Research Pays Off: Improved Predictions of Pier Scour Save Bridge Resources: Florida Develops and Applies Findings

Travelers in the United States rely on more than one-half million bridges to traverse valleys, bodies of water, roads, railroad tracks, and other physical obstacles. Standard practice requires that bridge foundations be designed to withstand the effects of sediment erosion around the piers or scour for 100 years of flow. Underestimating the impacts of scour can lead to bridge failure, while overestimating the impacts can significantly increasing the cost of construction. Based on extensive research, the Florida Department of Transportation developed and now applies simple and complex pier scour equations in the design of new bridges and in the scour analysis of existing bridges. In the past five years, Florida taxpayers have saved millions of dollars through the application of the new pier scour equations to bridge designs. Washington State applied Florida’s new equations in the construction of the new eastbound span of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on State Route 16, reducing construction cost for the two main piers by approximately $8 million.