This article presents findings from projects conducted by the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. concerning track maintenance problems associated with bridge approaches of railway track. Field tests for determining root causes of, and evaluating remedies for, such problems were conducted at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing near Pueblo, Colorado, and at a number of revenue service sites in the United States. Investigations covered ballast deck concrete bridges with concrete ties, open deck steel bridges with wood ties, and their approaches.
HyslipJ.LiD.McDanielR.Railway bridge transition case study. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on The bearing capacity of roads, railways and airfields, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, 29 June–2 July 2009, pp. 1341–1348.
2.
AkhtarM.OtterD.DoeB.Stress state reduction in concrete bridges. Technology Digest TD-08-032, Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Association of American Railroads, August 2008.
3.
PlotkinD.DavisD.Bridge approaches and track stiffness. DOT/FRA/ORD-08-01, February 2008.
4.
LiD.MeddahA.GeMeinerB.MattsonS.Dynamic load and track response: Bridge approach test at the western mega site. Technology Digest TD-07-042, Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Association of American Railroads, December 2007.
5.
NamuraA.SuzukiT.Evaluation of countermeasures against differential settlement at track transition. Q. Rep. RTRI, 2007, 48(3) 176–182.
6.
WoodwardP. K.ThompsonD.BanimahdM.Geocomposite technology: Reducing the railway maintenance cycle. Proc. Inst. Civil Engrs Transp. J., 2007, 160(3), 109–115.
7.
LiD.McDanielR.GeMeinerB.Study of bridge approaches at revenue service mega sites. Railw. Track Struct., 2007, 103(7), 18–21.
8.
ReadD.LiD.Design of track transitions. Research Results Digest 79, Transit Cooperative Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Academies, October 2006, 37p.
9.
LiD.DuranC.McDanielR.Investigation of open deck bridge transition issues at the eastern mega site. Technology Digest TD-06-022, Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Association of American Railroads, August 2006.
10.
LiD.DavisD.Transition of railroad bridge approaches. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Engng, ASCE2005131 (11), 1392–1398.
11.
SasaokaC.DavisD.Long term performance of track transition solutions in revenue service. Technology Digest TD-05-036, Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Association of American Railroads, December 2005.
12.
LeiX.MaoL.Dynamic response analyses of vehicle and track coupled system on track transition of conventional high speed railway'J. Sound Vibr., 2004271(3), 1133–1146.
LiD.ThompsonR.MarquezP.GemeinerB.Vertical track stiffness tests of revenue service bridges and approaches. Technology Digest TD-03-013, Transportation Technology Center, Inc., Association of American Railroads, June 2003.
15.
SharpeP.ArmitageR. J.HeggieW. G.RogersA.Innovative design of transition zones. In Proceedings of the Railway Engineering, London, UK, 3–4 July 2002.
16.
HoppeE. J.The use, design, and control of bridge approach slabs. Routes Roads, 2001, 312, 24–33.
SeligE. T.LiD.Track modulus: its meaning and factors influencing it. Transportation Research Record 1470, National Research Council, Washington District of Columbia, 1994, pp. 17–25.
