Design and Construction of Prestressed Concrete Balanced Cantilever Bridges

Balanced cantilever concrete bridges have recently been widely used in mid and long-span bridges. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the development and design of prestressed concrete balanced cantilever (PCBC) bridges, focusing on research related to real case studies of both precast and cast-in-place box-girder bridges investigated through finite element modeling (FEM) or field measurements. The research strategy targeted peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports published over the last two decades in major engineering databases. Construction methods, design methodology, and structural behavior of this type of bridge are discussed, alongside key findings on long-term response, dynamic performance, and reliability. The long-term response due to shrinkage, creep, and cable relaxation is discussed, as well as the different design models used to predict the long-term behavior of such concrete bridges. Historical developments and case studies are synthesized alongside numerical analyses and field measurements to evaluate the accuracy of existing prediction models. Reviewed studies indicate that neglecting the construction stage analysis leads to significant underestimation of deflections and bending moments. In addition, available prediction models without calibration are not accurate in determining the long-term response of this type of bridge, especially deflection, when compared with field measurements, yielding only 21% to 61% agreement with the observed deflections, calculated as normalized prediction / measurement ratios. The importance of using long-term monitoring systems in PCBC bridges is recommended for more accurate predictions and validation of design methodology.