03 - Par A - Bridges PDF

Specifications RVNL
CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES
1.0 All Bridge Works shall be designed and constructed as per the
Specifications and Codes of practice mentioned below as amended
from time to time till the date of opening of Tender.
(i) Indian Railways Standard Code of practice for Plain, Reinforced

and Prestressed Concrete for General Bridge Construction
(Concrete Bridge Code), read in conjunction with Indian Standard
Specification mentioned therein.
(ii) Indian Railways Standard Code of practice for the design of sub
structures and foundation of Bridges (Bridge Sub structure and
foundation code)
(iii) Rules specifying the loads for designing the superstructure and
sub structure of bridges and for assessing the strength of
existing bridges (Bridge Rules).
(iv) IS 456 – 2000 Plain and Reinforced Concrete – Code of practice.
(v) Indian Railways Permanent Way Manual.
(vi) Indian Railways Bridge Manual.
(vii) Indian Railways Works Manual.
(viii) Indian Railways Standard Code of Practice for the design of Steel
or Wrought Iron Bridges carrying Rail, Road or Pedestrian Traffic
(Steel Bridge Code).
(ix) IS 800 – 1984 - Code of practice for General Constructions in

Steel.
(x) Indian Railways Schedule of Dimensions 1676 mm gauge BG

(Revised 2004)
(xi) UIC Code 772 – R Specifications for Elastomeric Bearings.
2.0 SETTING OUT

2.1 The methods to be adopted for verifying the details of bench marks and
alignment pillars established by the Employer at discrete intervals of lengths
all along the length of the proposed double line and establishment of working
bench marks and alignment references by the Contractor and getting them
checked by the Engineer has been dealt in detail in Para 1 of Section B
(Specification for Earth work)
Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 1 of 161

Specifications RVNL
2.2 Alignment for Bridges
2.2.1 In order to facilitate the setting out of work, the centre line of the bridge
must be accurately established by the contractor and got approved by
the Engineer.
2.3 Survey Tower
For carrying out accurate survey work, survey tower shall be built one
on each bank and one inside the river where required and possible.
The tower shall be built in duplicate, securely founded and braced, the
inner tower shall support the instrument only and the outer shall
support the observer. The two towers should be entirely independent of
each other. The height of the tower shall not be less than the pier
height. The contractor shall be solely responsible for planning and
erection of suitable types of towers, which should be maintained
throughout the construction period.
3.0 PAINTING ON BRIDGES
Permanent markers like Bridge number, Direction of flow, Bridge

Plaques, Bridge Boards, Flood Gauges, HFL, Danger level etc. shall be
provided as per Indian Railway Standards by the Contractor without
any payment. Contract cost shall be treated to have included the cost
of these items.
1. The date of painting of steel work should be painted in white on

the outside of the left girder of the first span. In the case of
important girder bridges, the left girder at each end should bear
the date of painting.
2. The highest flood level line should be painted distinctly by a

25mm broad white line along with the year of its occurrence, in
figures 100mm deep as follows:
a) For bridges upto 60 metres in length, on the downstream

side of one abutment.
b) For bridges over 60 metres in length, on each of the
abutments on the down stream side or on the down
stream side of the piers of the end spans.
c) For buried type abutments, on the piers near the end
spans.

Specifications RVNL
3. At important bridges, flood level gauges should be provided on
abutments or on piers of the end spans. The marking should be
in metres divided into ten parts commencing from the underside
of the girders towards the bed. The marking and the figures
should be painted in black on white background. Where
necessary, piers and abutments may be plastered with cement
mortar 380 mm wide for providing the gauges. The HFL mark in
white paint should be made by the side of the gauge.
4. The direction of flow should be distinctly marked in white on an

abutment or pier.
5. Plaques showing particulars of foundations should be fixed over

every abutment and pier in accordance with instructions
contained in Annexure 11/7 of Indian Railways Bridge Manual -
1998.
6. Name boards at important bridges should be fixed at either

approach at a distance of about 15 metres from the abutment
indicating the name of the river and the number and length of
spans.
7. Plaques containing Bridge numbers and indicating direction of

flow should be provided on parapet wall as detailed in Annexure
2/1 of Indian Railways Bridge Manual -1998.
8. At all canal crossing, the full supply level should be marked

distinctly in the same way as the HFL line for other bridges.
9. Danger level should be distinctly marked in red.
4.0 RATE
All the above mentioned items of work are incidental to the construction
work and shall not be paid separately unless specifically mentioned in
Bill of Quantities.
5.0 OTHERS
5.1 Precaution during progress of works
During the execution of works, unless otherwise specified the

contractor shall at his own cost provide the materials for and execute
all shoring, timbering and strutting works or any other temporary works
as is necessary for the stability and safety of all structures, excavations
and works and shall ensure that no damage, injury or loss is caused or
likely to be caused to any person or property.

Specifications RVNL
5.2 Roads and Water Courses
Existing roads or water courses shall not be blocked, cut through,

altered, diverted or obstructed in any way by the Contractor, except
with the permission of the Engineer. All compensations claimed for
any unauthorised closure, cutting through, alteration, diversion or
obstruction to such roads or water courses by the Contractor or his
agent staff shall be recoverable from the Contractor by deduction from
any sums which may become due to him in terms of contract, or
otherwise according to law.
5.3 Provision of access to premises
During progress of work in any street or thorough fare, the Contractor

shall make adequate provision for the passage of traffic, for securing
safe access to all premises approached from such street or through
fare and for any drainage, water supply or means of lighting which may
be interrupting by reason of the execution of the works and shall react
and maintain at his own cost barriers, lights and other safeguards as
prescribed by the Engineer, for the regulation of the traffic, and provide
watchmen necessary to prevent accidents. The works shall in such
cases be executed night and day if so ordered by the Engineer and
with such vigour so that the traffic may be impeded for as short a time
as possible.
5.4 Safety of Public
The contractor shall be responsible to take all precautions at its own

cost to ensure the safety of the public whether on public or Railway
property and shall post such look out men as may in the opinion of the
Engineer be required to comply with regulations appertaining to the
work.
5.5 Operational safety
The work to be executed is in proximity of the running railway track.

The contractor will be required to observe all precautions and carryout
all works that may be necessary to ensure the safety of the running
track/trains etc. without imposition of any speed restriction thereon as
may be directed by the engineer or his authorised representative. No
claim whatsoever will be entertained for either any inconvenience
caused to the contractor or for the re-scheduling of the operations or
for any other reasons on this account. The contractor shall ensure that
the materials are not stacked close to the railway track, which may
endanger the safety of trains and workmen.

Specifications RVNL
5.6 Rates for items of works
The rates entered in the accepted Schedule of Rates of the Contract

are intended to provide for works duly and properly completed in
accordance with the general and special (if any) conditions of the
contract and the specifications and drawing together with such
enlargements, extensions, diminutions, reductions, alterations or
additions as may be ordered in terms of these conditions and without
prejudice to the generality thereof and shall be deemed to include and
cover superintendence and labour, supply, including full freight, of
materials, stores, patterns , profiles, moulds, fittings, centering,
scaffolding, shoring props, timber, machinery, barracks, tackle, roads,
pegs, posts, tools and all apparatus and plant required on the works,
except such tools, plant or materials as may be specified in the
contract to be supplied to the Contractor by the Employer, the erection,
maintenance and removal of all temporary works and buildings, all
watching, lighting, bailing, pumping and draining, all prevention of or
compensation for trespass, all barriers and arrangements for the safety
to the public or of employees during the execution of works, all sanitary
and medical arrangements for labour camps as may be prescribed by
the employer/engineer, the setting of all work and of the construction,
repair and upkeep of all centre lines, benchmarks and level pegs
thereon, site clearance, all fees, duties, royalties, rent and
compensation to owners for surface damage or taxes and impositions
payable to local authorities in respect of land, structures and all
material supplied for the work or other duties or expenses for which the
contractor may become liable or may be put to under any provision of
law for the purpose of or in connection with the execution of the
contract, and all such other incidental charges or contingencies as may
have been specially provided for in the specifications.
5.7 Land for Construction
The Employer/the concerned Zonal Railway will acquire and provide

land for permanent works and right of way (within Railway land) for
access thereto over routes established by the contractor. Any
additional right of way to the land, desired by the contractor, for
construction purpose shall be arranged by the contractor without any
expense to the owner.
5.8 Resources Report

The contractor shall submit to the Engineer each month a detailed list
by trade classification, of manpower employed during the report period
as also a list of all serviceable major items of construction plant and
equipment on site.

