2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.

 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
444 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 249
Washington, DC 20001
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www.transportation.org

2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is
a violation of applicable law.

ISBN: 978-1-56051-495-4 Pub Code: GVCB-2-I1

2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 INTERIM EDITION TO THE GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS AND
INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION

General
AASHTO has issued proposed interim revisions to Guide Specifications and Commentary for Vessel Collision Design
of Highway Bridges, Second Edition (2009). This packet contains the revised pages. They are not designed to replace
the corresponding pages in the book but rather to be kept with the book for fast reference.

Affected Articles
Underlined text indicates revisions that were approved in 2010 by the AASHTO Highways Subcommittee on Bridges
and Structures. Strikethrough text indicates any deletions that were likewise approved by the Subcommittee. A list of
affected articles is included below.
All interim pages are printed on blue paper to make the changes stand out when inserted in the second edition binder.
They also have a page header displaying the section number affected and the interim publication year. Please note that
these pages may also contain nontechnical (e.g. editorial) changes made by AASHTO publications staff; any changes of
this type will not be marked in any way so as not to distract the reader from the technical changes.
Please note that in response to user concerns, page breaks are now being added within sections between
noncontiguous articles. This change makes it an option to insert the changes closer to the affected articles.

Table i2010 Changed Articles

SECTION 2: SYMBOLS AND DEFINITIONS

SECTION 3: GENERAL PROVISIONS

3.7 3.12 C3.12 3.13

SECTION 4: DESIGN VESSEL SELECTION

4.5 4.8.3.4

iii
2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 INTERIM EDITION TO THE GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS AND
SECTION 2 COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

SECTION 2: SYMBOLS AND DEFINITIONS

Delete the following notation:

BB = barge width as defined in Article 3.13 (ft)

Modify the following notation:

RB = ratio of barge width as defined in Equation 3.13-1; PA correction factor for bridge location as defined in
Equations 4.8.3.2-1 and 4.8.3.2-2a through 4.8.3.2-2c (dimensionless)

1
2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 INTERIM EDITION TO THE GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS AND
SECTION 3 COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

SECTION 3: GENERAL PROVISIONS

3.7Design Impact Speed

Figure 3.7-1Design Impact Speed

Revise the following variable under Figure 3.7.1:

VT = design impact speed transit speed in channel (ft/s)

3
2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 INTERIM EDITION TO THE GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS AND
SECTION 3 COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

3.12BARGE COLLISION FORCE ON PIER

Modify the following variables definitions under the where list:

PB = equivalent static barge impact force (kips), and

BB = barge width (ft), and

C3.12
Add the following paragraph to the end of this Article:

Since the barge collision load formulation is for a standard rake head log height of 2 to 3 ft., the possibility of
deeper head logs that may occur in tanker barges and special deck barges should be considered. In lieu of better
information, the barge force may be increased in proportion to the head log height compared to that of the standard rake
head log height.

Revise and renumber Eq. C3.12.1-1a as follows:

For aB < 0.1 m,

PB 60 aB , in MB (C3.12.11a)

For aB < 0.1 m,

PB 60 aB , in MN (C3.12-1a)

Revise and renumber Eq. C3.12.1-1b as follows:

For aB 0.1 m,
PB 6 1.6 aB , in MB (C3.12.1-1b)

For aB 0.1 m,
PB 6 1.6 aB , in MN (C3.12-1b)

Renumber Eq. C3.12.1-2a as Eq. C3.12-2a:

(C3.12.1-2a)

Renumber Eq. C3.12.1-2b as Eq. C3.12-2b:

(C3.12.1-2b)

5
2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 INTERIM EDITION TO THE GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS AND
SECTION 3 COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

3.13BARGE BOW DAMAGE DEPTH

Revise Eq. 3.13-1 as follows:

KE
1/2 10.2
aB = 1+ 1 (3.13-1)
5672 R B

KE
1/2
aB = 1+ 1 (10.2) (3.13-1)
5672

Modify the following variables definitions under the where list:

aB = barge bow damage depth (ft), and

KE = barge collision energy (kip-ft), and.

BB
RB = ratio of where BB = barge width (ft).
35

7
2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 INTERIM EDITION TO THE GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS AND
SECTION 4 COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

SECTION 4: DESIGN VESSEL SELECTION

4.5Impact Distribution
Revise paragraph 3 as follows:

The LOA shall be based on the dimension of a vessel selected in accordance with Method I criteria in Article 4.7.2.
The LOA for impact distribution is the same dimension used in Article 3.7 for vessel impact speed and is a constant for
Methods I, II, and III each vessel category in the design fleet. For barge tows, LOA shall be equal to the combined
length of all barges in the tow plus the length of the tug/tow vessel as shown in Figure 3.5.1-2.

9
2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 2010 INTERIM EDITION TO THE GUIDE SPECIFICATIONS AND
SECTION 4 COMMENTARY FOR VESSEL COLLISION DESIGN OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES

4.8.3.4Probability of Collapse (PC)

Revise Eq. 4.8.3.4-1b as follows:

H
PC = 1 (4.8.3.4-1b)
P

H (4.8.3.4-1b)
PC 1 (0.111)
P

11
2010 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.