Investigation of the Suitability of Pre-cast/Pre...

Investigation of the Suitability of Pre-cast/Pre-fabricated modular bridges for rural roads in Nepal – Pilot Study

Inception Report

Robin Workman Milan Kominek John Hine Bishnu B. Shah

TRL Ltd

NEP2088A

11th January 2017

Nepal Modular Bridges Inception Report

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The views in this document are those of the authors and they do not necessarily reflect the views of the Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP) or Cardno Emerging Markets (UK) Ltd for whom the document was prepared

Cover Photo: AF CityPlan

Quality assurance and review table

Version Author(s) Reviewer(s) Date

1 Milan Kominek, Robin Workman Arthur Hannah 4th December 2016

2 Robin Workman Les Sampson & Chandra Shrestha

21st December 2016

3 Robin Workman Les Sampson & Chandra Shrestha

11th January 2017

ReCAP Project Management Unit Cardno Emerging Market (UK) Ltd Oxford House, Oxford Road Thame OX9 2AH United Kingdom


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AfCAP Database Details: Investigation of suitable dust suppressants for Low Volume Gravel Roads in the

Terai region of Nepal

Reference No: NEP2088A Location Nepal

Source of Proposal Procurement

Method

Competitive Tender

Theme Sub-Theme

Lead

Implementation

Organisation

DoLIDAR Partner

Organisation

LRBP

Total Approved

Budget

Total Used

Budget

Start Date 1/11/2016 End Date 01/2/2019

Report Due Date 15th

December 2016 Date Received 4th

December 2016


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Abstract This research will focus on defining and developing a new modular system of bridge construction for Nepal, which is suitable for all environments. There is a need to provide all-weather access to remote areas in Nepal, and bridges are a key component of this. The motivation for this project came from DoLIDAR with their need to construct up to 2,000 new bridges to support the expansion of the rural road network. At present they use mainly reinforced in-situ concrete bridges, which are slow to construct and pose particular challenges with quality control and transport of materials, especially in hilly areas.

The ultimate goal of the research project is to formulate a bridge construction approach for spans of 25m to 40m, built by assembling smaller pre-manufactured units that can be handled with small hauling and lifting devices. A number of designs would be suitable for Nepal, but with the range of environments, geological conditions and topography the design of a system that suits all is challenging. A preference for the use of concrete as a local material has emerged, although this poses problems for transport in the hills, so limits on weight and dimension have been agreed.

Key words Rural Roads, Bridges, Nepal, Modular

ASIA COMMUNITY ACCESS PARTNERSHIP (AsCAP)

Safe and sustainable transport for rural communities

AsCAP is a research programme, funded by UK Aid, with the aim of promoting safe and sustainable transport for rural

communities in Asia. The AsCAP partnership supports knowledge sharing between participating countries in order to enhance the

uptake of low cost, proven solutions for rural access that maximise the use of local resources. AsCAP is brought together

with the Africa Community Access Partnership (AfCAP) under the Research for Community Access Partnership (ReCAP), managed

by Cardno Emerging Markets (UK) Ltd.

See www.research4cap.org


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Acronyms, units and currencies AsCAP Asia Community Access Partnership BE Bridge Expert BIMP Bridge Improvement and Maintenance Project BIMS Bridge Information Management System CBA Cost Benefit Analysis DAG Disadvantaged Group DDC District Development Council DFID Department For International Development DoLIDAR Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads DoR Department of Roads DTO District Technical Office EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FRP Fibre Reinforced Polymers GoN Government of Nepal HPC High Performance Concrete LBS Local Bridge Section LRBP Local Roads Bridge Programme LRBSU Local Roads Bridge Support Unit LRN Local Roads Network MOFALD Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development NPC National Planning Commission NTDRC Nepal Transportation and Development Research Centre PMU Programme Management Unit PSPC Pre stressed pre cast RCC Reinforced Concrete Construction ReCAP Research for Community Access Partnership RSDP Road Sector Development Project SC Steering Committee SDE Senior Divisional Engineer TBSU Trail Bridge Support Unit TR Technical Referee TRL Transport Research Centre TL Team Leader ToR Terms of Reference UHPC Ultra High Performance Concrete UK United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) UKAid United Kingdom Aid (Department for International Development, UK) USA United States of America VDC Village Development Council VOC Vehicle Operating Costs


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Contents Abstract 5 Key words 5 Acronyms, units and currencies 6

1. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................8 2. Introduction ...................................................................................................................8 3. Background ....................................................................................................................8 4. Outline Approach and Methodology ...............................................................................9

4.1 Research goals and objectives 10 4.2 Comments on the overall objectives 10 4.3 Comments on the specific objectives as stated in the ToR 11 4.4 General comments on the ToR 12 4.5 Social and economic effects: 13

5. Inception Phase ............................................................................................................ 13 5.1 Summary of activities 13 5.2 Extensive literature review and desk study 17 5.3 Initial meetings 18

6. Revised Workplan......................................................................................................... 18 7. Management Approach ................................................................................................ 19

7.1 Approach 19 7.1 Provisional sums 19

8. Technical Inputs ........................................................................................................... 19 8.1 Staffing 19

9. Community Access ........................................................................................................ 20 9.1 Gender 20 9.2 Other marginalised groups 20

10. M&E Plan ..................................................................................................................... 20 11. Risks............................................................................................................................. 20

11.1 Operational risks 20 11.2 Health and safety 21

Annex A: Updated Workplan ................................................................................................ 22 Annex B: Contribution to ReCAP Log Frame .......................................................................... 23 Annex C: Risk Matrix ............................................................................................................ 28 Annex D: Bridges in Nepal .................................................................................................... 30 Annex E: Minutes of Kick-off Meeting ................................................................................... 33 Annex F: Minutes of Meeting with DoR Bridges Section ........................................................ 36 Annex G: Minutes of Meeting with LRBSU ............................................................................ 37 Annex H: Supplementary Information .................................................................................. 38 Annex I: Approach Paper on the adaptation of pre stressed pre-cast modular bridges ........... 42 Annex J: Review of Current Situation in Nepal ...................................................................... 43 Annex K: Examples of Recent Projects and Standard Drawings .............................................. 45 Annex L: Superstructure Standard Drawings ......................................................................... 47 Annex M: Design concepts for consideration ........................................................................ 53 Annex N: Review of modular bridge types ............................................................................ 61


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1. Executive Summary

This project aims to provide a new design for modular bridges in Nepal, with one system being preferred for both Terai and hills areas. In order to gain background information on the bridge building environment and local conditions in Nepal, the consultant’s team visited for the kick-off meeting in Kathmandu on 8th November 2016. In addition to the kick-off meeting the team were able to meet with the main stakeholders for the programme. A lot of valuable information was gained which will prove to be very useful in producing the final design.

A number of different technologies were presented at the kick-off meeting in November, and discussions followed on the feasibility of each. DoLIDAR noted that they would prefer a design that maximises the use of concrete, because this is more readily available in Nepal as a local resource and steel has been found to be expensive and more difficult to maintain.

The Bridge Expert (BE) attended a site visit of three bridges and a concrete plant, facilitated by the LRBSU. This was also found to be very useful and has helped the BE to formulate his plans for a modular bridge design for Nepal. This report sets out the broad principles of design for a modular bridge system in Nepal and provides some potential designs for discussion at the planned stakeholder workshop, which is proposed to be held in January 2017.

2. Introduction This project is being undertaken under the DFID-funded ReCAP programme with a focus on applied research and knowledge dissemination, aimed at the promotion of safe and sustainable rural access in Africa and Asia. Nepal is one of the partner countries in the Asian component (AsCAP) of ReCAP.

The project started in November 2016 and is due to complete in February 2019. It is in line with the ReCAP log-frame as shown in Annex B.

The research will focus on defining and developing a new modular system of bridge construction for Nepal, which is suitable for all environments. There is a need to provide all-weather access to remote areas in Nepal, and bridges are a key component of this. Many remote hilly places are inaccessible during heavy rains, so an effective system of making and constructing modular bridges will allow DoLIDAR to meet their accessibility targets more quickly and efficiently.

3. Background Nepal’s economy needs to grow fundamentally to solve the problem of limited transport infrastructure in the country. Crucial to this aim is the development of roads and bridges. The Government of Nepal (GoN) is fully aware of this problem and it committed to solving it. GoN has given high priority to bridges and has rapidly increased the bridge construction budget every year.

