bridge viz well
foundations, substructure and steel superstructure have been designed for MBG loading-2008, IRS
(1964) and IRC: 6 (2000). The superstructure at rail and road level rests on POT or POT cum PTFE
bearing.
All well foundations, substructure and superstructure of 125 m spans have already been con-
structed and construction of shore spans (32.6 m) is in progress. This bridge will be second longest
rail road bridge of state bihar and third longest of the country. It is expected to be completed in
2015.

1 INTRODUCTION

India has amazing network of railway lines across the country, with about 1,33,000 bridges. When
the bridge construction is a challenging task as in the case of bridges across perennial rivers, it is
prudent to go in for Rail cum road bridge.
The mighty Ganga (or Ganges) River, makes its way from the western Himalayas to the Bay of
Bengal, a journey of nearly 2,500 km. Its river basin is one of the most fertile and densely populated
regions in the world and covers an area of about 1,000,000 square kilometres.
The river Ganga traverses through the State of Bihar for about 460 km from Buxar to Rajmahal,
dividing the into two parts – South and North Bihar. While the former is mineral rich area, the
latter is the densely populated and agriculturally rich.
The Railway plays a vital role as means of transportation. There are only two rail bridges across
the river Ganga one near Mughalsarai, which is 410 km from Munger and other Rail Bridge is at
Mokamah which is 55 km in the upstream. There are Road bridges at Buxer 306 km upstream of
the Munger, the famous Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna 151 km upstream of the Munger and One
near Bhagalpur which is 64 km at the downstream of the Munger.
Construction of Rail cum Road Bridge at Munger will carry road and rail traffic on different
levels.
The contractor of the project is The Braithwaite Burn and Jessop Construction Company Limited,
Kolkata and L&T Infrastructure Engineering Limited are the consultants for proof checking and
re-design.

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1.1 About the location
The bridge was proposed to be located at Munger – Malhipur site as out of the two alternative sites
i.e. Munger – Malhipur and Samastipur – Munger, Munger – Malhipur site is distinctly superior
to other site due to the following reasons.
i. The main bridge length will be shorter by 2.4 km.
ii. Meandering of river and obliquity of flow will be lesser.

2 FINALISATION OF THE CROSS SECTIONS AND GENERAL ARRANGMENT

The proposed bridge is to carry a single broad gauge rail track and a three lane highway flanked
by footpaths on either side. Road deck on the bridge is given a cross slope of 2.5% from centre of
bridge towards end for drainage. At the selected site, the bridge length is 3690.20 m, with 29 spans
of 125 m c/c and end spans of 32.6 m. The entire alignment is in straight and has no longitudinal
slope.

2.1 Superstructure
The superstructure is primarily a truss type. The width of the superstructure is fixed based on min-
imum requirements for the road carriage way carrying three lane traffic and minimum clearances
required for the passage of railway broad gauge trains. Sizes of the box sections of the superstructure
are fixed from fabrication and maintenance considerations, besides structural requirements. Pre-
liminary design for the following structural components of the superstructure was done to finalize
the structural arrangement of the overall structure.
– Design of rail supporting floor system.
– Design of road supporting floor system.
– Arrangement of bearings and design.
– Arrangement of seismic arresters.

2.1.1 Arrangement of truss

The two planes of the truss are placed 12.25 m apart to accommodate Broad gauge railway line
at the bottom level and a three lane road carriage way of 10.5 m width at middle level of the
superstructure. The height of the truss is about 18.5 m.
The cross sectional shapes of the truss members are:
– The top chords, bottom chords and diagonals are hollow box sections. Middle chords are of twin
channel sections placed face to face.
– The diagonals, verticals, stringers (rail bearers), portal bracings, top cross girders, middle cross
girders and bottom cross girders are of I-sections.
– Wind and top lateral bracings at the bottom level are of star angle configuration with equal angle
section.
– Sway bracings are of twin channel sections placed back to back.

