Seismic Vulnerability Study of the Us Highway Bridge Systems

In the fall of 1998, the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation initiated a series of studies related to the seismic performance of the U.S. national highway system. The research conducted under this study is intended to provide improved tools for evaluating and assessing the social costs and impacts of earthquakes on highway systems and bridges, and to reduce the amount of damage that may occur to existing and future highway structures from a moderate-tosignificant seismic event. This paper summarizes the motivation behind and objectives of the main group of tasks undertaken within the scope of this program: development of loss estimation methods for highway systems; preparation of a manual for the seismic design and retrofitting of long span bridges; development of earthquake protective systems and a systems design manual for bridges; and specialized ground motion, foundation, and geotechnical studies.