DAMAGE TO ROAD BRIDGES INDUCED BY GROUND MOTION IN THE 2011 GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

Abstract

In the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, many civil infrastructures were heavily damaged by the tsunami, but most structures designed with post-1990 code were not damaged by ground motion. However, unretrofitted road bridges designed with pre-1980 code were damaged and it should be noted that some bridges designed with post-1995 code were severely damaged. In this earthquake, cracks in elastomeric bearings were observed in a wide region in the east part of Japan, and rupture of elastomeric bearings occurred in some bridges. This paper summarizes the characteristics of damage to road bridges induced by ground motion, especially focusing on damage to the rubber bearings of bridges.