There are many thousands of existing pony truss bridges in North America which were constructed in the earlier part of this century and are still serving as important traffic carriers. The present economic situation demands that these bridges should usefully serve their purpose for as long as is safely possible.These bridges could be found inadequate for either or both of the following reasons. With the exception of remote areas, operational traffic safety would require two 12-ft lanes plus adequate shoulders. Many of these old bridges are therefore unsatisfactory from the geometrical point of view. Some bridges were designed for live loads that are only a fraction of present commercial vehicle weights.A computer-oriented method of rigorous analysis of lateral buckling behaviour of pony truss bridges is briefly discussed. The method is implemented through a computer program which has been validated by experimental data. It is expected that the program would predict realistic values of load-carrying capacity of such bridges and would help to avoid many an unnecessary replacement.Various methods of strengthening and widening pony truss bridges, and their pros and cons, are discussed. It is shown that the strengthening of a few components of a pony truss bridge does not always lead to an increase in the load-carrying capacity of the bridge.
ON THE CO-OPERATIVE ACTIONS OF FLOOR SYSTEM WITH MAIN STRUCTURE IN THROUGH TRUSS BRIDGES
