Monitoring During Lateral Bridge Slide

Slide-in bridge construction (SIBC) is an accelerated bridge construction method. In U.S. state of the art and state of the practice today, the bridge superstructure is moved by sliding laterally into the final alignment following a sequence of construction and demolition events. SIBC implementation components require a temporary support structure, a slide system with railing girders and polytetrafluoroethylene pads or rollers, and an actuating system to initiate and maintain the slide movement. The M-100 bridge over the Canadian National (CN) railway was the third SIBC project implemented by the Michigan Department of Transportation. Each SIBC implementation has been so far unique because the unknowns include slide properties contributing to friction between surfaces, pushing and pulling force levels, and monitoring and controlling the force levels. The purpose of standardization is to develop repeatable procedures for the SIBC method. One aspect of standardization is to develop an understanding of the structural response and the forces developed in the system during slide activities. This understanding requires documentation of various SIBC practices, simulation of slide activities, and monitoring the structural response. The activities of the M-100 road over the CN railway bridge slide, instrumentation and monitoring of the structural response, and the use of acquired acceleration data to calculate the forces that developed during the slide activities are presented.