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WellFoundationsforBridgesareObsolete!!!

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S.A.Reddi,FellowIndianNationalAcademyofEngineering
Introduction
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Bridgefoundationsarethemostcomplicatedanddifficulttoconstruct.Unexpecteddifficultiescausedelays,
extracostsandrevisionofdesignsduetoalteredsituations.Lossofhumanliveswasnormalratherthan
exception. In the Sixties, more than 50 lives were lost due to the accident during pneumatic sinking
operations for well foundations of Mahanadi bridge in Orissa. For Kali Bridge at Karwar in Karnataka,
pneumaticsinkingwasrequiredforinspectionofthefoundingsurfaceofthewells.Apartfromdelaysand
extra costs, large number of workers suffered caisson disease. Due to difficulties in well sinking, two
contractorsleftthejobandthethirdtookmorethan5yearstocompletethewellfoundations.Alternative
construction techniques and equipments have emerged. With the introduction of advanced piling
equipment, large diameter piles up to 3.5 m dia are easily realized at a fast rate, with a significant
reductionincostandmaterialquantities.Bridgeselsewherearenowconstructedwithpilefoundations.

Precast RC bored piles of 2.5m diameter was first

successfully realized in India for the old Thana Creek
Bridge constructed in 1960s. For the 13 Km long
SaudiBaharainCausewaylargediameterprecastpre
stressedboredpileswereadopted.By2005,pilesof2
3mdia,upto120mdeepareextensivelyusedinthe
rest of the world. These new techniques eliminate
complicatedweatherdependentandriskyoperationsin
water.Theyhavereducedthedelaysconsiderablyand
minimized the technical and financial risks. The
development of modern techniques has considerably
ViewOnline
reducedquantitiesofmaterialsusedforfoundationsas
(http://nbmcw.com/Online_Edition/NBMCW/January
well as energy consumption and environmental
2016/index.htm)
impacts.
DownloadLatestIssue
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
Well Foundation Problems at Brahmaputra
option=com_ars&view=download&id=190)
BridgeatTezpur
Thebridgewasmorethan3kmlongwith26spansof
PreviousIssues
120 m and 2 shore spans of 70 m each, founded on
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
12mdiaWells.SinkingwellNo.2tofulldepthwasnot
option=com_content&view=article&id=32475:nbmcw
Figure1:BrahmaputrabridgefoundationsNo.17&18
possibleduetoboulderystrataDespitebestefforts,the
archives
2014&catid=9:nbmcwissue wellonlywentdownby35.25mafterthreeseasonsandatextracost!ThewellwaspluggedatRL32.075
m and 5 nos 1.5 m dia RCC bored piles (2535m) were provided to anchor the well, one in the middle
archive&Itemid=216)
throughthedredgeholeand4outsideatthefourcorners.Furtheralaunchingapronofcratedboulder3
m thick was laid making a circle of 60 m dia around the well, at RL 61.00. These extra works caused
furtherdelayinthecompletionofthesubstructureworks.
Wellfoundationsonslopingrock:BrahmaputraBridgeatJogighopa(2.28km)
Thewellsofmainspanwere11mx17mdoubleD
type. Foundations 17 & 18 were resting on hard rock
atsteepinclineofalmost1:1slope.Itwasnotpossible
torestthefoundationspartiallyontwotypesofstrata.
Hencetofoundthesewells,1500mmdiaanchorpiles,
12nosforeachfoundationwereprovidedthroughthe

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body of the steining, extending to about 10 m below

thecuttingedge.
ViewOnline
Duetothesteepincline,partofthecuttingedgewas
(http://nbmcw.com/Online_Edition/MGS/December
resting on the rock while the other parts were
2015/index.htm)
overhanging.Inordertocontainthebottomplug,two
DownloadLatestIssue
rows of jet grouted piles were introduced around the
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
periphery of the well steining which acted as curtain
option=com_ars&view=download&id=188)

Figure2:PilefoundationsforJamunabridge

(http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main?
wall (fig.1). 1500 dia piles also driven up to hard rock along the periphery through the steining. The url=http://www.nbmcw.com)
completionoftheprojectwasextendedby3years.Additionalcostwasseveralcrores.EffectiveuseofPile (http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/www.nbmcw
FoundationsJamunaRiverBridgeinBangladesh(figs.2&3).

