Design, construction and maintenance of modern timber bridges - part 2: construction and maintenance

Design, construction and maintenance of modern timber bridges - part 2: construction and maintenance German and European guidelines contain only insufficient regulations for timber bridges. That lack causes a considerable competitive disadvantage for the construction of timber bridges. Therefore, the research project "Protected Timber Bridges (ProTimB)" has been initiated at the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt. The project aimed to develop unified guidelines for the design, construction and maintenance of protected timber bridges in line with the approved set of rules for engineered structures consisting of other materials. The first part of the article presents the content of the whole research project and discusses the new guidelines for the design. The second part focuses on the construction, quality control, maintenance and inspection of protected timber bridges. Thereby, the whole life cycle of a timber bridge will be investigated holistically considering maximum durability and high cost-effectiveness. "Recommendations for technical contractual terms for timber bridges - ETV-HolzBr" have been developed for the construction. That set of rules defines demands on material as well as protection measures for timber and against corrosion. A summary of contractual terms for the production, transport, delivery and assembly of timber bridges represents the main content. Information about the construction of timber-concrete-composite and wildlife bridges complete the regulations. Concerning the maintenance topic, sample handbooks for maintenance and inspection, recommendations for the analysis of special defects and a further training course for bridge inspectors have been worked out.