The motivation for this project came from DoLIDAR and is borne out of their need to construct up to 2,000 new bridges to support the expansion of the rural road network. At present they use mainly reinforced in-situ concrete bridges, which are slow to construct and pose particular challenges with quality control and transport of materials, especially in hilly areas.

Currently about 100-300 bridges have been constructed, 200-300 are under construction and designs for another 300 bridges are being undertaken. The Department of Roads (DoR) also construct up to 200 bridges per year on the strategic network. The current situation of bridges on rural roads in Nepal is shown in Annex J, according to DoLIDAR records. DoR is also interested in learning about a modular system for bridges in Nepal, as many of their bridges in the hills are short span.


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DoLIDAR has the capacity to build more than 100 bridges per year. For such a high number of bridges, it is essential that any solution for bridges in Nepal must be feasible, appropriate, flexible and durable. The current situation of bridges in Nepal is shown in Annex D, with examples form recent projects and some standard drawing shown in Annex K, with some typical superstructure drawings in Annex L. Given this information it can be assumed that Pre-Cast/ Pre-fabricated modular bridges could be a potential solution for bridges on rural roads in Nepal.

It is understood from the ToR that a modular bridge is one that is formed, largely, from pre-fabricated parts that are manufactured off-site in a controlled environment. The parts are then transported to site and assembled. Within the context of this project, the modular bridges would be of short to medium span and should be capable of being assembled and placed without the use of heavy equipment, maximizing the employment of local labour. Furthermore, the modular bridge system should be adaptable to the varied site and environmental conditions and situations found in Nepal, and provide a practical solution to a wide range of different scenarios.

The ToR further suggests for the bridge components to be fabricated in Nepal, as this will provide employment and develop local industry and capacity. It is also assumed that maximum use of local materials will be made.

There are a number of modular bridge system that can be used. A desk study and literature review of the available technologies and system of structures for modular bridge construction from around the world has been prepared. Meetings with local experts were held and a lot of information and documents concerning the bridge issue and current state of roads and bridges development in Nepal was received.

Many interesting bridges have recently been completed or are under construction or design in Nepal. The GoN focuses great attention on developing transport infrastructure, especially roads and bridges, as evidenced by the various government programmes.

An example of this commitment is the National Program for Motorable Bridges on Local Roads – an assignment under the Local Road Bridge Programme (LRBP), completed in July 2014. The LRBP was undertaken from February 2011 to July 206 in Phase I, with Phase II and Phase III to follow. A concept paper on adaptation of pre-stressed precast modular bridges for Nepal (Annex I) was prepared for LRBSU more than two years ago, so the idea of modular bridges in Nepal is not new.

Therefore, this project in Nepal has the potential to be the start of important research into the potential impacts of modular bridges from a developing country perspective. This report considers inputs from around the world to find the most appropriate solution for rural bridges in Nepal.

4. Outline Approach and Methodology

It was a great advantage that authors of the Inception Report could visit Nepal before the finalisation of this report and meet with important stakeholders, including local bridge engineers and experts. It was also possible to visit several bridge sites and even a concrete plant equipped with modern facilities and a hi-tech laboratory. These local meetings and site visits were a very useful source of information and input to the research, because applied research must reflect real life and local conditions. Also the cooperation of all those, both international and local, is the key to success in this project. This is consistent with the conclusions of the kick-off meeting, dated on 8th November 2016 and summarised below:

DoLIDAR want to use the results of the research for practical uses, so DoLIDAR coordinated with the team and directed them to the LRBP for further discussions.


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DoLIDAR, ReCAP and LRBSU should also consider signing a Tripartite agreement, so that the inputs are coordinated and committed, and the output is integrated into the partner’s programme.

ReCAP requested that this project fits into a wider strategy within the context of poverty and rural development.

ReCAP highlighted that cooperation and collaboration amongst partners is essential for the practical implementation of research findings

The minutes of the kick-off meeting can be found in Annex E.

4.1 Research goals and objectives

The ultimate goal of the research project is to formulate a bridge construction approach for spans of 25m to 40m, built by assembling smaller pre-manufactured units that can be handled with small hauling and lifting devices. This design should be also suitable for smaller bridges.

The basic requirements for the solution:

Production of segments off site

Limited dimensions and weight for transportation

Simple and suitable assembling

Minimised maintenance

Maximised utilisation of local material resources and local labour

In order to achieve these goals an extensive desk study and literature review were undertaken, which considered literature, research papers and implementation abroad, as well as local experience, potential solutions and current developments.

4.2 Comments on the overall objectives

The overall research objectives stated in the ToR are:

To investigate the range of practicable solutions for modular bridges on the Local Roads Network (LRN) in Nepal

To develop a system of modular bridge that will provide all season accessibility to remote settlements

To develop a cost-effective, suitable and replicable system for local agencies in Nepal

To demonstrate the feasibility of selected system(s) for use on the LRN by carrying out pilot trials.

These overall objectives are wide-ranging.

In Annex N, which was presented at the klick-off meeting and is an integral part of Inception Report, a wide range of modular bridge systems are presented for consideration. There are many systems available, but the most appropriate have been shown in Annex M as examples of possible solutions. Clearly some of the solutions in Annex N are unsuitable for Nepal.

A number of the proposed designs would be possible for implementation in Nepal and could be incorporated into GoN programmes. In this context it is important to cooperate with local experts from Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads (DoLIDAR), Local Roads Bridge Program (LRBP) and Local Roads Bridge Support Unit (LRBSU) to find the most suitable and acceptable system.


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This collaboration started during the first visit to Nepal at the kick-off meeting and promises to be beneficial for the further course of this research.

Comments:

It is recognised that two stakeholder workshops are to be held as part of the project. The first workshop will present the findings of the desk study and literature review and recommendations on the technologies to be demonstrated. It is understood that a selection of outline modular systems will be presented at this workshop, based on the criteria given in the ToR. This will be discussed and a final system will be agreed for implementation. The consultant should therefore present a modular system that defines the size and weight of the modules, the methodology for transporting and assembling the parts, plus a comment on the likely cost.

It is understood that the modules should be suitable for manufacture under controlled conditions, away from the bridge site. During the initial visit the BE visited a cement factory to assess the capacity for manufacturing concrete components. This visit confirmed that the quality required for precast modules should be possible.

Capacity building is also critical to this research, and the project includes the objectives of providing on the job training for DoLIDAR and district engineers, as well as formal training to 60 engineers on the design manual and specifications that will be developed in the project.

4.3 Comments on the specific objectives as stated in the ToR

The following comments are focused on the specific objectives for recommendation as laid out in the ToR:

The ToR does not mention which standards the bridges should be designed to. It is assumed that the existing bridge standards in Nepal will be used. During the consultation with LRBP it was confirmed that Nepal uses Indian bridge standards so the designs will be based on these.

The ToR highlights that construction standards to be used will need to be defined. For example, it is not appropriate to specify particularly high strength concrete if such strengths cannot be achieved in reality. This question has been discussed at LRBSU and during the visit to the concrete plant, and it was found that it is possible to achieve quality of concrete up to M40. In the future higher quality may even be possible. Other specific clarifications of construction standards will be continuously discussed throughout the stages of this research.

The ToR does not mention whether the design will be for single lane or dual lane bridges. It is assumed that all bridges on rural roads will be single lane. If necessary if should be possible to provide double lanes by simply constructing two bridges alongside each other. DoLIDAR and LRBSU have confirmed this and DoLIDAR’s existing pre-planned bridge plans will be used.

Other aspect such as parapets, walkways, services attached to the bridge, bearings, abutments and wingwalls will be considered in cooperation with DoLIDAR, LRBP and LRBSU.

Drainage around the bridge and road drainage, as well as drainage on the bridge itself, are also important to take into account.

Transportation of bridge parts is clearly an issue in the more remote and inaccessible areas of Nepal. According to information obtained in the inception phase from DoLIDAR and


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LRBSU the limit of elements with the regards to transport is 6 m in length and 7-8 tonnes in weight. The research team will respect these conditions in finding a solution for modular bridges in Nepal.

Quality of materials is also mentioned in the ToR. The research team has noted a number of issues with the quality of concrete as the potential key material for the construction of bridges, following discussion with local experts:

o The use of high strength concrete at site is inconvenient.

o The use of better quality concrete than M40 is possible in the future, but not within the scope of this project.

o The off-site use of High Performance Concrete (HPC) and Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is possible in the future, because Silica Fume as a new important component of this concrete is known in Nepal, as was noticed at the concrete plant.

o Some advanced materials such as UHPC-FRP (Fibre Reinforced Polymers), used for example in the UHPC-FRP waffle deck system in USA, are too sophisticated for practical application in Nepal.