PreviousIssues
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=32726:mgs
architecturearchives
2014&catid=12:mgsissue
archive&Itemid=217)

Figure3:CompletedviewoftheJamunabridge

A4.8kmlong,fourlaneroadbridgewith100mspanswasconstructedinthe1990sontheJamunariver
(Brahmaputra in India). The foundation design was challenging. Very deep wells are extremely slow to
construct,costly,increasingthetotalcost.Variousalternativeswereconsideredincludingcaissons,driven
precast piles and driven steel tubular piles. The only viable option was large diameter tubular steel piles
driven at a rake (fig.2). The piles were fabricated in Korea, shipped to site and installed by hydraulic
ViewOnline
hammer.Thediameterofthepilesrangedbetween2.5and3.15mandthesteeltubeswerefilledwith
(http://nbmcw.com/Online_Edition/Pullout/December
concrete.Maximumpilelengthwas72mbelowbedlevel.DuringoneworkingseasonfromOctober1995
2015/index.htm)
toJune1996allthe121mainworkpilesplustwofullscaletrialpilesweredriven.
DownloadLatestIssue
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
This optimization resulted in overall reduction in the bridge costs by more than 50%. This solution also
option=com_ars&view=download&id=186)
reducedtheuseofresources(concreteandsteel)considerablyandwasbeneficialtoenvironmentalimpact.
PreviousIssues

The piles were installed in 8 months the well foundations of three bridges across the same river

constructedinIndiahavetaken35yearseachtocomplete.
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
DamagesDuringConstructionGangaBridgeatBhagalpur(4.6km)
option=com_content&view=article&id=32949:lifting
andspecialisedtransport Thewellfoundationsconsistofsinglecircularwells11.6mdia.Thecalculatedmaximumscourdepthwas
archives
36mbelowwaterlevel.Thesoilstrataweresandyuptoabout30mfollowedbyhardstiffclay.During
2014&catid=92:liftingand construction, the wells started tilting and the problems continued right through the sinking. Despite
specialised
extensivechiseling,therateofsinkingwaspainfullyslow.
transport&Itemid=234)
Well2Thefoundinglevelwas64.7mbelowthewaterlevel.Therateofsinkingthroughclaywas
about1.52cm/hr.3500cranehourswereusedtosinkthewell.
Well17Thewellshiftedby1.86m.Thepiersweretoberetainedattheoriginalpositionresultingin
excessivemomentsinthewell.Tocounterthemomentscounterweightwasprovidedintheformofa
dummywellsunktoadepthof20mintheadjacentareaandconnectedtothemainwellthrougha
commonwellcap.
Well32Thewellshiftedby1150mm.Asimilarsolutionasinwell17wasadopted.
Well4Duringconcretingofcurb,sandleakedfromtheislandandtheentirecurbtiltedandsankby
4.5m.Anewsheetpilecofferdamhadtobeerectedandanewwellcurbwascast.Thetotaldelaywas
onemonth.

Well9thetotalheightofthesteiningexceptlast2mwascompletedwith7.5mbalancesinking.
Duetopresenceofstiffclay,8msumpwasmadetofacilitatesinking.Afterseveralweeks,thewell
suddenly jumped by about 9 m with the top of steining below water level. Work resumed after
monsoon. A temporary RC cofferdam was constructed and the sunk well dewatered to expose and
buildupfurthersteining.Timeloss:about6months.
Wells3&4Wellsweresunkbyabout44and37mbeforethemonsoonseasonin1996.Thewells
were toppled due to scour and disappeared during the floods. Based on a number of trial bores well
No.3 was found tilted along the bridge axis. Well No.4 was found on the upstream side along the
direction of current. These wells weighing up to 9900 t could not be restored and were abandoned.
Newwellswerecastandsunkbychangingthespanarrangement.Floatingcaissonswereused.
ViewOnline

ExtracostandtimeThecostoncompletionwasRs.106cragainstacceptedtendercostofRs.55cr!

