Foundation Design for Te Rewa Rewa Footbridge in New Zealand

FOUNDATION DESIGN FOR TE REWA REWA FOOTBRIDGE IN NEW ZEALAND
This report comprises the establishment of geotechnical model and foundation system design of
a bridge.The proposed bridge is composed of three 30m long spans and it is supported by 2
abutments and 2 piers.The plan view of the structure is shown below.
Site plan of the proposed bridge structure
Important assumptions:
>>Assumptions in interpreting geotechnical test results:
1. For BH01 and BH02,the materials at the top (without any point load strength) are weak
materials and will be regarded as non-existent(or air) in the design process.
2. All material properties(for both strength and stiffness)can only change along the East-West
direction and remain constant along the North-South direction.
3. For any particular depth, the ‘overall’ point load strength index is calculatedas the average
value of the axial index(a) and dimetral index(d).
4. Each borehole is divided into 4-5 layers based on the results for point load strength
indexes,material descriptions and estimated strengths(the variance of these parameters must be
relatively small within one layer).Once the layer division is complete,it is assumed any