The question of possible load testing for providing “proof of concept” will be discussed with DoLIDAR and LRBP during this research. LRBSU have confirmed that they have load testing facilities in Nepal.

The training scheduled in the ToR will be specified as the project progresses.

The ToR does not mention whether a bridge management system is in place and is not part of this research. During the inception phase the team found out that national and local institutions adopt an appropriate local bridge strategy and the concept of BSPC and BIMS has been initiated. The recommended solution for modular bridges will be compatible.

4.4 General comments on the ToR

There are a number of general issues that have been noticed from the ToR. Many opinions on key issues were mentioned in the previous sections of this Inception Report. The following are emphasised in the ToR:

The fundamental problem in Nepal is access to remote and hard to reach communities. Therefore, developing such a system of modular bridges must provide all season accessibility to remote settlements.

Nepal has specific climate and geological conditions, dominated by heavy seasonal monsoons and earthquakes. Monsoons bring a great danger of landslides and undercutting by scour. Bearings and foundations need to be designed to resist earthquakes and foundation/bankseats have to be designed to eliminate scour. These requirements will be reflected in the research.

The system must respect the monsoon season, with the result that the majority of construction at site can take place only in the dry season. The system should therefore allow for all season prefabricated components to be produced in the factory and must take into account the difficulties with transportation.

The system should make use of local sources, materials and labour and must be prepared in cooperation with ReCAP and local partners DoLIDAR, LRBP and LRBSU.

The ToR stresses the need to be cost effective and the system should be suitable and replicable for local agencies in Nepal.


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The end users should feel ownership of the technology and should be in a position to assume responsibility for this modular bridge design and construction into the future.

All the facts, comments and requirements specified in section 3 and 4.1 – 4.4 of this Inception report have been taken into consideration by the research team. The report is also based on the proposed fundamental concept of the research, which is described in section 5 (Inception Phase).

4.5 Social and economic effects:

There are a number of social and economic factors to consider in this project:

Road Safety: Road safety is a significant problem in Nepal. Bridges have been identified as a particular area where collisions occur, particularly vehicle to pedestrian collisions. As a result all bridges should have provision for pedestrians. DoR provide walkways on all of their bridges, although this reduces the width of the usable carriageway and could result in a requirement for a wider deck. Options will be explored for the provision of pedestrian access across modular bridges and recommendations will be made.

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA): A CBA is a cost comparison. The main factor is with what will the costs be compared? In general it is appropriate to compare the proposed system to the most relevant and cost effective alternative. For bridges if the cost consequences of having no bridge, as with a main road, are so high we would compare different bridge designs assuming no interruption of travel. In this case the CBA would just compare the construction and maintenance costs of the alternatives. As a result the need to collect traffic and VOC data is limited.

However for roads in a rural environment it may be desirable to consider some very poor access alternatives, for example a seasonal river crossing that is closed for a few months per year. In this case it would be necessary to collect traffic data, vehicle operating costs (VOCs) and consider long diversions and possibly traffic suppression. It is also possible that simple alternative pedestrian bridges and/or use of porters might be part of the alternative. For this situation it would be necessary to collect traffic data, including flows and composition at a number of sites, the length of road closure during the rainy period, what happens during the rains (i.e. does any traffic pass -or does it go on a long diversion -if so how long and so what would be the distance saving). Sometimes there might be time delays of a few hours or days before the river subsides. Some of the data required would be:

Vehicle input data (price of new vehicles without tax)

Fuel and tyre prices without tax

Fare data

Estimates as to the condition of roads where there is diversion.

At present the cost of construction of a bridge is approximately NRs 150,000 per m2.

5. Inception Phase

5.1 Summary of activities

The first visit of the research team to Nepal took place in the week commencing 7th November 2016, when the kick-off meeting was organised. This meeting was very challenging and inspiring, setting out general principles for further action.


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The research team used this occasion to carry out other meetings with local experts from DoLIDAR, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, NTDRC, LRBP and LRBSU. A large amount of local documentation and information was gained from local partners and other sources. A sample of these materials and results from local meetings are set out in Annex H.

Thanks to cooperation with LRBSU (Mr. Paul Kurmann and his colleagues) the team could also visit the construction of three bridges that were all constructed using different technologies, as well as visiting a concrete plant. The site visits covered:

Thosne Khola bridge, located in Lalitpur district. The bridge is a steel truss with RCC deck, span 35.6m. On the way to this bridge the team were able to see how important the problem of transportation in difficult terrain is.

Tinthana Bridge, located in Kathmandu District. The bridge is an RCC T beam, span 25m. The bridge is a typical example of bridging local rivers with deep riverbeds and steep slopes.

Bishnumati Bridge, located in Kathmandu District. This is an RCC rigid framed bridge, span 20m. This is an instructive example of a current completed bridge in operation.

Concrete plant owned by MAW Ready Mix Concrete Pvt. Ltd. In Harisiddhi. For the research team this was also very informative to be shown an example of the possibility of manufacturing quality concrete for the production of precast bridge elements. The concrete plant was equipped with very modern facilities, with a hi-tech laboratory using sophisticated and calibrated equipment. In the prefabrication of bridge segments it is very important to ensure quality control and continuous testing.

All of these real examples of local practice, consultations with local experts, intensive study of international literature, local documents and the ultimate long-term experience of the research team in designing and realisation of bridges led to the team defining the conceptual principles of rural modular bridge solutions for Nepal, as shown in the following summary:

Utilisation of local resources, experience and current practices that lead to maximum use of concrete, because the steel must be imported from abroad and is expensive and difficult to maintain.

Also cost-analysis between steel and concrete is likely to show more benefits for concrete.

The key to success will be the rapid progress of the construction during the dry season. The best way to achieve this is prefabrication because it enables:

o All season production off-site with quality control and continuous testing

o Rapid assembly on-site during the dry season

Prefabrication of concrete elements seems to be the basic direction of development of new technologies for rural modular bridges for Nepal.

This system is compatible with ongoing GoN programmes in Nepal.

This technology and structural system allows the possibility of extending the programme for rural modular bridges outside the range of 25m – 40m. Fixed formwork off-site can be used for mass production of bridge elements and the costs will decrease. Formwork and the resources to allow assembly and construction of the units on site will also be explored, as it is expected that some hill areas will provide particularly challenging environments for modular bridge assembly.

It is believed that this technology has great future potential in the use of higher quality of concrete, for example High Performance Concrete (HPC) and Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC), which has a major impact on the weight of bridge elements.

The research team believes that this concept meets the aims and objectives of research and meets local needs, ideas and opportunities of the country. This concept will be presented at the stakeholder workshop where a decision will be made on which system is the most appropriate.


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This can logically be developed throughout the next phase of the project research. The following diagram in Figure 1 shows the principle of modular bridges for Nepal, with more details shown in Annex M.


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Figure 1


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5.2 Extensive literature review and desk study

The Bridge Expert has carried out a literature review and desk study with the aim of identifying the possible types of modular bridge that could be suitable for Nepal, both on the Terai and in the hills. A large amount of literature that specifically deals with modular bridges was identified and reviewed, including a number of important technical studies and articles, research papers and documents of international and local nature. The results of this work were presented at the kick-off meeting and have been refined based on the discussions at the meeting and subsequent feedback. The literature review will continue throughout the project and a complete list of publications will be included in the Final Report. The current literature review to date includes:

Mohiuddin Khan, Accelerated bridge Construction, Best Practices and techniques, Adjunct Faculty member, Temple University

Mirmiran Amir, Zohrevand Pedram, Mackie Kevin, Fouad Fouad, 2015, Innovative Modular High Performance Lightweight Decks for Accelerated Bridge Construction UTC Conference for the South-eastern Region, Birmingham, Al.