Thetimeoverrunwas5years!
DownloadLatestIssue
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
TiltsandShiftsinWellFoundationsVasaiCreekBridgesNearMumbai
option=com_ars&view=download&id=189)
BasseinCreekroadbridgenearMumbai(1970)facedproblemsofheavytiltingofthewellfoundations.Two
PreviousIssues
ofthefoundationsno.4&6tiltedveryheavilyandallattempttocorrectthetilefailed.Thefoundations
(http://nbmcw.com/index.php?
wereabandonedandthedesignofthebridgewaschangedtoaccommodatenewfoundationsandlonger
option=com_content&view=article&id=6455:iitw
spans.Theprojectwasdelayedbysixyearswithterminationofthefirstcontract,arbitration,litigation.
issue
archive&catid=84:iitw&Itemid=218)
Despite previous histories of two bridges built across the same creek that faced problems with well
foundations, the same were again adopted for another Vasai Creek Bridge. During construction, heavy
tiltingofwellswasobserved.Thecorrectivemeasuresforonewellalonetookalmosttwoyearsdelaying
completionofthefoundationscostingaboutRs.2crores.
SuddenJumpingofWellsDuringSinking
Sometimesthewellsinkssuddenlyduetoexcessivesumporweaksoillayerandthesteiningdisappears
belowwaterlevel,makingitdifficulttocontinuefurtherworkonthewellsteining.
InoneofthewellfoundationsinabridgeacrossriverGanga,thetotalheightofsteiningexceptlast2m
wasconcreted.Thewellwasinthefinalstagesofsteining,withabout7.5mtoreachthefoundinglevel.
Asthewellwasstuckupinstiffclay,effortsweremadetosinkthewellbycreatingasumpofabout8m
belowthecuttingedge.Allofasuddenthewellsanksuddenlybyabout9mandthetopofsteiningwas
belowthewaterlevelbyabout3.5m.Rectificationmeasureswereveryexpensiveandtimeconsuming.
GangabridgeatVaranasi:Verystiffclaywasencounteredat25mbelowandsinkingofwellfoundations
No.3and5wasverydifficult,didnotmoveforthreemonths.ThenwellNo.3jumpedbyseveralmeters
without any warning when two workers and one supervisor were taking sump sounding. The tragic
accident killed all the three people. The well No.5 also jumped by about 5 m and was submerged in the
waterby1m.
ArtesianConditionsDuringConstructionofWellFoundations
NepalBridge(Kohalpur/MahakaliSection)
Artesian conditions were encountered during soil investigations for the Shivganga bridge (8 spans of 32
m).AtlocationsP4andP5artesianheadofabout4.3mwasencounteredatabout17mbelowground

level.Thewellwasredesignedwithfoundationterminatingabovetheartesianlayer,resultinginshallow
foundations resting on clay. Due to founding the wells at shallow depth, it was necessary to provide
adequatebedprotectionsoastopreventscour.Thebedprotectionconsistedof:
Upstreamanddownstreamaprons
Cutoffwalls,upstream&downstream
Concretefloor
AnExpensiveSolutionIndeed!!
ThecompletionwasdelayedbymorethanoneseasonasthesolutionwasbasedonanExpertCommittee
investigationandreport.Thisledtodelayinfinalizationofthedesignsanddrawingsforthefoundationwell
andnecessityofissuingvariationorderstocovertheitemsofcutoffwallsandbedprotectionworkswhich
werenotenvisagedintheoriginalcontract.
GangaBridge,Patna
The5.6kmlongbridgecomprisesof46spansof120meachrestingon56mdeepwellfoundations(12m
dia.).Twoofthewellsinthemidstream(Nos.41and45)encounteredartesianconditionsduringthefinal
stages of sinking There was continuous sand blowing filling the dredge hole to 56 m above the cutting
edge.Monthsofeffortstosinkthewellprovedfutile.Atechnicaladvisorycommitteetookaboutayearfor
arriving at a solution. Temporary steel cofferdam was built enveloping the well and an artificial head of
about6mofwaterwascreatedtocounteractthesandbubbling.Delay:twoyears
CrackingofWellSteiningDuringConstruction
Cracking of well steining is one of the serious problems faced many times in the construction of well
foundations,resultingintimeandcostoverruns.Thecausesareusually:
1. Blasting,Dewatering
2. Insufficientsteiningthickness
3. Jumpingduetoexcessivesump
4. Sandblows
5. Surchargeduetodumpingdredgematerialclosetowell.
6. Failureofcuttingedges.
Whensuchcrackingoccurs,atleastoneseasonislostfortheinvestigation,developingremedialmeasures,
approvals of the same etc. In the last 45 years, the author is aware of more then 200 cases of bridges
constructedbyvariousconstructionagencies,wherethedredgeholeofwellhastobefilledwithconcrete
duetocracksinsteining.

