The bump at the start and end of a bridge has long been studied for highways and railways, yet experts from across the transportation industry continue to identify it as one of the most prevalent substructure factors affecting bridge performance. Often, rideability is a subjective measurement used by transportation agencies to define the presence of a bump. User complaints typically drive maintenance schedules; however, the bump is not just an annoyance on the traveling public. The dynamic impact of vehicles resulting from the bump causes distress, fatigue, and long-term damage to the bridge deck. The bump also causes damage to vehicles and potentially creates an unsafe condition for drivers if this issue is not addressed in a timely manner. To ensure the bump is within tolerable limits based on safety, rideability, and long-term bridge performance, analysis tools are necessary to measure and assess the bridge approach transition.
This paper presents an evaluation of bridge approach transitions using Continuous International Roughness Index (IRI) and Rolling Straight Edge (RSE) simulation analysis on data collected by high speed inertial profilers. A comparison was made between conventional bridges and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) developed Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Integrated Bridge System (GRS-IBS). This paper presents the quantifiable and measurable results based on the analysis performed at each interface between the two bridge types.