2.1.2 Arrangement of railway floor

The rail tracks run on steel sleepers (as per Indian Railways Standards) supported on stringers (rail
bearers). There are two stringers placed at spacing of 1.9 m. The stringers are connected to bottom
cross girders. The centre to centre distance between bottom cross girders are chosen to suit the
panel lengths. The stringers are designed to carry the train load, transverse forces due to wind on
train and raking forces, and transferring them to the bottom chord members. Gangway is provided
inside the truss planes on one side.

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Figure 1. Typical Cross Section for 125 m span.

2.1.3 Arrangement of roadway floor

The deck rests on six longitudinal stringers. The stringers in turn transfer the loads to the cross
girders that are supported by vertical members. Footpath is also provided for the convenience of
pedestrians.

2.2 Substructure
The superstructure is supported by RCC twin circular piers with RCC pier cap.

2.3 Foundation
Based on the characteristics of the strata at the bridge location, it was proposed to Double D shaped
well foundations which are 11m wide along the direction of traffic and 18 m across. The wells were
taken to a depth of 57 m below bed.
Typical cross section of 125 m and 32.6 m spans are shown in the Figures 1 and 2 below.

3 ANALYSIS AND DESIGN APPROACH

3.1 Analysis
Global and local models of the superstructure are analyzed for different loads and load combina-
tions. The superstructure of the bridge has top panels provided with K bracings and bottom panels
with X Bracings.

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Figure 2. Typical Cross Section for 32.6 m span.

3.1.1 Load transfer

The railway load is transferred from rails to the bottom chords through sleepers resting on longitu-
dinal stringers. The stringers in-turn transfer the loads onto the cross girders that are connected to
the bottom chords of the trusses at nodes.
The loads from road deck are at deck at middle level of the truss. The deck rests on longitudinal
stringers. The stringers in turn transfer the loads to the cross girders that are supported by vertical
members.
Wind and seismic forces acting in the transverse direction are transferred to the bottom chords
and then on to the bearings.
As envisaged in design basis note the models are analysed for various load cases. Based on the
analysis of the model sections have been chosen and validated as per various clauses of design
basis note and the relevant fs mentioned therein.

3.1.2 Structural model

Three dimensional beam model of the superstructure is created using STAAD software and analyzed
for various load combinations.
The basic features of the model are:

1. Linear elastic elements.

2. All elements are beam elements.
3. The joints in the plane of truss are idealised as moment resisting joints.
4. The railway stringers are discontinuous over the cross girders. This is achieved by releasing the
end moments at both the ends.
5. The bottom and top cross girders are modelled as moment resisting members at the joints with
truss plane.
6. The cross girders of road deck have are made moment released at the joints with the truss.
7. Lateral bracings at top and bottom have moment released at the joints with the truss.
8. Bracings at the rail stringer level have moment released at the joints with the truss and the rail
stringers.
9. All loads are applied as static loads – either as member loads or nodal loads. Dynamic effect of
moving load is accounted for by suitably modifying the loads by coefficient of dynamic augment
as per codal provisions.

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3.1.3 Joints
a) In the plane of the truss all joints of the main truss members are modelled as moment resistant.
b) The joints of the Rail cross girders to bottom chords are moment resistant about major axis.
c) The joints of the Road cross girders to the verticals are not moment resistant about both minor
and major axis.
d) The joints of the Top cross girders to the top chords are moment resistant about both minor and
major axis.

3.2 Provisions for fatigue

Railway steel bridges are subjected to fatigue loading and the check of the members for failure
against the fatigue is critical. Structural elements where live load is a large percentage of the total
load are potentially susceptible to stress reversal and fatigue.
Fatigue is a serviceability problem. Fatigue check is carried out for loads, which are normally
less than the maximum design loads. Fatigue is critical at the joints. Residual stresses and stress
concentrations control the stress levels to be adopted in the design. Detailing rules are perhaps the
most important part of fatigue and fracture design.

3.3 Design approach

The design is based on working stress approach as per Indian Railway Steel Bridge Code, IRS
(1962) specifications.
The design is further checked for serviceability limits such as:
i. Deformation including vertical deflection, lateral deflection, rotation and twist.
ii. Fatigue loading for members and connections.

