Designers have experienced limitations when using existing precast, prestressed concrete /-girders in continuous span bridges. The Nebraska University (NU) girder series was recently developed to overcome these limitations and to take advantage of recent advances in precast concrete production technology. The girder was developed in "hard" metric units for optimal performance in a two-span bridge with full-length continuity post-tensioning. In addition, the girder performs well for pretensioned systems with continuity achieved by mild steel reinforcement in the cast-in-place deck, and in simple span applications. The NU girder has a wide bottom flange to enhance the compressive strength in negative moment regions for continuous span designs, and to allow placement of a large number f strands in the bottom flange for simple span designs. This is particularly helpful when high strength concrete is used. The relatively long span capability and shallow depth of the NU girder makes it an economical alternative in situations previously reserved for structural steel girder systems. This paper presents a short history of precast, prestressed concrete bridge /-girder development, the procedure undertaken to develop the NU girder series, performance comparisons with several existing standard girder shapes, and the steps taken by the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) to implement the research results.