Construction of Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Modular Decks for Highway Bridges

D. Unlu, P. Okumus and M. G. Oliva, Rapid Bridge Construction technology: Precast Elements for Substructures, Wisconsin Highway Research Program

V. Kunagulsawat, Ch. Bamrungwong, K. Manokhoon, K Punthuteacha, Development of Bridge Construction Technology for Rural Area in Thailand

The department of Rural Roads, Final report, Study of Bridge Construction with Precast Segmental Technique in Thailand (Phase 2), IMMS Co., Ltd., 2009

T Jenngamkul, C. Bamungwong, K. Manokhoon, et. al., The Construction of precast Segmental Bridge in Rural Area, IABSE 2009 proceeding, Thailand, 2009

B. A. Graybeal, Ultra-High Performance Concrete Connections: Design and Performance of robust, constructible Solutions, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, USA, 2015

H. Russel, B. Graybeal, Ultra-High Performance Concrete: A State-of-the-art Report for Bridge Community. U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, USA, FHWA-12-060, 2013

B. Graybeal, Design and Construction of Field-Cast UHPC Connections, U.S., Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, USA, FHWA-14-084, 2014

S.J. Foster, Y. L. Voo, UHPFRC as a Material for Bridge Construction, ACF Magazine, July 2015

Moehle, J.P., Eberhard, M.O. "Earthquake Damage to Bridges", Bridge Engineering Handbook, Ed. Wai-Fah Chen and Lian Duan, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2000

CONCEPTS OF SEISMIC-RESISTANT DESIGN, Instructional Material Complementing FEMA 451, Design Examples, Federal Emergency Management Agency of the Department of Homeland Security, 2006

F. Toutlemonde, J. Resplendino, Designing and Building with UHPFRC, State of the Art and Development, 2014

Final Report – Assignment under Local Road Bridge Programme (LRBP), National Program for Motorable Bridges on Local Roads, 2014

DOLIDAR, 2012, Nepal Rural Roads Standards (2055) 1st Revision, Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads, DOLIDAR


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Progress Report – Approach Paper on Adaptation of Pre-Stressed Pre-Cast Modular Bridge Construction Technology in Local Roads Network Bridges

Final Draft – Local Roads Bridge Programme (LRBP) Phase – I, Kathmandu Nepal, June 2016

Standard Superstructure Drawings Road Bridges, 30.0 m, 35.0 m, 40.0 m Simply Supported Span, Cast-in-situ, 2-Webbed Prestressed Concrete Slab-Deck, Government of Nepal Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Department of Roads, Bridge Branch, 2015

Local Motorable Bridge Programme, Bridge List-Summary, 2016

www.dura.com.my - DURA® Technology Sdn Bhd

www.mabey.com

www.psm-most.modularbridges.com

5.3 Initial meetings

During the first visit to Nepal on 6th – 12th November 2016, a kick-off meeting was organised at DoLIDAR on the 8th November 2016. The minutes of this meeting can be seen in Annex E. Further meetings were held with experts from:

Nepal Transportation and Development Research Center – NTDRC

ReCAP and AsCAP

Local Roads Bridge Programme – LRBP

Local Road Bridge Support Unit – LRBSU

Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Department of Roads, Bridge section

A summary of these meetings can be seen in Annex F and Annex G.

During the field trip of 10th November 2016 a technical discussion was held around the construction of bridges. The results of this discussion are also incorporated into this Inception Report.

6. Revised Workplan The workplan has been revised to reflect the delayed start to the project and the revised deliverable dates specified in the ToR. This inception report will be submitted early in order to facilitate discussion at the ReCAP steering committee to be held in Nepal on 6th and 7th December, 2016.

The proposed date of the first stakeholder workshop has also been changed to allow for discussion of the inception report, feedback and adjustment of the outline principles included before the stakeholder workshop. The pilot phase during which the two pilot bridges will be fabricated and constructed, has been adjusted so that the fabrication takes place during the wet season and the assembly on site is mainly during the dry season, as agreed at the kick-off meeting.

The workshop is therefore planned for the third week of January 2017, which should still allow for sufficient time to agree the design and carry out fabrication during the wet season if all partners can achieve their tasks, as shown in the programme in Annex A.

http://www.dura.com.my/


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7. Management Approach

7.1 Approach

TRL will be the main point of contact with the PMU throughout this project, but given the intermittent inputs throughout more than two years, the other members of the team will, also liaise directly with DoLIDAR and other stakeholders in country.

The Team Leader will manage the project in terms of programming, producing and delivering reports and all other administration with the client. The other team members will produce their outputs for the various reports and workshops under the supervision of the Team Leader.

TRL have substantial resources to support the implementation of the project and the team will be given access to the extensive support structures in TRL’s home office, including the library and knowledge management resources. In terms of management support TRL has a wide range of experts who are able to provide backstopping to this project.

Based on TRL’s system of project management a Technical Referee (TR) has been appointed. The TR will monitor the quality of the research, the reports and other documentation that will be produced during the execution of the project. There will also be the appointment of an internal project manager who will ensure that the deliverables are submitted on time, whilst assuming other responsibilities such as financial control.

TRL maintains a project / programme management system which has been instrumental in the timely delivery of projects to time and within budget. The system has two aspects, computer based and manual. These two components are complementary and can provide either a detailed status or a general overview of progress at any time.

7.1 Provisional sums

TRL will be responsible for financing the stakeholder workshops and the training, and reclaiming costs. Due to the fact that the inputs of the team are intermittent and that it will be difficult to arrange these events from outside the country, it is expected that DoLIDAR will take the lead in making the arrangements (within the given financial limits) for such events and TRL will settle the costs in country when the event is under way.

If it becomes obvious that the costs for the provisional sums are going to exceed the limits, the PMU will be informed in good time so that a decision can be made on whether to find a cheaper option or whether additional funding can be found. At present the costs are not expected to exceed the limits stated in the ToR.

8. Technical Inputs

8.1 Staffing

We do not envisage any changes in staff at this time and we believe this is unlikely through the project period. It should be noted that the timings of the staff inputs are dependent on the inputs of DoLIDAR and LRBSU, especially with respect to the procurement and performance of fabricators and bridge construction contractors. Staffing inputs have changed slightly as a result of the kick-off meeting and site visit, but at the present time this is the best estimate based on the ToR and inception inputs. The overall time inputs for all staff will remain the same.


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9. Community Access

9.1 Gender

Lack of accessibility has a disproportionate effect on women, who in Nepal are generally less mobile than men and less able to travel independently. Bridges are essential for the provision of all-year access to remote and poor communities. However it should also be noted that this level of accessibility makes it easier for the trafficking of young girls and women.

9.2 Other marginalised groups

The provision of bridges and all-weather access has similar benefits for disadvantaged groups, who often live in remote and inaccessible areas. This potential effect will also be identified for research in further phases of the project.

10. M&E Plan As this project is over a long time span, with very intermittent inputs during the middle part of the project, we will build strong communications with DoLIDAR and the local bridge support project. DoLIDAR are drafting a tripartite agreement between themselves, the ReCAP PMU and LRBSU, which the consultants will help to finalise. We will develop a Monitoring Plan which will be updated throughout the project, and will have the input and commitment of all team members. We will also rely on our Nepali team member Mr. BB Shah to maintain close liaison with the stakeholders.

The BE has regular scheduled visits throughout the project to monitor key activities such as fabrication, contractor procurement and construction of the pilot. The programme is planned around fabrication during the wet season and assembly during the dry season, so it is important to maintain progress as scheduled.

The monitoring process will be regularly updated by reporting to the project team. We will monitor and audit the progress of the results as they are produced. The project reports will also be used to monitor the progress of the project.

11. Risks The risks that we outlined in our proposal are still essentially valid. These will be further refined as the project progresses. The risk matrix can be seen in Annex C and the risks are outlined below:

11.1 Operational risks

There is a heavy reliance on partner stakeholders to provide the bridges designs and manage the fabrication and assembly/construction of the pilot bridges. We have confidence that the LRBP and LRBSU can manage the work effectively, but there is a risk associated with the limited input of the consultant’s team through the fabrication and construction phase of the project.

There is a provisional sum for stakeholder workshops and training. Due to the limited inputs of the consultant team in country we are heavily reliant on DoLIDAR to arrange the events within the


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allocated budget. We will provide clear guidelines for the arrangement of the events, and maintain clear lines of communication to ensure that the events are managed within the provisional sums.

There is a recent history of political upheaval in Nepal, although the situation at present appears to be stable. This is a risk that is largely beyond our control, but we will closely monitor the situation and any impacts it could have on the project. Conflict can also be a risk for the project, either existing or conflicts that may arise during the project.

The recent earthquake also had an effect on infrastructure in Nepal and further quakes cannot be ruled out. The bridge designs will be made to be resistant to earthquakes, but there are potential risks to the progress of the project if an event occurs during the fabrication or construction periods.

Lack of uptake is also a risk, although indications we had following presentations on this subject have been very positive. We have recommended processes to address this.

