ABSTRACT
Bridges are very important elements in the modern transportation system. Recent earthquakes, particularly the 1989 Loma Prieta and the 1994 Northridge earthquakes in California, the 1995 Hyogo-Ken Nanbu earthquake in Japan, the 1999 Jiji earthquake in Taiwan, and the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake in Turkey, have caused collapse of, or severe damage to, a considerable number of major bridges [Moehle and Eberhard, 2000; Yashinsky, 2000]. Since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in California [Housner, 1990], extensive research [Caltrans, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001; FHWA, 1995, 1997; Kawashina and Unjoh, 1997; Park, 1994; Astaneh-Asl and Roberts, 1993, 1997; Housner, 1994; Priestley et al., 1996; FHWA-NSF, 2000 ] has been conducted on seismic design and retrofit of bridges in Japan and the United States, especially in California.
