Structural collapse analysis of a Bailey bridge

This paper investigates the structural collapse of an existing Bailey bridge. The bridge was in- stalled to replace a flood-damaged bridge and provide river crossing for pedestrians and vehicle traffic. After nine years of service, the traffic authority decided a change in the local road network and the bridge was up- lifted and moved to an adjacent location to comply with the new roadway. The Bailey bridge collapsed in conjunction with the passage of a truck about two months after the new installation. In order to investigate the causes of the collapse, a structural analysis of the bridge is carried out by reproducing the uplifting scenario. Based on the results of the structural analysis, it is concluded that the bridge collapse occurred due to second- ary stresses associated with out-of-plane distortions induced by an improper lifting of the structure.