Bridge Design Manual LRFD
This manual has been prepared to provide Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) bridge design engineers with a guide to the design criteria, analysis methods, and detailing procedures for the preparation of highway bridge and structure construction plans, specifications, and estimates.
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Bridge Design Manual Memorandums
Bridge design memorandums are issued as interim updates to the Bridge Design Manual.
Active design memorandums supersede the contents of the Bridge Design Manual and are currently in force. View Active Bridge Design Manual memorandums.
Inactive memorandums provide historical context and background on design policies incorporated into the Bridge Design Manual. View Inactive Bridge Design Manual memorandums.
Individual Chapters
Contents (PDF 278KB)
Foreword (PDF 96KB)
Chapter 1 General Information (PDF 1.0MB)
Chapter 2 Preliminary Design (PDF 3.6MB)
Chapter 3 Loads (PDF 906KB)
Chapter 4 Seismic Design and Retrofit (PDF 4.7MB)
Chapter 5 Concrete Structures (PDF 18.2MB)
Chapter 6 Structural Steel (PDF 2.2MB)
Chapter 7 Substructure Design (PDF 2.4MB)
Chapter 8 Walls and Buried Structures (PDF 3.0MB)
Chapter 9 Bearings and Expansion Joints (PDF 1.5MB)
Chapter 10 Sign, Barriers, Approach Slabs, and Utilities (PDF 8.6MB)
Chapter 11 Detailing Practice (PDF 1.4MB)
Chapter 12 Quantities, Costs, and Specifications (PDF 2.5MB)
Chapter 13 Bridge Load Rating (PDF 1.9MB)
Chapter 14 Accelerated and Innovative Bridge Construction (PDF 2.5MB)
Chapter 15 Structural Design Requirements for Design-Build Contracts (PDF 1.5MB)
Revision History
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M 23-50.01 February 2007
November 2006
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April 2005
August 2002
166,800 electric vehicle
registrations in Washington in 2023, up from 114,600 in 2022.
87 wetland compensation sites
actively monitored on 918 acres in 2023.
25,000 safe animal crossings
in the Snoqualmie Pass East Project area since 2014.