Figure4:PasighatBridge,AP

During well sinking of Tapi Bridge, Maharashtra, hard strata was met.

Figure5:PasighatBridge,Boulderdredged
duringwellsinking

Due to blasting, extensive cracks developed in steinings New steinings had to be constructed inside the
wells. The original contract period was four years. Attempts were made for five years to sink the wells.
Workwassuspendedforfiveyearsforwantofdecisiontorevisethefoundinglevel.Anexpertcommittee
ultimatelyrecommendedraisingthefoundationlevelofwellsbymorethan20mThebridgewascompleted
after fourteen years. The contractor suffered losses due to the delays. The owner suffered substantial
lossesduetotimeoverrun.Delay:10years.
ExtraordinaryDelaysinConstructionofWellFoundationsPasighatBidge,ArunachalPradesh,
703mlong
Theprojectstartedin1987andtheconstructionofwellfoundationscontinuedforthenext20years!As
per the design, based on misleading soil data, six wells were to be sunk to about 50 m below bed. The
actual strata met with during sinking were hard conglomerate with densely compacted and very large
boulders(fig.6)werefoundrightfromthebeginningofsinking.After15yearsofstruggletopneumatically
sinkthewellstoRL50m,thedesignedfoundinglevelwasdrasticallyraisedby22min2002.
MajorBridges(Worldwide)onPileFoundations
SuTongBridge,China:The6kmlongCablestaybridgecrossesYangtzerivernearShangaiwillcarryasix
lanehighwaywithemergencylanes,witharecord1088mmainspanand300mhighconcretepylons.
Each tower is supported on 131 castinsitu bored piles 120 m long and 2.7 m diameter. Due to strong
currents, significant scour is expected around the foundations, and suitable scour protection is provided
around the pylons. The central span has a clearance of 62 m for container ships to pass through. The
bridgeused200,000tofsteel,1millioncumofconcrete.
StonecuttersBridge,HongKong:The1600mlongStonecuttersBridgeHongKongwithcablestayspanof
1018 m is one of the longest in the world. The bridge is founded on 3.0 m dia piles, up to 90 m deep,
sockettedintorock.BandraWorliSeaLinkMumbai:Thesealinkconsistsof5.6kmlong,8lanedbridge
withcablestayedportionof600m.Thebridgeisfoundedon1.5mdiameterboredpiles.Concreteforthe
pilesisM50gradeandforpilecapsisM60.Silicafumeandflyashareusedforconcretepreparation.
AnalysisbytheFederalHighwayAdministration(FHWA),USA
More than 100,000 bridges would be constructed during the next two decades. Foundations represent
about30%ormoreofthecostofthehighwaybridges.Thepredominanttypeoffoundationsystemused
forthehighwaybridgesintheUSispile.Manybridgescantoleratesignificantmagnitudesofatotaland

