Tests During Three Stages of Construction of a Road Bridge with a Flexible Load-Carrying Structure Made of Super Cor Type Steel Corrugated Plates Interacting with Soil

The way in which a new road bridge made of steel corrugated plates Super Cor type was tested during the three stages of its construction is described and the test results are presented. Backfill in construction Stage I and two ballasting vehicles in Stages II and III constituted the loads. The box bridge spans the Bystrzyca Dusznicka River in Polanica Zdroj, Poland. The span's effective length is 12.27 m and its vertical inside diameter is 3.85 m. The steel span is founded on two reinforced concrete strip foundations. The average values of the displacements and strains (normal stresses) measured in selected points and on selected elements of the steel shell structure were much smaller than the ones computed for the same load. The conclusions drawn from this research can be helpful in determining the interaction between the steel shell and the backfill. Since this type of steel-soil structure is increasingly used in Poland and in the world, the conclusions can be generalized to a whole class of similar bridge designs.