November 2003 Volume 14, No 11PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK, INC.

Precast Concrete Associationof New York, Inc. 706 Quaker Lane, Delanson, New York 12053 Tel: 518-895-8352 Facs: 518-895-2329 Email: pcany@aol.com Web: www.pcany.org

Carl Buchman, PE: Exec DirectorMary Ellen Yankosky: Admin DirectorEdward Hourigan, PE: Tech DirectorHarold Nelson, PE: NL Editor

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Precast rigid frames were used for a new bridge over the Sparkill in Orangeburg, NY. The frames witha clear span of 30'-7 and a rise of 7'-2 were cast with a 24 degree skew to meet the alignment of theroadway. Bottom photo shows installation in November of 2002. Both photos by the Fort Miller Co.

Stone faced,3-sided frames,a win-win fortown and DOT

A new stone faced three-sided precastrigid frame bridge is a win-win addition for theTown of Orangeburg, and the NYSDOT. Thereplacement bridge carries Route 340 overthe Sparkill in Rockland County, New York.Town residents wanted the new bridge to bein character with the town center. In additionto the 3-sided frames, cast as a modified arch,the project included precast footings, invertslabs and wingwalls. The frames and wallswith stone facing are an aesthetic and pleas-ing solution for the town, and an efficient,economical design for the department.

continued on page 2

Work on version 3of culvert designprogram underway

Work on version 3 of the pcany/nysdot boxculvert design program is now underway andis expected to be completed for distributionlater this fall. The new version will includemodifications related to the following:

In addition, the new version is expected tomake the program more user friendly by im-proving the input and output screens andpermitting a preview before printing. ❏

• Load ratings including where shear controls• Live load calculation for skewed culverts• Soil pressure combinations for calculation of

design moments• Output reactions for 3-sided boxes• Warning for span/rise ratios greater than 4• Overstress and bar sizes larger than #8• Shear capacity from tapered "fish bottoms"• Load ratings for spans greater than 20'• Phi factors to conform with AASHTO

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PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK November 2003 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Page 2

Sketch above shows balanced load for shippingwith sleeves for rotation at the jobsite.

Another detail often overlooked, is that thevertical walls of a 3-sided frame element maytend to "kick out" when standing upright underits own dead load. This outward displace-

Precast three-sided framesare ideal for short span bridges

by Ronald E. Thornton, PE (Delta Engineers)

Bridge replacements in the 20' to 40' spanrange are ideal candidates for precast 3-sided frame elements. The typical unit ap-pears much like a box culvert but without thebottom slab. The legs of the elements are setinto keyways formed in cast-in-place or pre-cast footings and grouted to create a solidconnection.

Three-sided frame elements offer severaladvantages to other types of bridges of similarspans. Among them are:

• Units are conventionally reinforced elimi-nating the need for prestressed beams ortransverse post-tensioning.

• No abutments are required since the legsare integral with the top slab. Spread footingsmay be cast-in-place.

• Soil pressures work with the rigid frame toprovide an efficient top slab design.

• Units can be fabricated to accommodatelarge skew angles.

Because of the relative size and shape ofthe frame elements, special considerationmust be given with regard to handling, ship-ping and placement:

• Lifters need to be appropriately sized andplaced so that the units can be rotated forsetting. The contractor or installer needs tobe aware of the rigging requirements.

• Handling stresses should be checked toassure that cracks do not occur during liftingand setting.

The center-of-gravity must be determinedin order to properly locate lifters and to assurethat the elements are balanced on the trailerduring shipment.

ment can result in the formation of cracks andmay also alter the structural behavior of theunit, thus reducing its load carrying capacity.

Accordingly, each leg of the frame unitmust be restrained from movement until it issecurely grouted to the footing. One methodis to attach a length of strand or piano wirefrom one leg to another. A more commonapproach is to secure the legs with hardwoodwedges against the keyway.

Sketch shows typical footing detail with woodwedges to restrain "kick out."

State and local authorities are faced withthe challenge of replacing a large number ofdeteriorating bridges. As always, the precastindustry has responded to the challenge in amost effective and economical way. ❏

The above first appeared in "The Delta Advantage"newsletter of August 2002, published by Delta Engi-neers, PC, located in Binghamton, NY.

ASTM publishesnew box culvertspecification

ASTM C1433, Standard Specification forPrecast Reinforced Concrete Box Sectionsfor Culverts, Storm Drains and Sewers, is arecommended standard for design and con-struction of precast concrete box culverts andthree-sided rigid frame bridges. The standardcan be used for private or commercial work inlieu of the "Standard Specifications" (BlueBook) and referenced documents that is pub-lished by NYSDOT for department work.