Specifications RVNL
5.9 Measurements and Tolerances
All measurements shall be made in the metric system. Different items

of work shall be measured in accordance with the procedures set forth
in the relevant sections read in conjunction with the G.C.C. and Special
Conditions of the Contract.
All measurements and computations unless otherwise indicated, shall

be carried nearest to the following limits.
i. Length, breadth, Height, - 10 mm.

depth or thickness of Earthwork,
C.C. work,
ii. Structural members etc. - 5 mm.
iii. Area - 0.01 Sq.metre.
iv. Cubic contents - 0.01 Cu.metre.
In according dimensions of work, the sequence of length, breadth and

height or depth or thickness shall be followed.

Specifications RVNL
(b)- EXCAVATION, BACKING, BACKFILL & WEEPHOLES
1.0 EXCAVATION.
1.1 Site Clearance.
The contractor shall remove all vegetation, trees, structures and any
foreign material at the site. The area shall be stripped to remove roots
of grass/trees, and other organic materials shall be burnt and /or
removed to approved disposal areas or other locations as indicated by
the Engineer. Cost of labour, tools, transport etc. required for this is
deemed to be included in the overall rate.
1.2 General Requirements
The Contractor shall furnish all labour, equipment and materials

required for complete performance of the work in accordance with the
drawings and as described herein.
1.3 Drainage in the vicinity of excavations
The contractor shall control the grading in the vicinity of all excavations
so that the surface of the ground in vicinity is properly sloped or diked
to prevent surface water from running into the excavated areas during
construction.
1.4 Excavations shall include the removal of the materials required to

execute the work properly and shall be made with sufficient clearance
to permit the placing, inspection and setting of form and completion of
all works for which the excavation was made.
1.5 Sides and bottoms of excavation shall be cut sharp and true.
Undercutting shall not be permitted. Earth sides of excavation shall not
be used in lieu of form work for placement of concrete unless
authorized, in special cases, by the Engineer, where limitations of
space for larger excavation necessitate such a decision.
1.6 When machines are used for excavation, the last 300 mm before
reaching the required level shall be excavated by hand or by such
equipment that will leave the soil at the required final level, in its natural
condition.
1.7 Suitability for bearing of the bottom of excavation shall be determined

by the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
1.8 The bottom of excavations shall be trimmed to the required levels and
when carried below such levels, by error, shall be brought to level by
filling with lean concrete as specified, at the contractor’s cost.
1.9 If the contractor is directed by the Engineer to excavate to a lower level

than the indicated on the drawings and covered by through rates, if
any, such additional excavation shall be paid for at the applicable unit
rate.
1.10 The contractor shall be responsible for assumption and conclusions

regarding the nature of materials to be excavated and the difficulty of
making and maintaining the required excavations and performing the
work required as shown on the drawing and in a accordance with these
specifications. Cofferdams, sheeting, shoring, bracing, draining,
dewatering, etc. shall be furnished and installed as required and the
cost thereof shall be included in the unit rate quoted for the item of
excavation. The contractor shall be held responsible for any damage to
any part of the work and property caused by collapse of sides of
excavations. Material may be salvaged if it can be done with safety for
the work and structures, as approved by the Engineer. However, no
extra claim shall be entertained for material not salvaged or any other
damage to contractor’s property as a result of the collapse. He shall not
be entitled to any claim for additional payment for having to re-do the
excavation as a result of the same.
1.11 All excavation for installation of underground facilities such as piping,

sewer lines, tunnels, ducts, drain lines, etc. shall be open cuts.
1.12 Excavations for foundations where specified shall be carried at least

100 mm below the proposed bottom of structural concrete and then be
brought to the required level by placing lean concrete of 1:4:8 mix, with
aggregate of 40 mm maximum nominal size. This will be paid for extra
under appropriate items of schedule.
1.13 Where excavation requires bracing, sheeting, or shoring etc. the

contractor shall submit , drawings showing arrangement and details of
proposed installations to the Engineer and shall not proceed until he
has received approval from the Engineer.
1.14 For purposes of excavation of earthwork, the following definitions shall

apply, when a through rate is not specified.
a) Ordinary Soil : All kinds of soil except soil containing 50% or more
kankar and/or shingle and rock.

Specifications RVNL
b) Hard Soil: Soil containing 50% or more of kankar, and/or
shingle and boulders upto 150 mm size. Without binding matrix
shall be classified as hard soil, but the decision of the Engineer in
the matter of classification of the soil shall be final and binding on
the contractor
1.15 Measurement
Measurement for payment will be based on volume calculations

determined by the existing grade. In case of work which requires form
work and which will be covered externally with a damp proof covering,
authorised quantities (Calculated on the basis of authorised working
space) or these actually excavated, whenever are less, shall be
measured. Authorised working space is 600mm from the face of
substructure at lowest level. The unit of measurement shall be cum.
Nothing extra would be payable for slope, shoring, strutting etc.
irrespective of whatever is provided. Payment includes loading
excavated soil to a spoil dump or for reuse in a location in the vicinity
as directed by Engineer.
1.16 Excavation in Rock-hard, Soft or Decomposed.
1.16.1 For the purpose of classification of rock in excavation, the following

definitions shall apply:
a) Hard Rock requiring blasting: Any rock excavation for which

blasting is required.
b) Soft or Decomposed rock : lime stone, sand stone, laterite, hard

conglomerate or other soft or disintegrated rock which can be
quarried or split with crow bars or wedges.
1.16.2 Excavation
The specifications for excavation items 1.0 to 1.14 above shall apply to
excavation work in rock also, except for the bottom of excavation,
where depending on the type of rock, over breaks upto a maximum
depth of 0.3 m below the required level may be allowed by the
Engineer at his discretion and paid accordingly. Concrete backfill in
such over breaks shall also be paid for. No payment shall, however, be
allowed for backfilling, if such over breaks are required to be brought to
grade by filling with only soil including its proper compaction.
1.16.3 Blasting material required for excavation work included in this tender
shall be arranged by the contractor from any authorized dealer of such
approved material. Necessary assistance in the form of approval for
procurement of the material will be given by the Employer. The
contractor shall be fully responsible for entering into agreement with

Specifications RVNL
any authorized magazine contractor in respect of rates, regularity of
supply etc. Contractor will also obtain necessary license for
transporting, stocking and use of explosive and draft only suitably
qualified and licensed personnel for handling the explosives.
1.16.4 Blasting: All rules under the Explosives Act or other local rules in force
shall be fully observed. All blasting works shall be done in accordance
with the stipulations contained in the Indian Standards Specification
No. IS:4081. Blasting shall be done by employing qualified personnel
and under careful supervision. Blasting shall only be carried out at
certain specified times as directed by the Engineer. Proper precautions
for safety of persons and property shall be taken. Where blasting is to
be carried out in the proximity of other structures, sand bags etc. shall
be used on top of the blast holes to prevent the rock fragments from
causing damage to adjacent structures and other property. The unit
rate for excavation involving blasting shall be inclusive of the cost of
providing all necessary material, labour and arranging for such
precautions.
1.16.5 Unexploded Charge:
The number of blasts to be fired and the actual number of shots heard
shall be compared and the person responsible shall satisfy himself by
examination that all blasts have exploded before any person working
in the area is permitted to re approach the work site. The withdrawal of
the unexploded charge shall not be permitted under any
circumstances. The tamping of the unexploded charge shall be flooded
with water and the hole marked in distinguishable manner. Another
hole shall be made at a distance of about 450 mm off the old hole and
fired in the usual way. This process shall be continued till the original
blast is exploded.
1.16.6 Decomposed or Soft rock

Excavation in “decomposed or soft rock” shall be carried out by
employment of machinery, or by blasting or by crow bars and pick axes
etc. or by a combination of these methods. No extra shall be paid for
the use of any particular method.
1.16.7 Chiseling in hard rock

Where blasting is prohibited or not practicable, excavation shall be
carried out by chiseling at the same rate as provided for hard rock
requiring blasting. The decision of the Engineer in this regard shall be
final.
1.16.8 All excavated materials obtained from excavation shall remain with
Employer. The useful portion shall be separated from the useless ones
and deposited in regular stacks at places indicated and as directed by
the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
1.17 Measurement
i) As soon as level of rock is reached, the contractor shall intimate

the Engineer, who shall record the level for calculating quantities
of excavation in rock.
ii) When “hard rock” and “decomposed or soft rock” are mixed
together, the entire quantity of excavation done below rock level
shall be recorded from cross-section taken before commencement
and after completion of rock excavation, payment lines being as
provided in clauses 1.15 and 1.16.2. The hard rock excavated
shall be stacked, measured and reduced by 50% to allow for
bulking and voids to arrive at the quantity payable under “hard
rock”. The difference between the entire excavation below rock
level (between the pay lines) and the quantity payable under “hard
rock” shall be paid for as “decomposed or soft rock”.
iii) In case, the quantity of “hard rock” alone as measured above is in

excess of the theoretical total payable quantity of excavation
below rock level, then payment under “hard rock” shall be
restricted to the total theoretical payable quantity.
iv) All excavated material, rock or soil, obtained as a result of over-

excavation and for which payment shall not be made, shall also
be carried and disposed off as directed and at places shown by
the Engineer, at the cost of the contractor.
v) In the case of stray boulders which are classified as “hard rock”,

measurements of such outcrops shall be made on the basis of
linear measurements of the outcrop made before excavation.
Such measurements shall be signed by the contractor as token of
acceptance before excavation is taken in hand.
vi) When the excavation in rock is paid for as a single item for all
classes of rock, the measurement will be made based on cross
sectional area after recording rock level at commencement and
finishing.
vii) All measurements mentioned above, shall be done by the

Engineer at the specific request of the Contractor. The contractor
should sign all such measurements.

