ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The majority of bridges in Croatia was built with prefabricated girders. A significant number of them has standard T and I cross section with continuous slab. These girders have considerable weight and there are many problems in transportation and placement in their position. Based on the preliminary analysis, it was decided that the so called BULB Tee cross section would be a convenient choice. Idealized cross section was designed according to geometrical characteristics and traffic load.The Civil Engineering Institute of Croatia followed their progress during construction and tested the bridges before they were opened to traffic. Both static and dynamic testing was performed. This paper discusses differences between bridge structures, results of investigations (deflections, transverse load distribution, dynamic characteristics such as frequency, damping, etc.). As a result of in-situ testing of these bridges, some recommendations for designing these new structures are given for bridge designers.
