Durable Timber Bridges

Purpose and goal

The overall objective of the project was to develop durable timber bridges with a given technical lifetime. The goal was to develop and disseminate design concepts and bridge details, as well as service life design methods. A model for service life design of timber bridges has been developed for different climate exposures, wood materials and structures. The project has contributed to a good step forward in the development of bridge details, not least with regard to the edge detail of stress-laminated decks.

Expected results and effects

Tests carried out in the project gave new knowledge about durability of wooden details and the model of service life design of timber bridges that can be used to ensure the best performance. New instructions in the Swedish AMA, based in part on the performed tests of waterproofing and bridge details, will contribute to good constructions and details in timber bridge building. The studies in the project about design concepts, design methods, moisture calculations and LCA have contributed to increasing the overall knowledge regarding timber bridges.

Planned approach and implementation

The project had a consortium with partners from four countries, with NTNU in Norway as coordinator. The work was divided into five work packages with several tasks, where researchers, companies and road/traffic authorities participated in several parts. Exchange between work packages took place mainly at joint project meetings twice a year, and there has also been some Skype meetings. The project worked quite well; one key to moving forward in the project was that there were not too big task groups in the different work packages.