Specifications RVNL
1.18 Excavation below Water Table
1.18.1 Wherever water table is met with during the excavation, the contractor
shall immediately report the fact to the Engineer who shall arrange to
record the exact level of the water table. The decision of the Engineer
in the matter shall be final.
1.18.2 The contractor shall dewater and maintain the water table below the
bottom of the excavation level during excavation, concreting and
backfilling .
1.18.3 The extra payment if specified to be made for excavation below the
level of water table and up to the designed level shall cover all labour,
materials and equipment for dewatering and maintaining dry working
area during excavation, concreting, water-proofing treatment, if
required and back filing. The extra payment shall be made only after
the completion of the structure upto at least 1m above water table upto
the designed level and backfilling, if any, upto that level.
1.19 Method of Measurements
The measurement for payment shall be based on volumetric

calculation of wet soil determined by the water table level as recorded
by the Engineer, In case of work which requires form work and which
will be covered externally with a damp proof covering, authorised
quantities (Calculated on the basis of authorised working space) or
these actually excavated, whenever are less, shall be measured.
Authorised working space is 600mm from the face of substructure at
lowest level. In the case of excavation in rock, payment for over breaks
upto a maximum depth of 0.3m below the required level may be
allowed by the Engineer at his discretion. Nothing extra is payable for
dewatering operation.
2.0 BACKING
2.1 A backing of dry rubble walling will be provided behind abutments and
wing walls for facilitating proper drainage. It shall be provided to
dimensions in accordance with the drawings.
2.2 The material used should be broken stone of quality approved by

Engineer. The stones used will be of least dimension of 15 cm in any
direction and not friable. Materials selected from out of excavated
material may be permitted to be used by Engineer, in which case only
labour rate is payable for the work. Otherwise, the cost will include
supply of all materials, labour and tools.

Specifications RVNL
3.0 BACKFILL
3.1 The contractor shall furnish all labour, equipment and materials
required for complete performance of the work in accordance with the
drawings and as described herein.
3.2 After completion of foundation footings, and abutments and wings walls
and other construction below the elevation of the final grades and prior
to backfilling, all forms, temporary shoring, timber etc. shall be removed
and the excavation cleaned of all trash, debris, and perishable
materials. Backfilling shall begin only with the approval of the Engineer.
3.3 Backfilling shall be done with inorganic materials, obtained from the
excavation or borrow pits, if suitable and subject to the approval of the
Engineer.
3.4 Backfill shall not be dropped directly upon or against any structure or
facility where there is danger of displacement or damage.
3.5 Backfill shall be placed in horizontal layers not to exceed 20 cm in

thickness. Each layer shall be compacted with proper moisture content
and with such equipment as may be required to obtain a density equal
to or greater than 95% of maximum as determined by the relevant
Indian Standards. Trucks or heavy equipment for depositing or
compacting backfill shall not be used within 1.5 m of building walls,
piers, or other facilities which may be damaged by their weight or
operation. The methods of compaction shall be subject to the approval
of the Engineer. Pushing of earth for backfilling shall not be adopted
under any circumstances.
3.6 Backfill adjacent to pipes shall be hand placed, free of stones,

concrete, etc. compacted uniformly on both sides of the pipe and
where practicable, to a depth of 300 mm over the top of pipes. While
tamping around pipe, care shall be taken to avoid unequal pressures.
3.7 On completion of structures, the earth surrounding them shall be

accurately finished to line and grade as shown on the drawings.
Finished surface shall be free of irregularities and depressions and
shall be within 50mm of the specified level.
3.8 The back fills resting on natural ground may settle in spite of heavy
compaction and may cause differential settlements, vis-a-vis,
abutments, which rest on comparatively much stiffer base. To avoid
such differential settlements, while on one hand it is essential to
compact the back fill in the properly laid layers of soil, on the other
hand, the back fill should be designed carefully to keep;
i) Settlements within tolerable limits.

Specifications RVNL
ii) Coefficient of sub grade reaction should have gradual change from
approach to the bridge,
3.9 Back-fills on bridge approaches shall be placed in accordance to Para
605 of Indian Railways Bridge Manual 1998.
3.10 Fill material being granular and sandy type soil, therefore need to be
placed in l50 mm or lesser thick layers and compacted with vibratory
plate compactors.
3.11 While placing backfill material, benching should be made in approach
embankment to provide proper bonding.
3.12 Measurements
Measurement shall be based on the volume by computed cross

sections.
4.0 WEEP HOLES
4.1 General
Weep Holes shall be provided in abutment wing wall and return wall
and backfill as shown on drawing or directed by the Engineer to drive
moisture from the backfilling. Weep holes shall be provided with PVC
pipe as shown in the drawing.
4.2 Measurements for Payment
Weep holes shall be measured in running meter. The rate shall include
cost of materials, carriage, all leads and lifts tools and plants complete
in all respects including cleaning of weep holes.

Specifications RVNL
(c) - REINFORCEMENT STEEL
1.0 GENERAL
High Strength Deformed Steel Bars and wires for concrete

Reinforcement used in the works shall be TMT Fe-500/Fe-500D*
conforming to IS 1786 (latest revision) manufactured by Primary steel
producers such as SAIL/TISCO/JINDAL/ RINL/IISCO.
* For seismic zone III, IV & V, only TMT Fe-500D steel shall be used.
All reinforcement work shall be executed in conformity with the

drawings supplied and instructions given by the Engineer and shall
generally be carried out in accordance with the relevant Indian
Standards Specifications (IS: 2502).”
2.0 INSPECTION & TESTING
Every bar shall be inspected before assembling on the work and any
defective, brittle, excessively rusted or burnt bars shall be removed.
Cracked ends of bars shall be cut out.
Physical Test IS:2062, IS:1786 (i) Upto 10mm Dia one

sample per 25 MT or
part thereof.
(ii) Above 10mm Dia one

sample per 40 MT or
part thereof.
The various physical test shall be carried out as per IS: 226, IS: 1608,
IS:1599, IS:1387.
3.0 LAPPING & WELDING
(i) As far as possible, bars of the maximum length available shall

be used. Laps shown on drawings or otherwise specified by the
Engineer will be used. In case the contractor wishes to use
shorter bars, laps shall be provided at the contractor’s cost in
the manner and at the locations approved by the Engineer. In
any case laps provided will not be measured for payment
purpose. The rate is inclusive of all such provision.
(ii) As and when necessary, welded laps shall be provided as

specified by the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
4.0 SPACING, SUPPORTING & CLEANING
(i) All reinforcement shall be placed and maintained in the position

shown on the drawing.
(ii) The contractor shall provide approved types of supports for

maintaining the top bars of the slab in position during concreting.
All cover blocks shall be of concrete (not sand cement mortar)
and of the same strength as that of the surrounding concrete
and properly compacted and vibrated on a vibrating table.
They shall be cured for a minimum period of 14 days before they

are used in the works.
(iii) 1 mm GI wire shall be used as binding wire. All bars crossing

one another shall be bound with this wire twisted tight to make
the skeleton of network rigid so that the reinforcement is not
displaced during placing of concrete.
(iv) Bars must be cleaned before concreting commences of all

scale, rust or partially set concrete which may have been
deposited there during placing of a previous lift of concrete.
The bars shall be cleaned with dry gunny bags if they are coated lightly
with rust or other impurities. On no account shall the bars be oiled or
painted nor shall mould oil used on the formwork be allowed to come in
contact with the bars. Cement wash to bars will not be permitted.
5.0 WELDING
(i) Wherever specified, all welding shall be carried out in

accordance with IS:2571. Only qualified welders shall be
permitted to carry out such welding.
(ii) For cold twisted reinforcement, welding operations must be

controlled to prevent a supply of amounts of heat larger than
what can be dissipated. The extreme non-twisted end portion
shall be cut off before welding. Electrodes with ductile coating
should be used.
(iii) The welding procedure shall be approved by the Engineer and

tests shall be made to prove the soundness of the welded
connection.

