K. Hampson et M. Fischer, STRUCTURAL DESIGNS AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY BRIDGES, Journal of construction engineering and management, 123(3), 1997, pp. 269-275
Citations number
7
Categorie Soggetti
Construcion & Building Technology","Engineering, Civil","Engineering, Industrial
The California highway bridge construction market is the largest in th
e United States and still growing. It arguably represents the greatest
concentration of highway bridge expenditure in the world. To gain ins
ight into this important engineering and construction market, this pap
er reviews the technological context of California's bridge constructi
on sector from three perspectives: A technological overview, current t
echnological directions, and emerging trends. The paper describes the
dominance of the California Department of Transportation in designing
and administering highway bridge projects and highlights the emergence
of standardized cast-in-place prestressed concrete box girder bridges
as the dominant design. Contractors have responded to this standardiz
ed design with continuous incremental improvements through adaptation
of construction process technologies. The paper concludes that falsewo
rk, formwork, and concrete placement technologies are particularly imp
ortant in gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage for construc
tion of these bridges. This has led to specialized differentiation thr
ough firms seeking technological-based market niches.