American Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials
Special Committee on
Research and Innovation
FY2023 NCHRP PROBLEM
STATEMENT OUTLINE
Problem Number: 2023-D-26
Problem Title
Update to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction
Specifications
Background
In 2020, the AASHTO Committee on Bridges and Structures
(COBS) completed a project that investigated the use and effectiveness of the
current AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications (BCS). This project included a questionnaire to each
state to determine the use of the document, a review of the document contents,
the development of a prioritized approach for reorganization and maintenance of
the document, and the development of prioritized recommendations for re-writing
of the document. The results of the
study were as follows:
1.
The questionnaire provided very good feedback.
The number one takeaway is that the BCS is being used by many STAs on a regular
basis. This justifies maintaining the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction
Specifications.
2.
The COBS may want to consider converting the
document to a guide specification. There has been anecdotal evidence that
contractors are using the BCS as a basis for claims against STAs, since it is
considered the “National Standard Specification”.
3.
Some reorganization of the sections is in
order. Newer sections seem to have been simply tacked on to the end of the
document. Several reorganization options were developed, each with its
advantages and disadvantages.
4.
Most sections in the document have very little
commentary. The addition of commentary to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design
Specifications had been a significant improvement over the original Standard
Specifications. The BCS could benefit from a similar effort.
5.
Many of the sections need updating to current
standards and practices and reformatting to be consistent with industry and STA
specifications. Some sections require more attention than others as some have
been maintained by certain technical committees since adoption of the document
in the late 1990s.
6.
The questionnaire identified several potential
new provisions that should be added to the specifications.
Literature Search Summary
There has not been
a cover to cover re-write of this specification since the late 1990’s when it
was converted to LRFD format. That
re-write did not include a section-by-section update and did not include the
development of quality commentary text for each provision.
Research Objective
The purpose of this proposed research is to execute the
recommendations from the first project. The goal is to bring the document up to
current standards and construction practices, which will make it more useful to
bridge owners. The final products will
be an updated document that can be adopted by the AASHTO Committee on Bridges
and Structures.
Major tasks include:
1.
Review of the final report published as part of the project completed in
2021.
2.
Review of each section and recommendations for
addition/changes/deletions. This will
require researching other specifications including industry publications,
international specifications, and specifications developed by member states.
This may also include engaging with industry and COBS technical committees as
needed.
3.
Development of draft specification language based on the research of
each section. Development of a template
for the sections and consistent terminology. The format shall meet the current
AASHTO formatting guidelines.
4.
Submission to the project panel for review and comment.
5.
Address panel comments and develop the final draft document for
submission to the overall COBS.
6.
Address final comments from COBS and prepare the document for balloting.
7.
Address any minor last-minute comments and forward the final document to
AASHTO for publishing (if accepted by COBS).
The first project identified that the current is useful
to bridge owners. A conversion of the
document into a guide specification was recommended. The wholesale adoption of a national
construction specification is not realistic; however, a guide specification can
be a useful document in the development of state specific standard construction
specifications. Having a national construction specification guide
specification as the basis for state specifications will help to foster uniformity
of construction specification across state lines.
Urgency and Potential Benefits
There is a need to
provide uniformity of construction practices and specification as many
contractors work across state lines. A
revised AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specification document will help to
improve quality, durability and uniformity of bridge construction.
Implementation
Considerations and Supporters
An updated AASHTO
LRFD Bridge Construction Specification can be implemented through the normal AASHTO
document adoption procedures. This will
be a valuable tool for each state to update their own construction
specifications.
Recommended Research
Funding and Research Period
The funding for
this work was estimated as part of the previous study. The values were developed based on a rough
estimate of the amount of re-work required for each section. Some sections require minor changes, other
require major re-write, and others need to be written from scratch. The
estimated cost for this work was set at approximately $800,000.
The previous
project developed a prioritized rewrite schedule that addressed the most used
sections first. If funding is limited,
this top priority work could be completed to remain within budget.
The estimated
timeframe to complete this project is 24 months.
Problem Statement
Author(s)
Michael P. Culmo,
P.E.
CHA Consulting,
Inc.
Member of TRB
Committee AKB20
508-864-7956
mculmo@chacompanies.com
Others Supporting the Problem Statement
This project is supported
and endorsed by the AASHTO Technical Committee T-4 Construction.
Cheryl Hersh
Simmons, S.E.
Chair, AASHTO COBS
Committee T-4 Construction
Chief Structural
Engineer
Utah Department of
Transportation
801-557-7846
Carmen Swanwick,
S.E.
Chair, AASHTO COBS
Project Development
Director, Director of Construction
Utah Department of
Transportation
801-232-7802
cswanwick@utah.gov
Potential Panel Members
Members of AASHTO COBS Technical Committee T-4
Other members of AASHTO Technical Committees
Person Submitting the Problem Statement
Cheryl Hersh
Simmons, S.E.
Chair, AASHTO COBS
Committee T-4 Construction
Chief Structural
Engineer
Utah Department of
Transportation
801-557-7846
cherylhersh@utah.gov