Horizontally Curved Steel Girders; Fabrication and Design

The use of horizontally curved steel girders in bridge construction is relatively new. In 1961 there were probably not more than half a dozen bridges built with curved girders. In the American Bridge Div. of U. S. Steel Corporation, total inquiries for bridges using curved girders had only amounted to approximately 1,500 tons by the end of 1965. However, in 1966 alone inquiries amounted to more than 1,600 tons. These guidelines are based on the supposition that misalignment between the span and the abutments can be tolerated. If not, the bearing devices must act in a plane tangent to the curve at the end bearing, and the effect of restricted movement must be considered in the design of the span and the bearings. As knowledge is further developed on the design and fabrication of curved girders, they will become more and more commonplace as highway bridge structures which fit particular locations as economically and esthetically as possible.