New Trends in Prestressed Concrete Bridges

An overview of the recent evolution in the design and construction of prestressed concrete bridges worldwide is provided. Several major trends are evidenced. Certainly those trends that have had greater influences on the industry because of their wide applications are the development of external prestressing, which is now systematically used in some countries for medium-span bridges; the emergence of high-performance concrete, which extends the possibilities at the same time as it improves the durability of concrete structures; and the more frequent association of steel and concrete for composite bridges of different types and composite elements in bridges, allowing the construction of many innovative structures. For more specific applications, cable-stayed bridges, for which interesting developments have been seen in the last 10 years, and the more extensive use of heavy prefabrication in large projects, with elements up to several thousands of metric tons, are also described. Bridge architecture is also discussed in terms of the fact that good structural designs can produce elegant prestressed concrete bridges.