The infl uence of dynamics in footbridge design: North American practice

The excessive sway motion of the Millennium Bridge in London has focused a great deal of attention on serviceability issues associated with Pedestrian-Induced Vibration (PIV). A recent CEB-FIP publication Bulletin 32 Guidelines to the Design of Footbridges (November, 2005) devotes an entire chapter to dynamics but includes little or no discussion of any other aspect of footbridge dynamics (wind, seismic, member loss). While PIV represents a critical aspect of design and dominate current footbridge research, a number of recent major footbridges in the US have been very much influenced by other dynamic design considerations.