Specifications RVNL
6.0 PROTECTIVE COATINGS
6.1 In order to offer adequate resistance against corrosion,

reinforcement bars may be provided with suitable protective coatings
depending upon the environmental conditions. In aggressive
environments (severe, and extreme) application of cement slurry
coating after removal of rust and other loose material from the surface
of the reinforcement bar will generally be sufficient.
6.2 However in extreme exposure conditions in coastal regions

(concrete structure surfaces exposed to abrasive action, surfaces of
members in tidal zone), Fusion Bonded Epoxy coating (FBEC) or
Cement-Polymer Composite Coating (to be decided by Corporate
office) shall be provided to the reinforcement for works.
7.0 MEASUREMENT FOR PAYMENT FOR CPCC AND FBEC

PROTECTIVE COATINGS
Reinforcement shall be measured in length for different diameters used

in the works excluding overlaps and over weights. From the length so
measured, the weight of reinforcement shall be calculated in tonnes on
the basis of standard weights as per IS:1732. Lengths shall include
hooks at ends. Wastage, overlaps, coupling, welded joints, spacer
bars, chairs etc and annealed GI wire 1 mm for binding shall not be
measured and cost of these items shall be deemed to be included in
the rates of RCC work.
The unit rate for RCC work shall include cost of bending, placing,
welding if required and fixing & binding in position of reinforcement as
shown on the drawings and as directed by the Engineer. It shall also
include cost of all devices for keeping reinforcement in approved
position, cost of jointing as per approved method and all wastage,
overlaps and spacer bars.
8.0 Cement-Polymer Composite Coating System (CPCC)
This is a new method developed by CECRI. This system has been

developed to overcome demerits of inhibited cement slurry coating
system.
This system consists application of one coat of rapid setting primer

followed by a coat of cement polymer sealing product. The primer and
sealing product is formulated with resin mixed with cement as a
pigments. Rapid setting primer and sealing coats both are patented
items. This system has been developed mainly as a factory/shop
process. The approach behind development of this system is that the
base metal of re-bars, contains p electrons which get readily released
in corrosive environment leading to oxidation of iron and thereby

Specifications RVNL
formation of Fe2O3(rust) as principal deterrent. In order to prevent this
oxidation a surface coating capable of interacting/nullifying the
released electrons is provided. Further prestressing and reinforcing
steel, in concrete during service life, are exposed to an alkaline and
this necessitates introduction of a top coat which should be compatible
to primer and alkaline environment. To meet these two contingencies,
suitable polymers are carefully tailored through the formation of a
single phase in the polyblend which provides the necessary
mechanical and physical properties.
Briefly the following steps are involved in the process:
a) Surface Preparation : the surface of the steel reinforcing bars to be

coated is cleaned by abrasive (dry sand) blast cleaning to the
near white metal in accordance with SSPC-SP10/NAC No.2-1994.It
includes the following procedures.
i. Prior to blast cleaning visible deposits of oil or grease are

removed by suitable cleaning method.
ii. Cleaning dry compressed air is used for nozzle blasting.
iii. Dry uniformly graded silica sand is used for blast cleaning which
should be free from contaminants.
iv. Dust and residues are removed from prepared surface by

brushing, blowing off with clean, dry air, vacuum cleaning.
v. The prepared surface shall meet the visual standards of

comparisons as in SSPC-VIS 1 of SSPC-VIS 2.
b) Application of the coating:
i. The coating is applied to the cleaned surface as soon as

possible after cleaning and before oxidation of the surface
discernible to the unaided eye occurs. However, the application
of the coating should not be delayed more than 4 hrs after
cleaning.
ii. A rapid setting primer shall be applied over the prepared surface
of the reinforcing steel either by brushing or dipping.
iii. After 30 minutes of application of the primer a cement polymer

sealing coat shall be applied either by brushing or dipping.
iv. The coated rods shall be handled after 6 hours.

Specifications RVNL
c) Inspection and Testing: Coated rebars shall be checked for
average dry thickness, uniformity of thickness ,defects such as
cracks, peeling, bulging and uncoated areas etc. Coating shall
be tested for adhesion, bond strength, abrasion resistance,
chemical resistance as per specifications laid down by the
manufacturer.
d) Details specification of chemicals/solutions and quality control

aspects, if required ,may be obtained from CECRI. Karaikudi.
9.0 FUSION BONDED EPOXY COATING SYSTEM
9.1 Fusion bonded epoxy coating of reinforcing bars (FBEC) is governed by IS :

13620 -1993. Fusion bonded epoxy coating is used in highly corrosive
environment for protection of reinforcement from severe corrosion and
enhancing the life of the structure. To effectively protect reinforcement steel
against corrosion, a coating in the form of a continuous film is provided to resist
penetration of salt ions, action of osmosis and the requirement of such a film is
to expand and contract with steel substrate, be flexible and durable with low
conductivity and high dielectric resistance. An epoxy coating fulfils the
requirements spelt above.
9.2 FBEC is a plant based system to be done under controlled conditions. It is a
electrostatic deposition combined with controlled melt and flow which can attain
uniform coating. Rapid gel helps the coating set quickly. Since it is applied in
plant, the coating quality and consistency can be well maintained. In this
process the bar is first machine blasted, heated on an electric induction heating
system and then epoxy power is applied by electrostatic spray on the hot steel
bar. Important stages of FBEC system as given in IS : 13620- 1993 are
reproduced below:-
i) Surface Preparation: First of all, surface is to be prepared by cleaning the bars
by impact of steel shots/grits during shot blasting operations. Any formation of
rust blooms on the cleaned bars shall be removed by blast cleaning before
application of the coating. The bar surface shall be free from mill scale, foreign
matter and should be cleaned by aggressive blast to near white metal.
ii) Application of the Coating: In no case the coating shall be delayed by more
than 8 hours after cleaning. Coating is applied by spraying the electro statically
charged dry powder onto the cleaned steel bars using an electrostatic spray
gun. During spray, temperature shall be controlled as recommended by the
manufacturer of the coating to ensure a workman like job without blistering or
other defects . The coated bars shall be given a thermal treatment specified by
the manufacturer of the epoxy resin which will provide a fully cured finish
coating. At least 90% of the all coating measurements shall be between 0.1mm
to 0.3 mm after curing. A minimum of 15 measurements shall be taken evenly
spaced along each side of the test bar. The coating shall be visually inspected
for continuity and shall be free from holes, voids, contamination, cracks and
damaged areas discernible to unaided eyes.

Specifications RVNL
iii) Inspection and Testing: The coated bars shall be tested at the place of
manufacture prior to dispatch for:
 Coating thickness as per para ii) above at a frequency not less than
one full length bar for every 20 bars of each size.
 Continuity of coating at a frequency of not less than one full length bar
for every 20 bars of each size. There should not be more than average
of 2 holidays per 300 mm when tested with a 67.5 volts holiday
detector as per clause 8.2 of IS : 13620.
 The adhesion of the coating shall be evaluated in accordance with
clause 8.3 of IS : 13620 and 1 sample per MT for size of bar upto 16
mm dia, one sample per 2 MT for size of bar from 16 to 25 mm dia and
one sample per 4 MT for size of bar above 25 mm dia.
Retest as per clause 10 of IS 13620 shall be permissible. The permissible
coating damage and repairs shall be governed by clause 13 of IS 13620.
iv) Coating material: The coating material shall comply with the requirements
given in IS : 13620.
9.3 Job Site Precautions to be observed in the use of Fusion bonded Epoxy
Coating System
 Training shall be imparted to field staff regarding use of FBE coated
bars so that care is exercised to ensure that the coating is not
damaged till concreted.
 The bars shall be cut and bent under factory controlled conditions. For
bending the bars, Teflon coated covered pins shall be used at the bar
bending bench.
 Bars shall be stocked on wooden battens separated from each other to
protect them from rubbing.
 When handling bars, care should be taken to avoid bundle to bundle or
bar to bar abrasion which may require lifting equipment with a spreader
beam to sling from multiple pick-up points.

Specifications RVNL
(d) - STRUCTURAL CONCRETE
1.0 CEMENT
i. The cement used shall be any of the following, with the prior approval of the
Engineer :
a) 33 Grade Ordinary Portland cement conforming to IS:269.
b) 43 Grade Ordinary Portland cement conforming to IS:8112.
c) 53 Grade Ordinary Portland cement conforming to IS: 12269
(d) Rapid hardening Ordinary Portland cement conforming to

IS:8041 (a/c no. 8)
(e) High strength Portland cement conforming to IRS:T:40
(f) Portland slag cement conforming to IS:455 (see Note 1,4,5 & 6
below
(g) Portland pozzolana cement conforming to IS:1489 (see Note

2,4,5 & 6 below)
(h) Sulphate resistance cement conforming to IS:12330 (see Note

3 below).
Note 1: Maximum of 50% blast furnace slag with OPC cement at site
shall not normally be permitted. However, in exceptional cases for
bridges requiring higher levels of durability using blended cement
which is not available from manufacturers blending at site may be
permitted subject to ensuring dedicated facilities and complete
mechanized process control to achieve specified quality with the
special permission of “Chief Engineer/Chief Bridge Engineer” with
“PCE/CE (Coordination) or CAO(Con)”.
Note 2: Portland Pozzolana cement shall not be used for PSC works.
When Portland Pozzolana cement is used in plain and reinforced
concrete, it is to be ensured that proper damp curing of concrete at
least for 14 days and supporting form work shall not be removed till
concrete attains at least 75% of the design strength.
Note 3: The sulphate resisting cement conforming to IS:12330 shall be

used only in such conditions where the concrete is exposed to the risk
of excessive sulphate attack e.g. concrete in contract with soil or
ground water containing excessive amount of sulphate. It shall not be
used under such conditions where concrete is exposed to risk of
excessive chlorides and sulphate attack both.

