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MCEER Hosts PRC-US Workshop on Special Bridges

Participants at the second PRC-US Workshop pose for a group picture

The PRC-US Workshop on Seismic Analysis and Design of Special Bridges was held December 3-5, 2003 in Buffalo, New York. It was the second in a series of workshops conducted between bridge and earthquake engineering researchers in China and the United States. The first was held in Shanghai, China, on October 8-10, 2002 at Tongji University.

The purpose of these workshops is to share technical information and construction experience in the seismic design and performance of ‘special’ highway bridges. For the purpose of these meetings, ‘special’ bridges include major long span bridges as well as those with small to moderate spans with complex geometries or sited on particularly hazardous sites. The long-term objective is to develop a knowledge base, from which guidelines for these unique structures can be developed. The series is coordinated by MCEER’s Highway Project, and sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration. The third workshop will be held this fall in China.

Proceedings from the first workshop are available at http://mceer.buffalo.edu/publications/reports/docs/03-0004/default.asp and are anticipated from this second workshop in the summer of 2004. Both proceedings are available from MCEER Publications.