Detailed Design for Reconstruction of Jhelum Valley Bridges Damaged by October 08 Earthquake

The devastating earthquake of October 08, 2005 caused damages to several bridges on the Jhelum Valley Road. Jhelum Valley Road Section is a primary link connecting Muzaffarabad to the border areas of Pakistan. Soon after the earthquake, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has undertaken the reconstruction work of these bridges and appointed Nippon Koei Co. of Japan to design the bridge and the approach roads. Nippon Koei Co. further appointed Exponent Engineers for the design and survey works. The construction of these bridges completed in the year 2007. The project is located in the mountainous region of Muzaffarabad, Kashmir. The earthquake aftershocks continued for several months followed by landslides. Considering the intensity of October 08, 2005 earthquake and the geology of the area, it was essential to adopt very stringent design criteria for the design of these very important bridges. AASHTO 2002 was adopted for the design & construction of bridges and approach roads. 70 tons tank loading and 55.4 tons trailer loading were used as the vehicular load in accordance with WPCHB. Zone 4 of Uniform Building Code, 1997, Which is the most severe earthquake zone. Ground acceleration coefficient of 0.4 was adopted to calculate the earthquake forces. Japanese Standards were followed for detailing the joints and reinforcements