Specifications RVNL
Note 4: The rate of development of strength is slow in case of blended

cement i.e. Portland pozzolana cement and Portland slag cement, as
compared to ordinary Portland cement. This aspect should be taken
care while planning to use blended cement. Accordingly stage of
prestressing, period of removal of form work and period of curing etc
should be suitably increased.
Note 5: Compatibility of chemical admixtures and super plasticizers

with Portland Pozzolana cement and Portland blast furnace slag
cement shall be ensured by trials before use.
Note 6: Some other properties of concrete such as modulus of

elasticity, tensile strength, creep and shrinkage are not likely to be
significantly different for design purposes, it will be sufficiently accurate
to take the same value as those used for concrete made with OPC.
ii. Cement should be procured from reputed manufacturers and should be

conforming to latest IS(BIS) Specifications.
2.0 AGGREGATES
Aggregates shall comply with the requirements of IS:383. Where

required by the engineer, aggregates shall be subjected to the tests
specified in IS:383. These tests shall be done in accordance with
IS:2386 (Part I) to IS:2386 (Part VIII).
The nominal maximum size of the aggregate should be as large as

possible within the limits specified but in no case greater than one-
fourth of the minimum thickness of the member, provided that the
concrete can be placed without difficulty so as to surround all
reinforcement and pre-stressing tendons thoroughly and fill corners of
the formwork.
For heavily reinforced concrete members as in the case of ribs of main

beams, the nominal maximum size of the aggregates should usually be
restricted to 5 mm less than minimum clear distance between the main
bars, cables, strands or sheathing where provided or 5 mm less than
minimum cover to the reinforcement, whichever is smaller. However,
in lightly reinforced concrete members such as solid slabs with widely
spaced reinforcement limitation of the size of the aggregate may not be
so important and the nominal maximum size may sometimes be as
great as or even greater than the minimum cover.
For reinforced concrete and Prestressed concrete works a nominal

maximum size of 20 mm is generally considered satisfactory. In special

Specifications RVNL
cases larger size aggregate may be specifically permitted by the
engineer but in no case the nominal maximum size shall be more than
40 mm.
2.1 Fine Aggregates (Sand)
(i) Creek/ Marine sand shall not be used in permanent work.
(ii) Sand, if found too coarse, shall be suitably blended with finer sand
obtained from approved sources to obtain the desired grading.
The provision of two types of sand, their stacking separately and
their mixing in the specified proportions shall be at the contractor's
cost.
The sand shall not contain silt, shale, clay and other week
particles more than a total of 3% by weight.
(iii) The grading of the sand shall conform to IS: 2386.
The sand shall be screened on a 4.75mm size screen to eliminate over

size particles.
The sand shall be washed in screw type mechanical washers in

potable water to remove excess silt, clay and chlorides. The screening
and washing of sand shall be completed at least one day before using
it in concrete.
The washed sand shall be stored on a sloping platform and in such a
manner as to avoid contamination.
2.2 Coarse Aggregates
(i) Coarse aggregates for the works shall be crushed stone

conforming to IS: 383, obtained from approved sources. Only
quarries having jaw crushers with choke feeding arrangements
producing aggregates of nearly cubical shape shall be approved.
(ii) Coarse aggregate containing flat or flaky pieces or mica shall be

rejected.
(iii) The aggregates shall be subjected to tests in accordance with IS:

2386 as may be ordered by the Engineer.
(iv) Aggregate shall be stored in such a way as to prevent segregation

of sizes and avoid contamination with fines and other undesirable
material.
3.0 WATER

Specifications RVNL
i) Water used for washing of aggregates and for mixing and curing
concrete shall be clean and free from injurious amounts of oils,
acids, alkalis, salts, sugar, organic materials or other substances
that may be deleterious to concrete or steel. As a guide the
following concentrations represent the maximum permissible
values: -
a) To neutralize 200ml sample of water,using phenolphthalein
as an indicator, it should not require more than 2ml of 0.1
normal NaOH. The details of test shall be as given in IS:
3025.
b) To neutralize 200ml sample of water using methyl orange as
an indicator, it should not require more than 10ml of 0.1
normal HCl. The details of test shall be as given in IS: 3025.
c) The permissible limits for solids shall be as follows:
Maximum Permissible Limit

Organic 200 mg/l
Inorganic 3000 mg/l
Sulphates (as SO4) 500 mg /l
Chlorides (as Cl) 2000 mg/l for plain concrete
work, 1000 mg/l for reinforced
concrete works and 500 mg /l
for Prestressed concrete works.
Suspended matter 2000 mg/l
ii In case of doubt regarding development of strength, the suitability of

water for making concrete shall be ascertained by the compressive
strength and initial setting time tests specified as below:
The sample of water taken for testing shall represent the water
proposed to be used for concreting, due account being paid to
seasonal variation. The sample shall not receive any treatment,
before testing other than that envisaged in the regular supply of
water proposed for use in concrete. The sample shall be stored in a
clean container previously rinsed out with similar water.
Average 28 days compressive strength at least three 15 cm

concrete cubes prepared with water proposed to be used shall not
be less than 90 percent of the average of strength of three similar
concrete cubes prepared with distilled water. The cubes shall be
prepared, cured and tested in accordance with the requirements of
IS:516.

Specifications RVNL
The initial setting time of test block made with the appropriate
cement and the water proposed to be used shall not be less than 30
minutes and shall not differ by ±30 minutes from the initial setting
time of control test block prepared and tested in accordance with
the requirements of IS:4031.
iii) The pH value of water shall generally be not less than 6.

iv) Water found satisfactory for mixing is also suitable for curing
concrete. However, water used for curing should not produce
any objectionable stain or unsightly deposit on the concrete
surface. The presence of tannic acid or iron compounds is
objectionable
4.0 REINFORCEMENT STEEL
High Strength Deformed Steel Bars and wires for concrete

Reinforcement used in the works shall be TMT Fe-500/Fe-500D*
conforming to IS 1786 (latest revision) manufactured by Primary steel
producers such as SAIL/TISCO/JINDAL/RINL/ IISCO.
* For seismic zone III, IV & V, only TMT Fe-500D steel shall be used.
All reinforcement work shall be executed in conformity with the

drawings supplied and instructions given by the Engineer and shall
generally be carried out in accordance with the relevant Indian
Standards Specifications (IS: 2502).
5.0 CONCRETE ADMIXTURES
5.1 General
The Engineer may permit the use of admixtures for imparting special
characteristics to the concrete or mortar on satisfactory evidence that
the use of such admixtures does not adversely affect the properties of
concrete or mortar particularly with respect to strength, volume change
durability and has no deleterious effect on reinforcement.
The admixtures, when permitted, shall conform to IS: 9103.
Calcium chloride or admixtures containing calcium chloride shall not be

used in structural concrete containing reinforcement, prestressing
tendon or other embedded metal.
The admixture containing Cl & SO3 ions shall not be used.
Admixtures containing nitrates shall also not be used. Admixtures

Specifications RVNL
based on thiocyanate may promote corrosion and therefore shall be
prohibited.
Concrete admixtures are proprietary items of manufacture and shall be

obtained only from established manufactures with proven track record,
quality assurance and full-fledged laboratory facilities for the
manufacture and testing of concrete. Naphthalene or melamine based
admixtures as approved by the Engineer only shall be used in the
work. The admixture shall be non-air entraining type.
The contractor shall provide the following information concerning each

admixture after obtaining the same from the manufacturer:
a) Normal dosage and detrimental effects, if any, of under dosage and

over dosage.
b) The chemical names of the main ingredients in the admixtures.
c) The chloride content, if any, expressed as a percentage by the
weight of the admixture.
d) Values of dry material content, ash content and relative density of
the admixture which can be used for Uniformity Tests.
e) Whether or not the admixture leads to the enterainment of air when
used as per the manufacturer’s recommended dosage, and if so to
what extent.
f) Where two or more admixtures are proposed to be used in any one
mix, confirmation as to their compatibility.
g) There would be no increase in risk of corrosion of the reinforcement
or other embodiments as a result of using the admixture.
h) Retardation achieved in initial setting time.
5.2 Physical and Chemical Requirements

Admixtures shall conform to the requirements of IS: 9103. In addition,
the following conditions shall be satisfied.
a) "Plasticisers" and "Super- Plasticisers" shall meet the requirements
indicated for 'Water reducing Admixture".
b) The air content of freshly mixed concrete in accordance with the
pressure method given in IS: 1199 shall not be more than 1 percent
higher than that of the corresponding control mix.
c) There shall be no chloride content in admixture when tested in

accordance with IS: 6925.