11.2 Health and safety

The BE will need to travel to the bridge sites to check on progress, to carry out technical audits and to monitor the effectiveness of the design. Other team members will most likely only be working in Kathmandu, for which the risks are highlighted in the risk matrix. TRL uses International SOS to inform and advise on all security measures in countries where it works, and TRL are confident that the procedures are sufficient to ensure safety in-country.


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Annex A: Updated Workplan Activity Gantt Chart


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Annex B: Contribution to ReCAP Log Frame Service Providers should forecast the contributions the project will make to the ReCAP logframe over the period of the project. Details of basis for calculation and recording are contained below. Number of columns should be adjusted to suit the length of project.

Intervention Logic Indicator Source of

Verification Baseline (Date)

Milestone 1

5 Dec 2016

Milestone 2

9 January 2017

Milestone 3

18 April 2017

End of

Project

Target

(19/2/19)

Assumptions

Outcome:

Sustained increase in evidence base for more cost effective and reliable low volume rural road and transport services, promoted and influencing policy and practice in Africa and Asia

1. SUSTAINABILITY: Partner Government and other financiers co-funding research with ReCAP.

Contributions in kind (K) and Core Contributions (C)

Project reports and

ReCAP PMU

December 2016 External partners are

fully committed to the

project and will finance

the support to design

the bridge system.

Government have

sufficient fuds to

construct the two pilot

bridges.

2. Concrete examples of change (applied or formally adopted), influenced by ReCAP research that will be allied to #km of road in focus countries.

Project reports and

ReCAP PMU

December 2016 Concrete change will

come towards the end

of the project when

manual/guideline is

accepted into policy

3. Number of citations in academic articles of ReCAP peer reviewed articles and/or working papers, conference papers etc.

Project reports and

ReCAP PMU,

conference

proceedings,

published articles

N/A Assuming that

publications are made


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Milestone 1

5 Dec 2016

Milestone 2

9 January 2017

Milestone 3

18 April 2017

End of

Project

Target

(19/2/19)

Assumptions

Output 1:

RESEARCH and UPTAKE: Generation, validation and updating of evidence for effective policies and practices to achieve safe, all-season, climate-resilient, equitable and affordable LVRR and transport services in African and Asian countries.

(Low Volume Rural Roads : LVRR / TS – Transport Services)

1.1 LVRR: Number of peer reviewed papers generated from ReCAP supported or related LVRR research projects made available in open access format.

Project reports,

websites

N/A

1.2. TS: Number of peer reviewed papers generated from ReCAP supported or related LVRR research projects made available in open access format.

Project reports,

websites

N/A

1.3 Engineering Research: National policies, manuals, guidelines and/or research outputs that have been fully incorporated into Government/Ministerial requirements, specifications and recommended good practice as a result of ReCAP engineering research (including climate change adaptation and AfCAP and SEACAP

Project reports,

also the

manual/guideline

itself when it is

published and

online.

N/A Assumption that the

pilot bridges are

successful and GoN

will adopt the

technology into policy


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Milestone 1

5 Dec 2016

Milestone 2

9 January 2017

Milestone 3

18 April 2017

End of

Project

Target

(19/2/19)

Assumptions

adaptations).

To include introduction of new policies and modification to existing policies.

1.4 TRANSPORT SERVICES Research: National policies, regulations and/or practices for rural transport services modified or introduced as a result of ReCAP research (including road safety and gender and AFCAP and SEACAP research )

To include introduction of new policies and modification to existing policies.

Less relevant for

this study, although

some transportation

data will be

collected as part of

the cost/benefit

analysis

N/A

1.6. LVRR and TS information generated for dissemination, and disseminated, that is not peer reviewed. Total to include research papers, final

Project reports and

ReCAP PMU,

ReCAP website

April 2017


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Milestone 1

5 Dec 2016

Milestone 2

9 January 2017

Milestone 3

18 April 2017

End of

Project

Target

(19/2/19)

Assumptions

research reports, workshop reports, manuals and guidelines.

CHECK IF THIS IS TO BE PART OF Service Provider Reporting

Output 2:

CAPACITY BUILDING: The building of sustainable capacity to carry out research on low volume rural roads, and rural transport services in African and Asian countries.

2.1. African / Asian experts or institutions taking lead roles in ReCAP Research Projects.

Expect DoLIDAR

staff to take a key

role

April 2017

2.3. Research projects with female researcher inputs at senior technical level.

ReCAP PMU N/A

Output 3:

KNOWLEDGE: Generated evidence base of LVRR and transport services knowledge is widely disseminated and easily accessible by policy makers and practitioners (including education and training institutions).

3.2. ReCAP generated knowledge presented and discussed at high level international development debates and conferences

Proceedings of

conferences

April 2017 Assumes successful

trials and uptake of the

technology

3.3.ReCAP generated knowledge disseminated through significant workshops and dedicated training, virtually or physically, that are rated by

Project reports and

ReCAP PMU and

website

April 2017 Assumes successful

trials and uptake of the

technology


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Milestone 1

5 Dec 2016

Milestone 2

9 January 2017

Milestone 3

18 April 2017

End of

Project

Target

(19/2/19)

Assumptions

participants as effective..


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Annex C: Risk Matrix Table to be updated to reflect project risk. Programme Risk Assessment and Mitigation Matrix Very High High Medium Low

Potential Risk Risk Grading1

Description of risk Proposed Management and mitigation actions Probability Impact

A. Programme Management Risks

A1:Implementation delays due to hazards / risks at country level

M M

Possibility of political disruption or earthquake.

Tale all necessary precautions against getting caught up in political demonstrations. National strikes are common and may disrupt. Travel can always be problematic for various reasons.

A2: Financial fraud L M

Assumed that there is always the risk of corruption and fraud, but little opportunity in this project due to the funding mechanism. Majority of funding is not controlled by the consultant, DoLIDAR and LRBSU will be financing design, fabrication and construction

PM will be responsible for ensuring the sound financial management of the programme. This will be overseen by TRL support staff and TR. TRL have strong financial management and monitoring systems in place that will be relevant to the project. These measures will include: - Anti-bribery and anti-corruption undertakings in all supplier contracts - All staff aware how to detect and act on combat fraud and corruption issues - No suppliers used by TRL - Payments of expenses against original third party receipts only - Payments of fees against timesheets countersigned by the PM of the project - Payment of suppliers consistent with sub-contracts - Periodic independent audits of the Programme Funds

B. Risks associated with Research

B1.Commitment L M Lack of commitment from partners PMU have already got firm commitments from DoLIDAR and LRBSU

1

Probability = the likelihood of this risk occurring despite the management and mitigation activities being in place. Impact: = the effect on the ability of the programme to

achieve its objectives without major revision or review.


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Programme Risk Assessment and Mitigation Matrix Very High High Medium Low

Potential Risk Risk Grading1

Description of risk Proposed Management and mitigation actions Probability Impact

B2.Counterpart resources

L M

DoLIDAR and LRBSU have to provide resources for design, fabrication and assembly, out of the control of the consultant although consultant has to advise on procurement

Plan ahead and gain firm commitments of resources

B4. More work than expected

L M Heavy reliance on LRBSU to do the designs, we assume that this will be efficiently carried out, but risk of delays is there

Stay in close contact with LRBSU and DoLIDAR to flag up any issues early

B6. May be delays in fabrication or construction.

M M

Delays in fabrication or construction due to finance, materials procurement, political disruption or other issues. If not aligned with wet/dry seasons as programmed, could cause serious delays.

Liaise closely with partners and feed back any issues to PMU immediately


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Annex D: Bridges in Nepal

This Annex shows the actual roads and bridges network system of Nepal, summarised from meetings and current local documentation.

Western part


Page 31

Central part


Page 32

Eastern part

Kathmandu Valley Legend


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Annex E: Minutes of Kick-off Meeting Investigation of the Suitability of Pre-cast/Pre-fabricated modular bridges for rural roads in Nepal

– Pilot Study Project NEP2088A

Kick-off Meeting Minutes Date: 08 November, 2016 – 11.00am Venue: DoLIDAR Participants S.no. Name Designation Organisation

1 Ram Krishna Sapkota Director General DoLIDAR

2 Pawan Kumar Shrestha Deputy Director General DoLIDAR

3 Mohan Raj Chapagain Senior Divisional Engineer DoLIDAR

4 Amrit Shrestha Senior Divisional Engineer DoLIDAR

5 Jeevan Guragain Senior Divisional Engineer DoLIDAR

6 Binod Shakya Engineer DoLIDAR

7 Laxmi Narayan Uprety Under Secretary MoWCSW

8 Lokendra Malla SP Nepal Police

9 Khomraj Koirala Joint Secretary NPC

10 Shankar Sapkota Under Secretary (T) MOAD

11 Bala Ram Kandel Under Secretary MOFSC

12 Bijay Bahadur Swar Senior VP FNNTE

13 Chandra Shrestha RTM AsCAP

14 Jasper Cook ReCAP, TL ReCAP

15 Paul Kurmann CTA LRBSU

16 Robin Workman TL TRL

17 Milan Kominek Bridge Engineer Af-ITECO

18 Bishnu B. Shah TE (Local) NTDRC

Introduction and Presentation

1. Mohan Chapagain, SDE, DoLIDAR, Focal Person, for Re CAP/AsCAP welcomed the steering committee members and other participants. DG DoLIDAR, who is also chair of the steering committee chaired the meeting. All participants introduced themselves.

