Optimal transverse position for overweight trucks to cross simply supported multi-girder bridges

Recent years has witnessed a steady increase in the issued overweight vehicle permits. Damage and deterioration of bridges caused by overweight vehicles have received increasing attention. Most previous studies on overweight vehicles have focused on the routing and weight regulation of overweight trucks while little attention has been paid to the determination of the optimal transverse position for overweight trucks to cross highway bridges. This article aims to investigate the optimal transverse position for overweight trucks to cross the simply supported multi-girder bridges and provide suggestions for the management of overweight vehicles. Finite element analysis is performed for a group of prefabricated concrete bridges commonly used in China under the action of overweight trucks with varying transverse positions, and the optimal transverse position is determined based on the maximum bending stress of the girders. The effects of a few important factors, including the superstructure configuration, length of bridge spans, number of girders, type of girder connections, and support conditions, on the optimal transverse truck position are also investigated. The findings in this article highlight the importance of the transverse position of overweight trucks when crossing multi-girder bridges.