4 FABRICATION AND ASSEMBLY OF STEEL TRUSSES

4.1 General
The steel truss is fabricated using plates of strength up to E 350. All steel plates with thickness
greater than 20 mm are tested for de-lamination. All steel plates subjected to tension perpendicular
to the surface are also tested for de-lamination
Full assembly of the end span truss was done in the open yard located behind one of the abutments
so that it can be readily launched. After fabrication the truss was checked for pre-camber.
Welding procedure and specifications shall be as per IRS Welded Bridge Code, IRS (2001).
Welding quality and the geometric precision of all the members are the two key points for controlling
quality of the truss. Automated welding process was used for the main structure’s seam and fillet
welds. Other elements can be welded with manual welding equipment. Before final welding, various
criteria regarding welding process shall be assured so that the mechanical behavior of the welded
joint equals that of the parent steel.
All welds are inspected with ultrasonic or radiographic equipment 24 hours after welding.

4.2 Connections
i. Welded connections
Based on structural configuration of the members fillet welded connections are used for the
member sections.
ii. Connections using rivets
The number of members meeting at the joints, the plane at which they are meeting and
the structural configuration of the members are different and hence the type of joints shall be

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different. All connections other than welded connections are made using rivets and gusset plates.
Bolts are used for connections related to bearings.

5 BRIDGE ELEMENTS AND EQUIPMENTS

5.1 Bearings
As against the conventional rock cum roller bearings types, POT or POT cum PTFE bearings are
recommended. These bearings are compact and easily available, of reliable quality, maintenance
free and can be completely tested before erection. Anti seismic devices in the structure shall be
provided to prevent unseating of the superstructure during an earthquake based on safety criteria.

5.2 Expansion joints

Structure expansion joints are capable of accommodating translations and rotations between the
superstructure and approaches without any damage. And they are capable of easy removal and
replacement during the lifetime of the structure. Modular strip seal type expansion joints are used
based on the design approach.

6 CONSTRUCTION SCHEME

The steel truss is first erected/launched over the span. The concrete deck is cast next. The formwork
is supported from the steel truss and the entire load of concrete deck is carried by the steel truss.
Once the concrete attains adequate strength and behaves composite with the road stringers, the
other imposed dead loads consisting of road and railway fixtures are erected. The construction
sequence and method has been considered in the design of individual members.

7 DURABILITY, INSPECTABILITY AND MAINTAINABILITY

The structural design and composition of construction materials have been done with adequate care
to ensure durability, considering the structural details of which they form part as well as the effects
of the environment to which they are exposed. Bridge components such as bearings, expansion
joints and items of equipment are designed so that they can be easily replaced. Provision has
been made to ensure easy access and adequate level of safety during inspection and maintenance
operations.
Gangways are to be provided for the full length of bridge at rail track level for inspection of track
etc. Inspection platforms need to be provided around the piers for inspection of bearings. Suitable
accesses are provided to the top of pier caps at selected locations.

REFERENCES

Indian Railways Bridge Manual 1998.

Indian Railway Bridge Rules, Revised. 1964 (Including Correction slips up to no. 38).
Indian Railway Standard (IRS), Code of Practice for the Design of the Substructure and Foundation of Bridges
(Bridge Substructure and Foundations Code- adopted 1936, Incorporating up to Slip No. 22).
Indian Railway Standard (IRS), 1985. Manual on the Design and Construction of Well and Pile Foundations,
(Well and Pile Foundation Code), Adopted – 1941, Revised Edition – 1985.
Indian Railway Standard (IRS), 1962. Specification for Steel Bridge Code Revised (Including Correction Slips
up to No. 17).
Indian Railway Standard (IRS), Welded Bridge Code for Steel Bridge Girders (Revised 2001).

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IRC: 6-2000. Standard specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges, Section-II – Loads and Stresses
(Fourth Revision).
IRC: 21-2000. Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges, Section-III – Cement concrete
(Plain and Reinforced) (Third Revision).
IRC: 83-2002 (Part III) – Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Brides. Section IX, POT-
CUM-PTFE, PIN and Metallic Guide Bearings.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLETED PHOTOS OF THE PROJECT

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