2. Chandra Shrestha introduced the TRL team and briefed about the research activities being undertaken.

Protection of Right of Way and its use: Helvetas has completed 1st phase and 2nd phase to start soon.

Modular bridges: our project- he indicated that this kick off meeting and further meetings of the team with DoLIDAR bridge section will assist the Team in defining the


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way to go ahead and clear understanding of the tasks. These meetings will also show way to initiate collaboration with "LRBP".

Dust suppression on Gravel roads in Terai, which will have similar meeting on 10th November, 2016.

3. Robin Workman introduced the team and presented an overview of the project. He highlighted the team’s understanding of the ToR and noted some issues where the team would be seeking clarity and information in order to allow them to produce the inception report. He proposed that a draft of the inception report would be produced by Friday 2nd December 2016, in time for the ReCAP steering committee meeting in Nepal. Following feedback and revision of the inception report the stakeholder workshop would be arranged, probably in early January 2017.

Discussion following the presentation: 4. Mohan Chapagain confirmed that DoLIDAR are looking for a modular design, which is cheap,

easier to construct and can be installed in a short time.

5. Amrit Shrestha noted that the main points to be considered are mass production, ease of transport to site, production off site vs. at site and quality control. He also expressed the view that steel structures are costlier, as well as being difficult to transport. He suggested considering smaller modules with a maximum of 7 tonnes in weight and a maximum length of 5m, in order to facilitate transport, especially in the hills. These are dictated by the capacity of lifting equipment available at site and trucks for transport.

6. Paul Kurmann informed that present data from DoLIDAR shows a requirement for up to 2,000 new bridges on rural roads; currently about 100-130 bridges have been constructed, 200-230 are under construction and designs of another 300 bridges are being undertaken. DoLIDAR has the capacity to build more than 100 bridges per year. The average cost is Rs 150,000 per m2. He suggested that the modular system may be feasible in the Terai, but is questionable for Hills. Steel bridges have maintenance problems, due to a lack of adequate galvanising available in Nepal. He also expressed that there may be limited options for substructures in modular designs.

7. Jasper Cook expressed the view that it is necessary to define key bridge environment variables and capabilities, whilst adopting a flexible approach. This could include contractors, site conditions, etc. Impact Factors should be identified. This project fits into a wider strategy, within the context of poverty and rural development. Key aspects are:

The research should be taken up by the country partners, after the results are complete

Cooperation is the key to success of research projects

The Inception report is vital and any suggestions or issues should be highlighted there

In summary research should be seen in the wider perspective of rural development. DoLIDAR should also consider the research, so that the output is integrated into partner's programme. For practical implementation of research findings cooperation and collaboration amongst partners is essential. The inception report will provide an opportunity to look into these matters.

8. Pawan K. Shrestha: The study should also consider the total demand and then determine the options for production of standard items off site. The study should also look into the need for different designs on the Terai and in the Hills. Pawan also suggested to investigate whether some components could be modular e.g. decks of motorable suspension bridges.


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The possibility of modular arch bridges (similar to those constructed by Chinese contractors on Mugling – Naranghat road) may be worth considering. The total construction period should be determined in terms of the benefits of off-site production and assembly at site.

9. Robin Workman: Expressed concern that only one design was specified in ToR but it may be necessary to produce more than one for the different environments. Jasper Cook confirmed that the consultant should concentrate on a modular bridge design approach rather than a single design and that flexibility is needed.

10. Khomraj Koirala (NPC): Mr. Koirala highlighted additional issues that the study should also consider:

The time and cost overruns are the main problems, how can they be minimised?

The socio-economic aspects, road safety, earthquake and diversity of terrain should be considered.

The possibility and effect of using local materials vs. imported material (e.g. concrete vs. steel) should be looked into during the cost benefit analysis.

Availability of local expertise and how to use it also has to be considered. He suggested maximising the local component.

He also suggested the blending of different options to come up with an ultimate solution.

11. Chandra Shrestha: Mr. Shrestha confirmed that the team is here to collect information and feedback from the participants, which will be reflected in the inception report. This will also cover the methodology and scope of the project. He suggested that DoLIDAR appoint a counterpart engineer and that a counterpart socio-economist is found from other partners, as DoLIDAR do not have one. He also suggested that DoLIDAR draft a tripartite agreement between themselves, LRBSU and ReCAP to define the commitments of each partner, plus LRBP can arrange a site visit for the Bridge Expert. The inception report should also recommend follow up actions and area where further research may be required.

12. Shankar Sapkota: Mr. Sapkota informed about the GoN's 20 year agriculture strategy 2016-2035 with total out lay of 130B Rs and outlay for this financial year of 6B Rs. The mechanisation of agriculture, and with it transport, will be a major requirement. This should be kept in mind during the study.

13. Ram Krishna Sapkota: In his concluding remarks Mr. Sapkota noted the high demand for bridges, more than 1,300, and their importance for connectivity. He confirmed that DoLIDAR will select a counterpart engineer within 2 to 3 days and inform the consultants. He also suggested that the draft MoU prepared by Mr. Chapagain will have to be reviewed and adjusted for the tripartite agreement.

He stressed that DoLIDAR want to use the results of the research for practical uses, so DoLIDAR will coordinate with the team and directed the team to further discuss with LRBP of DoLIDAR and LRBSU. He also thanked all SC members.


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Annex F: Minutes of Meeting with DoR Bridges Section

9th November 2016, 11.00am Robin, Milan & Bishnu

Mr. Saroj Pradhan

RSDP project within DoR – Maintenance and resilience of bridges (to earthquake)

Bridges in DoR, in the last 10-15 years DoR are building many more bridges, now they construct up to 250 bridges per year. Capacity of contractors is increasing, but is still not very good. There is a quality control and a capacity problem.

There is a knowledge gap in new bridge designs, DoR rely on traditional designs, so will be interested in new methods/systems. Time is also an issue. Bureaucracy can hold back progress of contracting etc.

DoR use simple RCC design for 15-30m spans. For 30-40m spans they can use prestressed. Above 40m they use box girders.

Concrete is preferred as maintenance is easier, it is cheaper and less imported materials are necessary. An RCC arch is also possible, or motorable suspension bridges. Cable stay is not used in Nepal. Foundations are usually open or well foundation. Bored piles can also be used.

Bridge inspection systems are not institutionalised but DoR have developed a system of inspection based on TRL Road Note 7a and 7b.

Road safety is also an issue with bridges so they all must have walkways.

Standard lengths are:

RCC – 15m, 20m, 25m

Prestressed – 30m, 35m, 40m

No pre-tensioned are used. Formwork quality is generally poor. Documentation is also a problem for them.

Mugling – Naryanghat road has examples of modular arch bridges (constructed by the Chinese), but this technology was not passed on to Nepal.

BIMP project ongoing (Bridge Improvement and Maintenance Project). Includes capacity building and will go on for another 5 years. Earthquake response, so bridges within 100km radius includes 400 bridges. 30% of problems are serious, but no bridges collapsed during the earthquake. Many bridges had minor problems, most of which have now been fixed. $400m are allocated for this.

Standard 7.5m width, 1.5 – 1.6M Rs per m.

Running surface, concrete or asphalt, isolation not used. Must have pedestrian walkway for road safety.

DoLIDAR designs bridges to Class A, DoR recommend designing to Class AA, as heavy traffic will use the bridges. Overloading is prevalent.

DoR have a structures lab, but don’t use it very much and it is not in good condition.


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Annex G: Minutes of Meeting with LRBSU

9/11/2016 in Man Bhawan, 2pm, Milan and Robin

With Paul Kurmann and LRBSU staff.