ASTM C850 and/or ASTM C789 were dis-continued in 2000 and replaced by ASTMC1433. The most up-to-date issue of the newstandard is ASTM C1433-02a.

The new standard, ASTM C1433, can beordered from ASTM International on line atwww.astm.org or by phone at 610-832-9585.The standard can also be ordered from NPCAat 800-366-7731. ❏

visit: www.pcany.orgFor information on

precast concrete productsand their application

precast concrete producersand links to their websites

precast concrete associationof New York and

back issues of the newsletter

A win-win fortown and DOT

continued from page 1A total of nine frames were required for the

bridge. They have a clear span of 9.34 m, arise of 2.23 m and are 1.7 m wide, (30'-7 x 7'-2 x 5'-7). The thickness of the walls and roofslab is 330 mm (13"). The total width of thebridge is 15.46 m (50'-9). The frames wereinstalled on precast footings and seated inpreformed slots. The walls were shimmed forelevation and alignment and then grouted. Adouble female slot in the butt joint betweenwalls and roof slab was also grouted.

Frames with 24 degree skewWalls of the frames were cast on a 24

degree skew so they are parallel with thecenter line of the stream. The frames werecast upside down with the walls in a verticalposition, in accordance with the Hy-SpanSystem. The wall form system can be ad-justed for skews in one degree increments upto 45 degrees. The system also permits wallsto be adjusted in an opposing direction inorder to cast a transitional frame.

The wingwalls were a cantilever type de-sign with a monolithic footing. A CIP closurepour was used at the intersection of the wallsand frames. The invert slabs varied from 2'thick at the sides to 1' thick at the center witha 1' CIP closure pour.

Headwalls and stone facingHeadwalls on each side of the bridge were

cast-in-place by the contractor. They wereanchored to the top of the exterior frames witha keyway and epoxy coated dowell bars withcouplers. Dovetail anchor slots for anchoringthe 5" stone facing were cast in the headwalls,exterior frames and precast wingwalls.

The owner of the bridge is the New YorkState Department of Transportation, NYS-DOT, and the engineer was Region 8 of thedepartment. The contractor was Harrisonand Burrowes of Glenmont, NY. The FortMiller Co. cast all of the precast members attheir plant in Schuylerville, NY. For moreinformation on three-sided frames visit theirwebsite at www.fortmiller.com. ❏

PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK November 2003 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Page 3

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Precast box culvert systems forbridges, storm and wastewater

Precast box culvert systems are a quickand economical solution for small bridges andstorm / wastewater conduits. Box culvertswere an early development from the pipeindustry used for storm drains and sewersback in the late 50's. They were especiallysuited for deep excavations and difficult siteconditions. Today they are used for a varietyof underground structures including tanks,tunnels, and bunkers, and most of the con-ventional culvert market.

Box culvert systems have come a long waysince the first standard sections were precastas an alternate to cast-in-place culverts. Mostprecasters can deliver standard sections withinside widths of 6' to 12' and depths or rise of3' to 9' in 1' increments or less. A standardlaying length of 7'-6 is common. Availabilityand cost will depend, as with most precastproducts, on the project size and location,proximity of the nearest precaster and theprecaster's form inventory.

Four-sided box sections with open endsare cast monolithically on their edge. Theinside surfaces are smooth so as not to re-strict flow. Chamfered inside corners arestandard. Boxes can be designed for a vari-ety of truck and soil loadings in accordancewith provisions of the ACI (American Con-crete Institute), ASTM (American Society forTesting and Materials), or AASHTO (Ameri-can Association of State Highway Officials)codes. Most precasters use a minimumstrength 5 ksi concrete with entrained air of5% to 9%.

Turning sections, where one side is short-ened by a maximum of 5 degrees from thestandard length, are used when changes inalignment (radial turning) are required. Theradius of a turn may be further reduced byspecifying less than the standard center lengthof the turning sections.

In addition to the standard sections, mostprecasters produce headwalls, cutoff walls,nosewalls, wingwalls with footings and mono-lithic flared end and straight end sections.Head and cutoff walls are precast in a varietyof sizes to meet site conditions. Nose wallsare installed where side-by-side installation ofculverts are required. Lateral connections forentry pipes are accommodated with knock-outs or mechanical connectors. Roof open-ings are cast for access and drain openings.

