# AASHTO 3rd Edition



## machine (Jan 17, 2008)

Has anyone used the 3rd Edition? I know very little about bridge design, and have always struggled w/ this portion of the PE Test. It appears to me that the 3rd edition is signifacntly different than the past edition. Are the old study manuals useless now? I have the bridge reveiw book, and the SERM both reference the old edition. Anyone else see this as a stumbling block?

Thank you


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## ldu571 (Jan 17, 2008)

I haven't used this design edition either. There is a book titled, "Design of Highway Bridges: An LRFD Approach by Richard M. Barker and Jay A. Puckett" that has good reviews by "real" bridge designers. I work on buildings so my bridge experience is really limited.

Instead of buying the 3rd edition I thought about getting this book. It's about half as much and might explain some of the methodologies better than the code alone. (My office doesn't have any AASHTO books.) Any thoughts from anyone?


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## MA_PE (Jan 17, 2008)

The AASHTO LRFD bridge design code is pretty huge. There is no substitute for having the code available to you. 3rd Edition is not the latest so you might be able to find a copy cheap. I'd recommend it. My 0.02


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## machine (Jan 18, 2008)

I ended up finding a copy of the 3rd Edition, but the prices to buy one are still steep. I will look into the reference book you stated, I am having a tough time studying for that portion of the test and I could use some bridge questions on my side as opposed to the other way around.


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## MA_PE (Jan 18, 2008)

machine said:


> I ended up finding a copy of the 3rd Edition, but the prices to buy one are still steep. I will look into the reference book you stated, I am having a tough time studying for that portion of the test and I could use some bridge questions on my side as opposed to the other way around.


I'd recommend that you be familiar with the way that live loads are distributed to bridge deck slabs, griders and stringers. Also peruse the contents and note the level of detail in the section headings. There may be questions dealing with relatively obscure provisions for special conditions. Then wording of the question will lead you directly to the section (say shear connections for example) and it might have a very simple and explicit answer that is stated in the code. these types of questions you will only get if you have the code with you.

Also, I'd recommend having an understanding of the seismic provisions especially the simplified methods. Based on the "6-minute" rule the questions really cannot be very complex, but you need to understand the methodology and fundamental check procedures.

Hope this helps.


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## djsarata (Feb 15, 2008)

MA_PE said:


> I'd recommend that you be familiar with the way that live loads are distributed to bridge deck slabs, griders and stringers. Also peruse the contents and note the level of detail in the section headings. There may be questions dealing with relatively obscure provisions for special conditions. Then wording of the question will lead you directly to the section (say shear connections for example) and it might have a very simple and explicit answer that is stated in the code. these types of questions you will only get if you have the code with you.
> Also, I'd recommend having an understanding of the seismic provisions especially the simplified methods. Based on the "6-minute" rule the questions really cannot be very complex, but you need to understand the methodology and fundamental check procedures.
> 
> Hope this helps.


I have a copy of the 3rd edition but without the 2005 &amp; 2006 interim revisions. Any thoughts on how I can track down just the interim revisions?

By the way, AASHTO made this reference available here: https://bookstore.transportation.org/Item_d...ls.aspx?id=1179

Steep at $240!

Daniel...


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## ldu571 (Feb 28, 2008)

ldu571 said:


> I haven't used this design edition either. There is a book titled, "Design of Highway Bridges: An LRFD Approach by Richard M. Barker and Jay A. Puckett" that has good reviews by "real" bridge designers. I work on buildings so my bridge experience is really limited.
> Instead of buying the 3rd edition I thought about getting this book. It's about half as much and might explain some of the methodologies better than the code alone. (My office doesn't have any AASHTO books.) Any thoughts from anyone?


Okay, so I bought the book by Barker and I have to say it's kind of disappointing. I wanted a bridge design text book with examples. And while there are some examples it doesn't appear to be that helpful so far. I am still getting the new LRFD codebook.


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## MA_PE (Feb 28, 2008)

djsarata said:


> I have a copy of the 3rd edition but without the 2005 &amp; 2006 interim revisions. Any thoughts on how I can track down just the interim revisions?
> By the way, AASHTO made this reference available here: https://bookstore.transportation.org/Item_d...ls.aspx?id=1179
> 
> Steep at $240!
> ...


boy that really stinks.

You might try calling AASHTO and explaining that you only need the interims. Maybe they have them on PDF that they could sell you cheaply. Good luck.


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## vane_gator (Mar 3, 2008)

Does anyone know how the Interim 2005 and 2006 affect the Concrete and Steel sections? As far as I can tell, the Interim for Concrete covers strut and tie and seismic? Are the interims supposed to subsitute those sections?


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