Phase 1: 2011 – 2016

Phase II: 2016 – 2017

Phase III: 2017 – not yet confimred

Developed strategy/policy for DoLIDAR

Most bridges are funded by DoLIDAR, but about 25 are funded by SDC through user groups. $70m / yr.

LRBP use 15% women, 86% of workers are DAGs.

Have BIMS (Bridge Information Management System). TBSU (Trail bridges – pedestrian) also involved.

Plate girder bridges are economical

LRBSU have good load testing facilities

Still issue with staff, consultants don’t retain and train staff, they just use independents from the ‘street’. Need a database of competent staff….

Concrete, M20 and M30 are OK, M40 can be challenging.

Have map of bridges, available online. Working in 64 of 75 districts. Changing to Federal States, so may affect DoLIDAR and will only be municipalities and VDCs (Village Development Councils).

Tripartite agreement necessary, DoLIDAR, ReCAP, LRBSU

(more in-depth discussions were held when the BE attended the field trip with Mr. Kurmann)


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Annex H: Supplementary Information

Local Roads Bridge Programme (LRBP) The LRBP of DoLIDAR has been successful in constructing a large amount of bridges in rural and remote locations. Below is shown a summary of the End of Phase report for the LRBP. END OF PHASE REPORT (EPR) Final Draft Phase-I (March 2011 to May 2016 AD)

Main National Partners: DoLIDAR/MoFALD on behalf of the GoN

Main International Partners: AF ITECO, Switzerland Management Team: AF ITECO constitutes the Local Roads Motorable Bridge Programme Support Unit (LRBSU), which is responsible to provide technical assistance (Planning, Budgeting, Technical, Social, Financial, Managerial, etc.) to the DDC and centre through Local Bridge Section (LBS), DoLIDAR on motorable bridge activities. OUTCOMES ACHIEVED In the last 5 years, LRBP has improved the accessibility of millions of people to resources and opportunities after construction of all-weather motorable roads and bridges. LRBP has successfully completed 124 bridges (above target of 80 bridges for 4 years) throughout the country in its Phase I, providing all weather access of 1896 kms road in addition. LESSONS LEARNED

In addition to its role of river crossing, motorable bridges make road assets serviceable throughout the year. The incomplete and poor quality of rural road networks, however raises the question of justifiable investment and maximum usability of bridge. Therefore, bridge should be selected in the maintained road. Strict selection process for the design and construction of new bridges has to be applied and followed.

Various development partners are coming forward in this sub sector. In order to make this more systematic and effective and at the same time to avoid the possibility of duplication, LRBSU has planned to provide One Window - Technical Assistance for the next phase. This approach embraces a single technical assistance for all development partners working on the motorable bridge sub-sector with the GoN.

LRBP phase II is started from 1st Jun 2016 for 9 months till 28 February 2017. LRBP phase III is expected to start from 1st March 2017 latest.

Phase Targets I Cumulative Achievement till July 2016

Additional 1400 kms of roads are operating all

year round because of the bridge built

2173 km of roads are operating all weather


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Increase in the number of people having access

to all weather road within 2 to 4 hrs of walk

Over 1200,000 of people in ZoI have access to all

weather roads

80 of Motorable (local road) bridges are built. 137 Bridges completed and provided TA to 302

under construction bridges in 64 districts.

Additional 60 bridges are designed for other

projects within DoLIDAR.

99 bridges - additional design/technical services

provided.

Some (20% of 80 bridges) bridges are piloted

with new design concepts, technologies.

New and innovative methodologies and

approaches are piloted and adopted.

Fixed frame bridge over Bishnumati River,

Kathmandu.

Pile foundation works initiated in Singhiya, Sotiya

and Gainadhap Bridges in Morang, Kanchanpur &

Chitwan.

Post tensioned girder bridge designed and under

implementation for Babiyachaur, Surkhet.

Trained central & local technical/ managerial

capacities are available and working for LBS.

Motorable Bridge technical norms and standards

and Guidelines are available.

Technical and social training Manuals targeting

district on local road bridges are available.

Preliminary National Inventory for Motorable

Bridges requirements is available.

541 technicians from DTOs/DoLIDAR were

trained.

With the support from LRBSU, LBS are providing

designing support.

Type designs of RCC, Composite steel plate

Girders are prepared.

Motorable Bridge Manuals and Guidelines are

available.

BSPC integrated in BIMS and over 2168 bridges

and 644 records are entered with BSPC score.

Construction companies and consulting firms are

available for bridge constriction works.

4 Educational institute adopt bridge building in

their Engineering syllabus.

Contractors and Consulting firms’ technical

personnel were trained and following bridge

design and construction supervision works/

guidelines prepared by LRBSU.


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Kul Khola Bridge - Composite steel plate girder bridge in use

RCC Bridge-Inclined Girder Type initiated in Sapsu Khola, Khotang district


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Expected Targets for Phase II and III

Additional 4,150 kms of roads will be operating all weather, after construction and completion of additional 245 bridges.

Adaptation of BSPC and BIMS enhanced.

Concept of modular bridge will be initiated.

Bridge designs more uniform and improved by following: o Developed norms and standards o BSPC applied o Construction supervision Manual/Checklist o Guideline for detail survey o Standard BOQ for bridges o Uniform rate analysis system for bridges o Guideline for hydrology and geo-techniques

Preliminary/ Detail design and Design Verification of 100 bridges.

400 carryover bridges will be supervised on construction (TA).

60 Additional design services for other programme.

Bridge related trainings to DTO / DoLIDAR, Contractors, Consultants and Educational Institutes technical staff.

Pre-stressed girder and inclined steel with pre-fabricated concrete elements for the slab initiated and will be adopted for more bridges.


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Annex I: Approach Paper on the adaptation of pre stressed pre-cast modular bridges Adaptation of pre stressed pre-cast (pspc) modular bridge construction technology in local roads network bridges

About 50,000 Km of roads in the local roads network of the country need about 5,000 bridges in river crossings of various sizes.

In order to improve the roads network, bridges play pivotal role in the overall socio economic development of the people. The majority of the rural communities are still suffering from the poor transport facilities due to shortage of bridges in the crossings.

The geographical topography of the country demands a bridge in every 10 km of road. Out of the total roads network, only 10000 km is estimated to be all weathered. Most of the roads built so far are not pliable throughout the year partly due to lack of proper maintenance and partly due to lack of reliable motorable river crossings.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD), Department of Local Infrastructures and Agricultural Roads (DoLIDAR) has initiated the construction of bridges in local motorable roads through the support of various donor agencies.

At present about 60 bridges constructed every year under DOLIDAR and local authorities. At this pace, the total bridges numbering to 5,000 with require more than 80 years and the total cost at present net value will exceed more than 200,000 million rupees. To accomplish this task, 250 bridges need to be completed every year and the total annual expenditure will be more than 10,000 million. To allocate this amount is rather not possible at this stage of development in the country.

Time consumed for the completion of the bridge construction within DOLIDAR is more than 2 years. It is observed that quality control in bridge construction is also a challenging job. The technical manpower in the districts is limited and their professional competency also needs to be enhanced to a large extent. Similarly, in the rural areas, the contractors are also not qualified enough to accomplish the assigned jobs.

On one hand, the government aims to accelerate the pace of bridge construction but in other way, problems associated with technology and management has negative impact on the overall performance of the projects.

Transportation of material, used construction technology, proper supervision and monitoring, quality control, design and specification, cost and shortage of skilled manpower are some of the issues to be well addressed.

There is a felt need that for rapid completion of quality bridge construction in rural road network, there is a need for new approach and policies to be adopted.

The major objective of the study is to formulate an appropriate approach to be taken for the introduction of Pre-stressed Pre-cast Modular Bridge Construction Technology in Local Roads Network.


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Annex J: Review of Current Situation in Nepal With the increased number of Non-SRN roads being built in Nepal, the number of bridges to be constructed is going to rise drastically in the future years. As most of the bridges built by DoLIDAR are rural bridges, they are mostly less than 50 m length, but the number of bridges is high. Until now all bridges are built using traditional methods, which are NOT economical and take a long time for construction. Therefore the bridge construction industry needs to adopt faster and more economical methods for building rural bridges. In this regard, pre-cast pre-stressed bridge structures could be one of the best solutions.

Current Bridge Construction in Nepal

As per the records of DoLIDAR, the number of bridges that have been completed, are under construction and are in the process of design is shown below in Table 1 and Table 2.