Joints are formed with a male and femaleshiplap joint. A neoprene gasket is cementedto the male edge and compressed duringinstallation. Some agencies such as theNew York City Department of EnvironmentalQuality, NYCDEQ, require the sewers to bevacuum tested after installation. ❏

Plan shows turning sections where one edge isangled by a maximum of 5 degrees when aturning alignment is required. The radius of thebottom sections has been further reduced byshortening the center line length of the units.

from Kistner Concrete Design Manual

A 9'-4 x 6' watertight box section with V bottomis positioned on the sub-base for a deep sanitarysewer project in Queens, New York City. Notethe heavy lagging and shoring for protection.Owner is the NYCDEQ. Tulley Construction, wasthe contractor. AFCO Precast from Middle Is-land, NY, was the precaster. photo by AFCO

Calendar of Upcoming Fall Meetings:

Nov 12 - Nov 15 ASCE 2003 Civil Engineering Conf and Expo. Gaylord Conv Ctr, Nashville, TNInfo and Res: www.asce.org/conferences/annual03

Nov 25 Septic Tank Task Force Meeting, Holiday Inn, Auburn, NY12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM, Info: www.pcany.org

Septic tank taskforce meetings

Two meetings of a special septic tank taskforce, to explore the feasibility of setting stan-dards for septic tanks, have recently beenheld in Auburn, NY. Ed Pennypacker, fromJepco Sales, has been elected Interim Chair-man. A variety of topics including standardsfor manufacturing, inspection and certifica-tion have been discussed. A third meeting isscheduled for November 25, at 12:00 Noon atthe Holiday Inn, in Auburn, NY. ❏

Isometric shows side by side box culverts withheadwalls, cutoff walls, and nose walls.

from Kistner Concrete Design Guide

Tenth statewideconference onlocal bridges held

The Tenth Statewide Conference on LocalBridges was held in Syracuse at the HolidayInn on October 22 and 23rd. It was sponsoredby the NYS Department of Transportation,NYS County Highway Superintendents Asso-ciation, the Federal Highway Administration,the Cornell Local Roads Program and theWestern and Eastern New York Chapters ofthe Association for Bridge Construction andDesign. It was attended by over 330 highwayofficials, consultants and bridge engineers.

Presentations were made on a wide varietyof general topics related to planning, localprocedures, training, and aesthetics. Mainte-nance and construction topics included casestudies on two bridge replacement projectsthat utilized precast concrete products. Theywere the Indian River Bridge in St. LawrenceCounty, and the Mill Dam Bridge in SuffolkCounty. The Indian River project, which in-cluded type B3 box beams, cast by the LCWhitford Co., was reported in the March '03pcany newsletter. ❏

November 2003 PCANY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Page 4

Producer Member Companies:AFCO Precast, Middle Island, NY 11953A & R Conc Specialties, New Windsor, NY 12550Bayshore Conc Prod, Cape Charles, VA 23310Binghamton Precast Supply, Binghamton, NY 13901Blakeslee Prestress, Branford, CT 06405Carrara & Sons, Middlebury, VT 05753Coastal Pipeline Products, Calverton, NY 11933William E. Dailey, Shaftsbury, VT 05262The Fort Miller Co, Schuylerville, NY 12871Hanson Pipe and Products, Pottstown, PA 19464Jefferson Concrete, Watertown, NY 13601Kistner Conc Products, East Pembroke, NY 14056Newcrete Products, Parsippany, NJ 07054Oldcastle Precast, Manchester, NY 14504Oldcastle Precast, South Bethlehem, NY 12161Riefler Concrete Products, Hamburg, NY 14075Roman Stone Construction Co, Bay Shore, NY 11706Rotondo Precast, Avon, CT 06001Schuylkill Products, Cresona, PA 17929Unistress Corp., Pittsfield, MA 01201LC Whitford Co., Wellsville, NY 14895

Associate Member Companies:A-Lok Products, Tullytown, PA 19007Amcrete Products, Newburgh, NY 12550Con/Span Bridge Systems, Dayton, OH 45420Cresset Chemical Co, Weston, OH 43569Dayton Richmond Corp, Collinsville, CT 06022Eastern States Steel, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458Engineered Wire Prod, Upper Sandusky, OH 43351W R Grace, Cambridge, MA 02140Helser Industries, Tualatin, OR 97062Henry Co Sealants, Houston, TX 77020H & H Hulls, Hudson, NY 12534Insteel Wire Products, Blairstown, NJ 07825JVI Inc, Pittsfield, MA 01201Meadow Burke, Merrimack, NY 03054NPC Inc, Milford, NH 03055A L Patterson, Fallsington, PA 19054PCI New England, Belmont, MA 02178Polylok Inc, Yalesville, CT 06492Press-Seal Gasket, Fort Wayne IN 46852Rebar Systems, Cotuit, MA 02635Resicon USA, Bradford, NH 03221Spillman Company, Columbus, OH 43207Splice Sleeve N A, Bonita Springs, FL 34134Stormwater Management, Princeton, MA 01541