Specifications RVNL
d) Uniformity tests on the admixtures are essential to compare
qualitatively the composition of different samples taken from batch
to batch or from the same batch at different times.
e) All tests relating to the concrete admixtures shall be conducted

periodically at an independent laboratory and compared with the
data given by the manufacturer.
f) While Qualifying the admixture the infra-red spectrograph plot
should be given. Each batch of the supply should be tested for I.R.
Spectrograph and prove the consistency of supply.
6.0 STORAGE OF MATERIALS
6.1 General
Storage of materials shall be as per IS:4082.

All materials may be stored at proper places so as to prevent their
deterioration or intrusion by foreign matter and to ensure their
satisfactory quality and fitness for the work. The storage space must
also permit easy inspection. removal and restoring of the materials. All
such materials even though stored in approved godowns / places, must
be subjected to acceptance test prior to their immediate use.
6.2 Aggregates
Aggregate stockpiles may be made on ground that is denuded of

vegetation, is hard and well drained. If necessary, the ground shall be
covered with 50mm plank.
Coarse aggregates, unless otherwise agreed by the Engineer in

writing, shall be delivered to the site in separate sizes (2 sizes when
nominal size is 25 mm or less and 3 sizes when the nominal size is 32
mm or more). Aggregates placed directly on the ground shall be
removed from the stockpile within 30cm of the ground until the final
cleaning up of the work, and then only the clean aggregate will be
permitted to be used.
In the case of fine aggregates, these shall be deposited at the mixing

site not less than 8 hours before use and shall have been tested and
approved by the Engineer.
6.3 Cement
Cement shall be transported, handled and stored on the site in such a

manner as to avoid deterioration or contamination. Cement shall be
stored above ground level in perfectly dry and water-tight sheds and
shall be stacked not more than eight bags high. Wherever bulk storage
containers are used their capacity should be sufficient to cater to the

Specifications RVNL
requirement at site and should be cleaned at least once every 3
months. Cement older than 3 months from the date of manufacture
shall not be used.
Each consignment shall be stored separately so that it may be readily

identified and inspected and cement shall be used in the sequence in
which it is delivered at site. Any consignment or part of a consignment
of cement which had deteriorated in any way, during storage, shall not
be used in the works and shall be removed from the site by the
Contractor without charge to the Employer.
The Contractor shall prepare and maintain proper records on site in

respect of delivery, handling, storage and use of cement and these
records shall be available for inspection by the Engineer at all times.
The Contractor shall make a monthly return to the Engineer on the date
corresponding to the interim certificate date, showing the quantities of
cement received and issued during the month and in stock at the end
of the month.
Testing
A sample shall be tested from every batch of cement delivered on site
or once for every 1000 bags whichever is more frequent. Tests shall be
carried out for fineness, initial and final setting time, and compressive
strength (IS: 4031) and the result approved by the Engineer before use
of the cement in permanent works. Samples shall be taken immediately
on receipt of cement at site. The methods and procedure of sampling
shall be in accordance with IS: 3535. The Engineer may specify other
forms of sampling and tests including chemical analysis, (IS: 4032)
from his opinion the cement is of doubtful quality; the costs of such
additional tests shall be borne by the contractor.
6.4 Untensioned Reinforcement Steel

Supply from primary manufacture such as SAIL, TISCO, IISCO, RINL
etc. will be taken and no rerolled steel shall be incorporated in the
work. The reinforcement bars, when delivered on the job, shall be
stored above the surface of the ground upon platforms, skids or other
supports, and shall be protected from mechanical injury and from
deterioration by exposure.
Every bar shall be inspected before assembling on the works and any
defective, brittle, excessively rusted or burnt bars shall be removed.
Cracked ends of bars shall be cut out.
7.0 DESIGN MIX

Specifications RVNL
7.1 For all items of concrete only design mix shall be used. Prior to the
start of construction" the Contractor shall design the mix and submit to
the Engineer for approval, the proportions of materials, including
admixtures to be used. Water-reducing admixtures (including
plasticizers or super- plasticizers) may be used at the Contractor's
option, subject to the approval of the Engineer.
7.2 Workability of Concrete
The concrete mix proportions chosen should be such that the concrete
is of adequate workability for the placing conditions of the concrete and
can properly be compacted with the means available.
Placing conditions Degree of Values of workability

workability
(1) (2) (3)
Concreting of shallow Very low 20-10 seconds, vee-bee
sections with vibration time or 0.75-0.80,
compacting factor
Concreting of lilghtly Low 10-15 seconds, vee-bee
reinforced sections time or 0.80-0.85
with vibration compacting factor
Concreting of lightly Medium 5-2 seconds, vee-bee time
reinforced sections or 0.85-0.92, compacting
without vibrations, or factor or 25-75 mm, slump
heavily reinforced for 20 mm * aggregate
section with vibration.
Concreting of heavily High Above 0.92 compacting
reinforced sections factor or 75-125mm*
without vibration aggregate.
*For smaller aggregates the values will be lower.
7.3 Durability
The durability of concrete depends on its resistance to deterioration &

the environment in which it is placed. The resistance of concrete to
weathering, chemical attack, abrasion, frost and fire depends largely
upon its quality and constituents materials. Susceptibility to corrosion of
the steel is governed by the cover provided and the permeability of
concrete. The cube crushing strength alone is not a reliable guide to
the quality and durability of concrete; it must also have an adequate
cement content and a low water-cement ratio.
The general environment to which the concrete will be exposed during

its working life is classified in three levels of severity that is moderate,
severe, severe and extreme as described below :

Specifications RVNL
ENVIRONMENT EXPOSURE CONDITION
Concrete surface, protected against weather or
aggressive conditions, Concrete surface
sheltered from severe rain or freezing whilst wet,
MODERATE
Concrete exposed to condensation, concrete
structure continuously under water, Concrete in
contact with non-aggressive soil/ground water.
Concrete surface exposed to severe rain,
alternate wetting & drying or occasional freezing
SEVERE or severe condensation, Concrete exposed to
aggressive subsoil/ground water or coastal
environment.
Concrete Surface exposed to sea water spray,
corrosive fumes or severe freezing conditions
whilst wet, Concrete structure surfaces exposed
EXTREME
to abrasive action, surface of members in tidal
zone. All other exposure conditions which are
adverse to exposure conditions covered above.
From durability consideration, minimum clear cover to reinforcement in RCC

works (in mm) shall be as under:
Type of Structure Moderate Severe Extreme

Environment Environment Environment
Slab 25 35 50
Beam/Girder 35 50 60
Column 50 75 75
Well, Pile & 50 75 75
footing
Sufficient spacers shall be provided as shall in the opinion of the engineer be

necessary to maintain specified concrete cover to the reinforcement and
preventing displacement before and during the placement of concrete.
Spacers should be of such material and designs as will be durable, will not
lead to the corrosion of reinforcement and will not cause spalling of the
concrete cover. Spacer block made from cement, sand and small aggregates
should match the mix proportion of the concrete as far as is practicable with a
view to being comparable in strength, durability and appearance. The use of
the pieces of wood, tile or porous material will not be allowed for this purpose.
Permeability
One of the main characteristics influencing the durability of any concrete is its
permeability. Therefore, tests for permeability shall be carried out for
concrete bridges as recommended in clause 7.4.1. with strong, dense
aggregates a suitably low permeability is achieved by having a sufficiently low
water-cement ratio, by ensuring as thorough compaction of the concrete as
possible and by ensuring sufficient hydration of cement through proper curing

Specifications RVNL
methods. Therefore for given aggregates, the cement content should be
sufficient to provide adequate workability with a low water-cement ratio so that
concrete can be completely compacted by vibration. Test procedure for
penetration measuring permeability has been given in Appendix-G. The depth
of penetration of moisture shall not exceed 25 mm.
Permeability Test
(i) Permeability test shall be mandatory for all RCC/PSC bridges under
severe and extreme environment;
(ii) Under moderate environment, permeability test shall be mandatory for all
major bridges and for other bridges permeability test is desirable to the
extent possible.
(iii) Permeability test is required for RCC/PSC structural element only.
7.4 Maximum Water Cement Ratio
The limits for maximum water cement ratio for design mix shall be
based on environmental conditions as defined in Clause 7.3. The limits
for maximum water-cement ratio for different environmental conditions
shall be as given in Table below:
Maximum Water-Cement Ratio

