Development of Precast Bent Cap Systems and Testing Program

For the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the costs and negative impacts associated with bridge construction traffic control and disrupted traffic flow have increased significantly in recent years — particularly in Texas’ urban areas. Concerns about worker and driver safety have also heightened as traffic volumes increase. Moreover, bridge construction on large projects and over-water crossings has itself proven to be slow and costly, owing primarily to these projects’ requirements for large volumes of cast-in-place concrete and for the associated formwork and field operations.

All of these concerns may be addressed in part through the use of precast bent caps in place of the more traditional cast-in-place caps. In this project, reliable details and a design methodology for connecting precast bent caps to cast-in-place columns and precast trestle piles will be developed, enabling designers to confidently design precast bent cap systems for short- and moderate-span bridges.