Tnnovative roadway transition structure for a long integral abutment bridge in Austria

A new roadway transition structure for long integral abutment bridges has been invented at the Institute of Structural Engineering at Vienna University of Technology. It consists of prefabricated prismatic concrete elements which are positioned on a sliding plane and connected by flexible corrosion resistant tension members. At one end, these tension members are connected to the bridge structure and at the other end to an abutment block. The total horizontal displacement of the bridge is evenly distributed among small joints between the elements. As part of the extension of the A5 highway in Austria, a 112 meter long integral abutment bridge has been designed. It was decided to incorporate the new flexible expansion joint in this bridge project, in order to gain experience with the design, the installation and the durability of this new type of transition structure.