Environment Plain Reinforced Prestressed
Concrete Concrete Concrete (PSC)
(PCC) (RCC)
Moderate 0.50 0.45 0.40
Severe 0. 45 0. 40 0.40
Extreme 0. 40 0.35 0.35
7.5 Minimum Grade of Concrete
From durability consideration, depending upon the environment to

which the structure is likely to be exposed during its service life,
minimum grade of concrete shall be as given in the following tables “A”
and “B” :
Table A) For Bridges in Pre-stressed Concrete and Important

Bridges:
Structural Moderate Severe Extreme

Member exposure exposure exposure

Specifications RVNL
PCC Member M-25 M-30 M-35
RCC Member M-30 M-35 M-40
PSC Member M-35 M-40 M-45
Table B) For Bridges other than mentioned above and sub-

structure:
Structural Moderate Severe Extreme

Member exposure exposure exposure
PCC Member M-15 M-20 M-25
RCC Member M-20 M-25 M-30
Concrete of grades M-10, M-15 & M-20 are normally used in mass
concrete work and usually mixed by volumetric batching also. The mix
for this would be:
M-10 - 1:3:6
M-15 - 1:2:4
M-20 - 1:1.5:3
7.6 Cementitious Material Content
Depending upon the environment to which the structure is likely to be

exposed during its service life, minimum Cementitious Material Content
in concrete shall be as given in Table below. Maximum cementitious
material content shall be limited to 500 kg/ cubic meter
Exposure Minimum Cementitious Material Content (Kg/m3)

conditions PCC RCC PSC
Moderate 240 300 400
Severe 250 350 430
Extreme 300 400 440
7.7 Coatings for Concrete
In order to provide adequate resistance against corrosion of

embedded material in RCC structures, concrete shall be provided with
suitable coating depending upon the environmental conditions. The
recommended coating is as under:

Specifications RVNL
Aggressive Environment (Severe, Very Non aggressive
severe & Extreme) environment
(Mild & Moderate
Super Structure Substructure of bridges All structures
of Bridges (in affected part only)
Epoxy – Phenolic Coaltar epoxy coating No coating is
IPN coating necessary
Or
CECRI
Integrated four
coat system
The frequency of coating shall depend upon the condition of the
existing coatings.
7.8 Requirements for Design Mixes: Trial Mixes (For Strength)
1. The Contractor is entirely responsible for the design of the concrete

mixes. The design is however to be approved by the Engineer. At least 8
weeks before commencing any concreting in the works, the contractors
shall make trial mixes using samples of coarse aggregates, sand, water,
super plasticiser and cement, typical of those to be used in the works,
and which have been tested in an approved laboratory. A clean dry
mixer shall be used and the first batch discarded.
2. The mix shall be designed to produce the grade of concrete having the
required workability, durability and a characteristic strength not less than
appropriate value given in following Table. The procedure given in
IS:10262 may be followed for mix design.
TABLE: GRADES OF CONCRETE

GRADE SPECIFIED CHARACTRISTIC
DESIGNATION COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
AT 28 DAYS N/mm2
M 20 20
M 25 25
M 30 30
M 35 35
M 40 40
M 45 45
M 50 50
M 55 55
M 60 60
NOTE – In the designation of concrete mix, the letter M refers to the mix
and the number to the specified characteristic compressive
strength of 150mm cube at 28 days, expressed in N/mm2

Specifications RVNL
3. Suitable Water reducing admixtures or super-plasticizing admixtures are
to be used with the prior approval of the Engineer for getting desired
workability and strength of the concrete. No extra payment shall be
made for such admixtures.
4. Whenever there is a significant change in the quality of any of the

ingredients for concrete, the Engineer may at his discretion order the
carrying out of fresh trial mixes. All costs for trial mixes and tests shall be
to the Contractor's account and held to be included in the contract rates.
5. Before commencing the works the Contractors shall submit to the

Engineer for approval full details of the preliminary trial mixes and tests.
6. When the proportions of a concrete mix have been approved by the

Engineer, the contractor shall not vary the quality or source of the
materials or the mix without the written approval of the Engineer.
7.9 Size of Coarse Aggregate
The size (maximum nominal) of coarse aggregates for concrete to be

used in various components shall be as given in Table below:
Components Max. Nominal Size

of Coarse
Aggregate (mm)
i) Nominal mix 40
ii) RCC solid type piers and abutments 40/20
iii) All other RCC work 20
The proportions of the various individual size of aggregates shall be so

adjusted that the grading produces densest mix and the grading curve
corresponds to the maximum nominal size adopted for the concrete
mix.
8.0 EQUIPMENT
Unless specified otherwise, equipment for production, transportation

and compaction of concrete shall be as under:
a) For Production of Concrete Concrete batching and mixing plant,

2 nos. fully automatic with minimum
capacity of 30 cum. per hour or 1
nos. 60 cum per hour

Specifications RVNL
All measuring devices of the equipment shall be maintained in a clean
and serviceable condition. Its accuracy shall be checked over the
range in use, when set up at each site and thereafter periodically as
directed by the Engineer .
b) For Concrete Transportation Qty. depending upon actual requirement

i) Concrete dumpers minimum 2 tonnes capacity
ii) Powered hoists minimum 0.5 tonnes capacity
iii) Chutes
iv) Buckets handled by cranes
v) Transit truck mixer
vi) Concrete pump
vii) Concrete distributor booms
viii) Belt conveyor
ix) Cranes with skips
x) Tremies
xi) Air compressor
xii) Any other equipment to suit the working condition
c) For Compaction of Concrete
i) Internal vibrators Size 25 mm to 70 mm

ii) Form vibrators minimum 500 watts
iii) Screed vibrators full width of carriageway (upto two
lanes)
d) Adequate standby arrangement should be available for all
equipment.
9.0 MIXING CONCRETE
Concrete shall be mixed either in a concrete mixer or in a batching and

mixing plant as per these specifications. Hand mixing shall not be
permitted. The mixer or the plant shall be at an approved location
considering the properties of the mixes and the transportation
arrangements available with the Contractor. The mixer or the plant
shall be approved by the Engineer.
Mixing shall be continued till materials are uniformly distributed and a

uniform colour of the entire mass is obtained, and each individual
particle of the coarse aggregate shows complete coating of mortar
containing its proportionate amount of cement.
Mixers which have been out of use for more than 30 minutes shall be
thoroughly cleaned before putting in a new batch. Unless otherwise
agreed to by the Engineer, the first batch of concrete from the mixer
shall contain only two thirds of the normal quantity of coarse aggregate.

Specifications RVNL
Mixing plant shall be thoroughly cleaned before changing from one
type of mix to another.
9A Ready Mixed Concrete
i) Use of Ready Mixed Concrete – Ready mixed concrete may

be used, wherever required. It shall conform to the specifications
of concrete, as laid down in this Code. For other aspects, which
are not covered in this Code, IS:4926 (Specifications for Ready
Mixed Concrete) may be referred to.
ii) Effect of transit (transportation) time on Ready Mixed

Concrete: As ready mixed concrete is available for placement
after lapse of transit time, reduction in workability occurs, which
may lead to difficulty in placement of concrete. In addition, in
case of longer transit time, initial setting of concrete may also
takes place, which may render it unusable. Thus, while planning
for using of Ready Mixed Concrete, these aspects should be
kept in view.
iii) Checking suitability of Admixtures:- Generally admixtures like

water reducing agent, retarder etc. are used in Ready Mixed
Concrete for retention of desired workability and to avoid setting
of concrete. In such cases, admixtures should be tested for their
suitability as per IS:9103 at the time of finalizing the mix design.
Regarding specification of admixtures, clause 5.0 of this section
may be referred to.
iv) Re-tempering with Concrete – Under any circumstances,

retempering i.e. addition of water after initial mixing shall not be
allowed, as it may affect the strength and other properties of
concrete.
v) Time Period for delivery of concrete: The concrete shall be

delivered completely to the site of work within 1½ hours (when
the atmospheric temperature is above 200C) and within 2 hours
(when the atmospheric temperature is at or below 20 0C) of
adding the mixing water to the dry mix of cement and aggregate
or adding the cement to the aggregate, whichever is earlier. In
case, location of site of construction is such that this time period
is considered inadequate, increased time period may be
specified provided that properties of concrete have been tested
after lapse of the proposed delivery period at the time of
finalising mix design.
vi) Transportation of Ready Mixed Concrete: The Ready Mixed

