Bridge Drainage

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Drainage Design Standards British Standards

BS 5400: Part 2: Specification for Loads
BS 8002: Code of Practice for Earth Retaining Structures
BS 8004: Foundations

Design Manual for Roads and Bridges

BD30: Backfilled Retaining Walls and Bridge Abutments
BD37: Loads for Highway Bridges
BA42: The Design of Integral Bridges

Drainage Systems

The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges BD 30/87 requires surface water to be drained away from earth retaining structures or backfill.
Any water percolating through the fill is collected in a perforated drainpipe, not less than 150mm diameter, which is located at the rear of the vertical stem of the wall at the level of the top of the footing. Access to the pipe should be provided for rodding purposes from inspection manholes positioned at the foot of the wall. Weep holes are often provided as a safeguard in the event that the drainpipe is blocked; they also provide a visual check that the system is working.
Unless the backfill to the wall is highly permeable then a vertical drainage layer is provided at the rear of the wall and is connected with the perforated drainpipe.
The vertical permeable layer may take the form of any of the following:

Precast hollow concrete blocks.
Cast insitu porous no fines concrete.
Granular drainage layer.

Special consideration to the drainage layer is required when the backfill contains materials susceptible to piping such as silt, chalk or PFA. Under these conditions then a granular drainage layer only is recommended; hollow blocks or no fines concrete are unsuitable.

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