Professional Member Firms:Abate Engineers, Buffalo, NY 14225ABC Engineering, Rotonda West, FL 33947Barton & Loguidice, Syracuse, NY 13220Bay Saver Inc, Mount Airy, MD 21771Bergmann Associates, Rochester, NY 14614A L Blades, Hornell, NY 14843Clough Harbour & Assoc, Albany, NY 122056Con/Span Bridge Systems, Clifton Park, NY 12065John S Deerkoski & Assoc, Warwick, NY 10990Delta Engineers, Binghamton, NY 13901Dewbury, Rochester, NY 14604DiDonato Associates, Buffalo, NY 14224FRA Engineering, Henrietta, NY 14467Hobbs Upchurch Assoc, Raleigh, NC 27606Hunt Engineers & Archs, Horseheads, NY 14845LaBella Associates PC, Rochester, NY 14614LEAP Assoc International, Tampa, FL 16007Maser Consulting, West Nyack, NY 10994McFarland Johnson, Binghamton, NY 13902MHW, Utica, NY 13501Parsons Trans Group, New York, NY 10005Popli Consulting Engineers, Penfield, NY 14526Pratt & Huth, Williamsville, NY 14221Prudent Engr Group LLP, East Syracuse, NY 13057Prymus Consulting, Bayport, NY 11705Ryan Biggs Associates, Troy, NY 12180A H Sample Engineers, Ottsville, PA 18942R Samsel Engineers, Henrietta, NY 14467Spectra Engineering, Latham, NY 12110TVGA Consultants, Elma, NY 14059Edward Watts Engrs, Williamsville, NY 14221Wilbur Smith Assoc, Latham, NY 12110H Wilden Assoc, Allentown, PA 18106

Officers, Directors and Staff:President: Jay Abbey, Binghamton PrecastSecretary: Scott Harrigan, The Fort Miller CoTreasurer: Rick Martel, Unistress CorpAssociate Director: Andy LaMothe, A L PattersonProf Director: Scott Chenet, Barton & LaGuidiceImmediate Past Pres: Tony Mazzeo, Oldcastle PrecastExecutive Director: Carl BuchmanAdministrative Director: Mary Ellen YankowskyTechnical Director: Ed HouriganNewsletter Editor: Harold Nelson

Precast Concrete Associationof New York, Inc.706 Quaker LaneDelanson, NY 12053

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Ignoring infrastructure at our peril,or building like the Romans: views by the editor

The American Society of Civil Engineers(ASCE) has recently noted our lack of progresswith improving the nation's infrastructure. Theynote that seven types of infrastructure, (roads,transit, drinking water, wastewater, dams,navigable waterways and energy) appear tobe in worse shape and five types, (bridges,aviation, schools, solid waste and hazardouswaste) as not having improved since their lastsurvey in 2001.

In order to bring the nation's infrastructureback up to acceptable levels, they estimatestate and federal governments will need toinvest $1.6 trillion during the next five years.The health and safety of Americans as well asthe health of the economy is at risk.

We recently visited the "Pont du Gard"aqueduct in France that was built by theRomans and is now over 2000 years old (Seephoto above). The top level is over 900' longand the height to low water in the Gard Riveris 160'. It was obviously built with exceptionalengineering skill. But credit should also go to

the Roman bureaucrats who funded the projectand recognized the importance of clean waterin the province.

Fast forward to 2003, there always seemsto be something like tax rebates, subsidies orcruise missiles with a priority higher thaninfrastructure. Selection and design of mate-rials for new construction is often based solelyon lowest initial cost with a 40-year service lifeor less, that is acceptable. This is the ratio-nale that got us in this fix in the first place.

A simple solution is to build quality struc-tures in order to reduce maintenance, extendservice life and reduce rehabilitation or re-placement costs. The elegant rigid framebridge described on page 1, will have a ser-vice life in excess of 100 years, with nomaintenance other than repointing the stonefacing and replacing the blacktop. Precastrigid frames are a conservative section, withinert materials and low stresses, that interactwith the surrounding soil. It's nice that some-one is building (sort of) like the Romans. ❏

Pont du Gard