differentialverticalsettlementwithoutbecomingseriouslyoverstressed
Appreciation
TheIndianBridgeEngineersarebyandlargementallytunedtoprovidingwellfoundationsforbridgesasa
reflectactionwhereasitisverynecessarytoanalyzethecomparativemeritsanddemerits,construction
timeframeandcostofconstructionofbridgeswithwell/pilefoundationsbeforefinallychoosingthetypeof
foundation. An analysis of the history of well foundations during the last five decades indicates
innumerabledifficulties,delaysandcostoverrunsinamajorityofthecases.Realizationofwellfoundations
requiresspecialskillsandexperiencewhicharegraduallydwindling.
Developmentshavetakenplaceinrespectoflargediameterpilefoundationsaswellasequipmentforthe
same. The time and cost advantages of opting for pile foundations have been amply demonstrated
worldwideandtoalimitedextentinIndia.Pilesuptoadiameterof3manddepthofupto120mhave
beenrealizedforanumberofmajorbridgesworldwide,withcostsavingofupto40%whencomparedto
wellfoundations.
ThereiscurrentlynorestrictionintheIRCCoderegardinguseofpilefoundation.However,manyOwners
impose restrictions in the tender documents, without any justification. The example cited above
concerningtheproblemsofwellfoundationsamplyjustifiesasecondlookonthechoiceoffoundations.In
fact,theuseofwellfoundationsforbridgesshouldbeanexceptionratherthantherule.
ChenabRiverBridgeatAkhnoorNearJammu
The project was started in the early Seventies. A .scheme for a 231m long bridge with 5 spans
(3x46+2x46.5) upstream of existing steel bridge was originally conceived. The scheme involved
constructionoffivewellfoundationsinthevolatileChenabRiver,tobesunkthroughdifficultstratahard
conglomerate, in spite of insurmountable difficulties elsewhere under similar circumstances. Two
successivecontractsand30yearslater,theimpossibilityofsinkingwellsthroughsuchstratawasrealized.

Figure6:ChenabBridgeatAkhnoorLongestSpanCantileverPSCBridge,eliminatedwells

Basedonlateralthinking,itwasdecidedtoabandonthepartlysunkwellsandgoforaschemewithlonger
centralspan,eliminatingthewaterfoundationsaltogether.Witha160mcentralspan,boththemainpier
foundations were located in the dry on the banks, resting on raft foundations. These foundations were
completed in months instead of decades earlier in unsuccessful attempts to sink wells in water. The

abutmentsconsistofhollowboxandpiersconsistofhollowrectangularsectiononraftfoundations.
The superstructure was designed and constructed as a continuous cantilever of 280m length, with a
centralspanof160m(longestinIndiaatthetime).Twopairsofcantilevergantriesweredeployed.The
bridgewiththenewlayouteliminatingwellfoundationswascompletedin20months
OtherRecords:TheChenabbridgedeckwasconstructedwiththeshortesttimecycleof6daysconsistently
achievedfortheconstructionofeachpairofsegments.Thiswasmadepossiblebyanhighearlystrength
concrete which enabled prestressing at 60 hours after concreting. Fe500 steel reinforcement bars were
usedforthefirsttimeinIndiainacantileverconstructionbridge.ThehugeBearingswithanchorswere
located among highly congested reinforcement normal concrete placement, vibration was impossible.
Special Conbextra Grout replaced normal High Strength Concrete below bearings. Selfcompacting
concrete(S.C.C)wasusedforthefirsttimeforconcretebelowthebearings.
SegmentsonbothsidesofthePierwereconcretedsimultaneouslybalancingtheweights.Whenthe22nd
segmentswerefacingeachotherandtheshutteringofthe23rdsegmenti.e.thelinkingsegmentwasto
have been placed there was no level difference and the levels matched on both tips to the nearest
millimeterbothinplan(centreline)aswellasinelevation.Thiswaspossiblebecauseeverydaythelevels
were maintained by a team of surveyors with the help of total station. These levels were sent to the
Designconsultantwhomonitoredthesepersonally.Infact,aftertheconcretingofeachpairofsegments
thelevelsasactuallymeasuredandasenvisagedbythedesignerfittedalmostlikeaT.Thisprovesthat
theparametersfixedbytheDesignconsultantandtheparametersasactuallyachievedduringexecution
were complimenting each other. The cables were so placed that almost all the cables were straight and
withoutanycurve.Thusprestressingresultswereexactlyasshowninapproveddrawingsbothintermsof
extensionandgaugepressure.

Figure7:ChenabBridge,GiantBearings

Figure8:ChenabBridgeHydraulicEarthquakeDampers

TheauthorwasValueEngineeringConsultantfortheFastTrackProject.
NBMCWSeptember2010

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