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Settlement Of Highway Bridge Approaches And Embankment Foundations, Bluegrass Parkway Bridges Over Chaplin River, Tommy C. Hopkins

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The report examines the cause of a differential settlement between the highway approach embankments and bridge decks and abutment tilting at a bridge site located on the Bluegrass Parkway in Kentucky. The site contains several design, construction and maintenance features and soil types that are typical of many bridge sites in Kentucky. The approach embankments are side-hill fills. The approach pavements have settled several inches and have been patched on numerous occasions. Each of the four abutments give the appearance of having tilted backward toward the backfill. However, closer examination shows that the abutments have moved laterally toward the bridge …