Integral Bridge System with Geosynthetic-Reinforced Backfill

A new type bridge combining an integral bridge and a pair of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) retaining walls having full-height rigid (FHR) facings, called the GRS integral bridge, is proposed. The geosynthetic reinforcement layers are connected to the FHR facings (i.e., RC parapets) that are integrated with a girder without using any girder-support. GRS integral bridges are basically much more cost-effective in construction and long-term maintenance while having a much higher seismic stability than conventional-type bridges having a girder via movable and fixed supports on a pair of cantilever abutments. GRS integral bridges are better than bridges using GRS retaining walls as abutments and also than conventional integral bridges with unreinforced backfill. To validate the above, a series of static cyclic lateral loading tests of the facing and a series of shaking table tests were performed on smallscaled models of different bridge types.