Completed

RCC Steel Truss

<=25 m

span

25-50m =>50 m <=25 m span 25-50m =>50 m

Local Bridge Section ,

DOLIDAR

4 7 2 4 0 0

LRBP-DDC 1 4 2 0 0 0

RRRSDP 1 0 0 0 0 0

Under Construction

RCC Steel Truss

<=25 m

span

25-50m =>50 m <=25 m

span

25-50m =>50 m

Local Bridge Section, JICA

(CAIP)

9 10 7 0 3 1

LRBP-DDC 11 24 9 0 2 1

LRBP-DOLIDAR 0 0 5 0 2 0

RRRSDP 4 2 0 6

RAIDP 2 3

DRILP 5

In addition to this, there are around 164 bridges being designed under DoLIDAR which are at various stages of completion.


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Prevailing Practices in Local Roads Bridge Construction in Nepal

In the present context, most of the bridges built are either Steel bridges or Cast in situ RCC bridges. Steel bridges are more expensive and also very difficult to transport to the required site, considering the difficult terrain of rural roads in Nepal. Even though pre-stressed bridges were built back in 1970 in Nepal, their use has been very limited due to lack of technology transfer and human capacity of the local firms/human resources


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Annex K: Examples of Recent Projects and Standard Drawings Below are shown examples of current bridge technology used recently in Nepal.

1. Bishnumati Bridge, Kathmandu

Integral bridge structure

2. Thosne Khola Bridge

Steel truss bridge


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3. Balkhu Khola Bridge

Reinforced concrete, cast-in-place bridge


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Annex L: Superstructure Standard Drawings Below are shown some standard drawings for different spans:

A: Reinforced concrete, cast-in-place T-beam bridges, spans 12 – 25 m

Examples for span 20 m:

PREPARED BY :

SUPER STRUCTURE STANDARD DRAWINGm

HALF SECTIONAL PLAN

HALF SECTIONAL ELEVATION

m

m


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Ø

SUPERSTRUCTURE CROSS SECTION

m

MAIN GIRDER REINFORCEMENT DETAILS

Ø Ø Ø

ØØØ

Ø

Ø

Ø

ØØ

Ø

Ø

GIRDER DETAILS AT A-A

m

m

m

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

ØØ

GIRDER DETAILS AT B-B GIRDER DETAILS AT C-C


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B: Composite steel-concrete, single or double lane, spans 30 – 45 m

Examples for double lane, span 35 m:

SUPER STRUCTURE STANDARD DRAWINGS

Government of Nepal

Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development

Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads

(DoLIDAR)

Shree Mahal,Pulchowk, Laltitpur

: 35m

C:\Users\Administrator.GIS\Desktop\work station\LRBP CAD STANDARDS\logos\Nepal_gov_logo.png

C:\Users\Administrator.GIS\Desktop\work station\LRBP CAD STANDARDS\logos\SDC_LOGO.jpg

T:\Logos\Logos\Nepal_gov_logo.jpg

T:\Logos\Logos\LRBP-Sticker-2013.jpg

T:\Logos\SDC_LOGO.jpg

KEY TOP PLAN

KEY BOTTOM PLAN

KEY ELEVATION SECTION (SIDE GIRDER)


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CROSS SECTION AT END SUPPORTS

m

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

ØØ

Ø Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

SECTION AT A-A

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

Ø

m


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C: Prestressed concrete, cast-in-situ, Double-beam, spans 30 – 40 m

Examples for double lane plus footpaths, span 35 m:


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Annex M: Design concepts for consideration


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PRELIMINARY CONCEPTS OF PRECAST CONCRETE BRIDGE STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS

MAXIMAL TRANSPORTATION LIMITS

BRIDGES OF SPAN 35 – 40 m and longer

STRUCTURAL TYPE: PRECAST PRESTRESSED CONCRETE SEGMENTAL BOX BEAM

SEGMENTATION

HORIZONTAL

(see Alternative 2)

Each segment is assembled from top and bottom part. Segment is

completed on site using vertical prestressing bars. Vertical prestressing

ensures the cross-section integration and horizontal shear stress transfer.

Additional shear keys, number and diameter of bars will be specified

according to structural design calculation. Joints are match casted and

epoxy glued.

VERTICAL

TRANSVERSAL PLANES

Completed segments are assembled on site typically on fixed formwork.

Joints are match casted and epoxy glued, temporary prestressing by bars is

needed to produce minimum compressive stress in joint. Additional shear

keys, number and diameter of temporary bars will be specified according

to structural design calculation.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS

Structural type suitable for spans from ca 35 m up to ca 75 m. Height of segments will be

approximately from 2,0 m to 3,5 m. When transport constraints are less limiting then minimal,

segment length can be expanded up to 2,0 – 2,5 m to cut down labour on site and horizontal

segmentation can be avoided. Beside simple spans, bridges with more spans either continuous or

multi-span can be designed in this system. Smaller spans are possible but they are limited by the

need of space for inspection.

FUTURE TRENDS

Heavy components are the most limiting issue together with complicated and skilled labour

demanding on site erection. Lightening of segments is the task for future experimental and


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analytical development. Using HPC or UHPFRC can reduce weight significantly, allowing production

and transport of complete segments with the length more than 2 metres. Acceleration and cost of

construction process can compensate higher material price.

EXAMPLE - CONCEPT OF SINGLE-LANE BRIDGE OF SPAN 40 m

Complete segments á 1,0 m

SEGMENT DATA:

Length ≈ 5,5 m

Width ≈ 1,0 m

Height ≈ 2,4 m

Weight ≈ 8 t

Horizontally divided segments á 1,6 m

Assembly principles

SEGMENT DATA:

Top part

Length ≈ 5,5 m

Width ≈ 1,6 m

Height ≈ 0,6 m

Weight ≈ 6 t

Bottom part

Length ≈ 3,3 m

Width ≈ 1,6 m

Height ≈ 1,9 m

Weight ≈ 7 t

Alternative 2


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Completed segment

Side view on bridge structure

BRIDGES OF SPAN 25 – 35 m and shorter

STRUCTURAL TYPE: PRECAST PRESTRESSED CONCRETE SEGMENTAL DOUBLE-T BEAMS

SEGMENTATION

VERTICAL

TRANSVERSAL PLANES

Complete segments are assembled on site typically on fixed formwork.

Joints are match casted and epoxy glued, temporary prestressing by bars is

needed to produce minimum compressive stress in joint. Additional shear

keys, number and diameter of temporary bars will be specified according

to structural design calculation.

Three different types of segments must be produced for each span:

- Abutment segment with constant width of beams and with cross beam,

- Transitive segment – always next to abutment segment,

- Standard segment with lightened beams.

POSSIBLE OPTIONS

Structural type suitable for spans from ca 25 m up to ca 35 m. Height of beams will be approximately


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from 1,45 m to 2,0 m. When transport constraints are less limiting then minimal, segment length

can be expanded up to 2,0 – 2,5 m to cut down labour on site.

Optionally double beams can be divided by vertical longitudinal plane to two separate beams,

connected by casted in place joint, preferably of UHPFRC, to reduce bond lengths.

Beside simple spans, bridges with more spans either continuous or multi-span can be designed in

this system.

By reducing height, the similar T-beam precast girder can be derived for smaller spans ca 12 – 25 m

using capacity of precast plants.

Such beams can be produced and transported in whole length when most favourite site approach

conditions are available.

FUTURE TRENDS

Heavy components are the most limiting issue. Lightening of double beam segments is the task for

future experimental and analytical development. Using HPC or UHPFRC can reduce weight

significantly, allowing production and transport of double beam segments with the length more

than 2 metres, or single beams of length 6,0 m or more. Acceleration and cost of construction

process can compensate higher material price.


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EXAMPLE - CONCEPT OF SINGLE-LANE BRIDGE OF SPAN 30 m

Double T-beams

Abutment segment

SEGMENT DATA:

Length ≈ 5,5 m

Width ≈ 1,0 m

Height ≈ 2,0 m

Weight ≈ 7 t

Standard segment

SEGMENT DATA:

Length ≈ 5,5 m

Width ≈ 1,2 m

Height ≈ 2,0 m

Weight ≈ 7 t

Side view on bridge structure

Alternative option - longitudinal joint with UHPFRC


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Alternative option - longitudinal joints with UHPFRC – 2 and more lanes

Alternative bridge span 12 – 30 m.


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Annex N: Review of modular bridge types The following are the results of the literature review and desk study, as presented at the kick-off meeting in Kathmandu on 8th November, 2016.


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