Concrete shall be transported in concrete transit agitators
conforming to IS: 5892 (Specification for concrete transit mixers
Specifications RVNL
and agitators). Agitating speed of the agitators during transit
shall not be less than 2 revolutions per minute not more than 6
revolutions per minute.”
10.0 TRANSPORTING, PLACING AND COMPACTION OF CONCRETE
The method of transporting and placing concrete shall be approved by

the Engineer. Concrete shall be transported and placed as near as
practicable to its final position, so that no contamination, segregation or
loss of its constituent materials takes place. Concrete shall not be
freely dropped into place from a height exceeding 1.5 metres.
When concrete is conveyed by chute, the plant shall be of such size

and design as to ensure practically continuous flow. Slope of the chute
shall be so adjusted that the concrete flows without the use of
excessive quantity of water and without any segregation of its
ingredients. The delivery end of the chute shall be as close as possible
to the point of deposit. The chute shall be thoroughly flushed with water
before and after each working period and the water used for this
purpose shall be discharged outside the formwork.
All formwork and reinforcement contained in it shall be cleaned and

made free from standing water, dust, snow or ice immediately before
placing of concrete.
No concrete shall be placed in any part of the structure until approval of

the Engineer has been obtained.
If concreting is not started within 24 hours of the approval being given,

it shall have to be obtained again from the Engineer. Concreting then
shall proceed continuously over the area between the construction
joints. Fresh concrete shall not be placed against concrete which has
been in position for more than 30 minutes unless a proper construction
joint is formed.
Except where otherwise agreed to by the Engineer, concrete shall be

deposited in horizontal layers to a compacted depth of not more than
450 mm.
Concrete when deposited shall have a temperature of not more than

40°C. It shall be compacted in its final position within 30 minutes of its
discharge from the mixer, unless carried in properly designed agitators,
operating continuously, when this time shall be within I hour of the
addition of cement to the mix and within 30 minutes of its discharge
from the agitator. In all such matters, the Engineer's decision shall be
final.

Specifications RVNL
Concrete shall be thoroughly compacted by vibration or other means
during placing and worked around the reinforcement, embedded
fixtures and into corners of the formwork to produce a dense
homogenous void-free mass having the required surface finish. When
vibrators are used, vibration shall be done continuously during the
placing of each batch of concrete until the expulsion of air has
practically ceased and in a manner that does not promote segregation.
Over vibration shall be avoided to minimize the risk of forming a weak
surface layer. When external vibrators are used, the design of
formwork and disposition of vibrator shall be such as to ensure efficient
compaction and to avoid surface blemishes. Vibrations shall not be
applied through reinforcement and where vibrators of immersion type
are used, contact with reinforcement and all inserts like ducts etc., shall
be avoided. The internal vibrators shall be inserted in an orderly
manner and the distance between insertions should be about one and
half times the radius of the area visibly affected by vibration. Additional
vibrators in serviceable condition shall be kept at site so that they can
be used in the event of breakdowns.
Mechanical vibrators used shall comply with IS. 2502, IS: 2506, IS:
2514 and IS. 4656.
11 CONSTRUCTION JOINTS
11.1 General
Construction joints shall be avoided as far as possible and in no case

the locations of such joints shall be changed or increased from those
shown on the drawings, except with express approval of the Engineer.
The joints shall be provided in a direction perpendicular to the member
axis. Sequencing of concrete placement should be organized in such a
way that cold joints are totally eliminated. The sequence of concreting
shall be submitted for approval of Engineer prior to concreting of the
structural element.
Concreting shall be carried out continuously upto the construction

joints, the position and arrangement of which shall be predetermined
by the designer.
The use of construction joints in Prestressed concrete work should

preferably be avoided. However, if found necessary they shall be kept
to the minimum by adopting proper construction techniques.
The construction joints shall comply with the provisions given at para
11.2, 11.3 & 11.4.Properly designed reinforcement shall be provided
for transfer of full tensile stress across the joints prior to casting of the
next lift.
11.2 The Position of Construction Joints

Specifications RVNL
Construction joints should be positioned to minimise the effect of the
discontinuity on the durability, structural integrity and appearance of the
structure.
As far as possible, joints should be positioned in non-aggressive zones

but if aggressive zones cannot be avoided, joints should be sealed.
Joints should be positioned where they are readily accessible for

preparation and concreting the preparation of the joints is more likely to
be satisfactory where the cross-section is relatively small and where
reinforcement is not congested.
As far as possible, joints for fairfaced concrete should be located where

they conform with the architectural features of the construction. Unless
they are masked in this way, the position of the joints are always
obvious, even when the concrete is given a textured finish.
If substantial changes in the cross-section of a member are necessary,

the joints should be formed where they minimise stresses caused by
temperature gradients and shrinkage.
Joints should be located away from regions of maximum stress caused

by loading particularly where shear and bond stresses are high.
Construction joints between slabs and ribs in composite beam should
be avoided. As a general rule joints in column are made as near as
possible to the beam hunching, joints in beams and slabs should
normally be made at the centre or within the middle third of the span.
11.3 Preparing the Surface of the Joint

The minimum number of joints should be used and their construction
should be simple. They should be either horizontal or vertical, because
concreting sloping surfaces are usually unsatisfactory.
Where concrete is placed in vertical members e.g. walls columns and

the like, the lift of concrete shall finish level or at right angles to the axis
of the member, the joint line making the features of the finished work.
Concreting shall be carried out continuously up to the construction
joint.
Laitance, both on the horizontal and vertical surfaces of the concrete,

should be removed before fresh concrete is cast. The surface should
be roughened to promote good adhesion. Various methods for removal
can be used but they should not dislodge the course aggregate
particles. Concrete may be brushed with a stiff brush soon after casting
while the concrete is still fresh and while it has only slightly stiffened.

Specifications RVNL
If the concrete has partially hardened, it may be treated by wire
brushing or with a high pressure water jet, followed by drying with an
air jet, immediately before the new concrete is placed.
Fully hardened concrete should be treated with mechanical hand tools

or grit blasting, taking care not to split or crack aggregate particles.
The best time for treating the joint is a matter of judgment because it
depends on the rate of setting and hardening (which is itself dependent
on the temperature of the concrete). Before further concrete is cast, the
surface should be thoroughly cleaned to remove debris and
accumulated rubbish, one effective method being air jet.
Where there is likely to be a delay before placing the next concrete lift,
protruding reinforcement should be protected. Before the next lift is
placed, rust loose mortar, or other contamination should be removed
from the bars and where conditions are particularly aggressive and
there has been a substantial delay between lifts, the concrete should
be cut back to expose the bars for a length of about 50 mm to ensure
that contaminated concrete is removed.
In all cases, when construction joints are made, it should be ensured

that the joint surface is not contaminated with release agents, dust, or
curing membrane and that the reinforcement is fixed firmly in position
at the correct cover.
11.4 Concreting At Construction Joints
When the formwork is fixed for the next lift, it should be inspected to
ensure that no leakage can occur from the fresh concrete. It is a good
practice to fix a 6 mm thick sponge which seals the gap completely.
The practice of first placing a layer of mortar or grout is not

recommended. The old surface should be soaked with water without
leaving puddles, immediately before starting con concreting; then the
new concrete should be thoroughly compacted against it. When fresh
concrete is cast against existing mature concrete or masonry the older
surfaces should be thoroughly cleaned and soaked to prevent the
absorption of water from the new concrete. Standing water should be
removed shortly before the new concrete is placed and the new
concrete should be thoroughly vibrated in the region of the joint.
12.0 CONCRETING UNDER WATER
The permanent structure shall not be allowed to come in contact with

seawater for at least 72 hours. When it is necessary to deposit
concrete under water, the methods, equipment, materials and

Specifications RVNL
proportions of mix to be used shall be got approved from the Engineer
before any work is Started.
In case cofferdams are required, the same shall be provided. Nothing

extra shall be paid on this account. Coffer dams shall be sufficiently
tight to ensure still water conditions, if practicable, and in any case to
reduce the flow of water to less than 3 meters per minute through the
space into which concrete is to be deposited. Coffer dams in still water
shall be sufficiently tight to prevent loss of mortar through the joints in
the walls. Pumping of water shall not be done while concrete is being
placed or until 24 hours thereafter. To minimize the formation of
laitance, great care shall be exercised not to disturb the concrete as far
as possible while it is being deposited.
All under-water concreting shall be carried out by tremie method only,
using tremie of appropriate diameter. The number and spacing of the
tremies should be worked out to ensure proper concreting. The tremie
concreting when started should continue without interruption for the full
height of the member being concreted. The concrete production and
placement equipment should be sufficient to enable the underwater
concrete to be completed uninterrupted within the stipulated time.
Necessary stand-by equipment should be available for emergency
situation.
The top section of the tremie shall have a hopper large enough to hold
one full batch of the mix or the entire contents of the transporting
bucket as the case may be. The tremie pipe shall not be less than
200mm in diameter and shall be large enough to allow a free flow of
concrete and strong enough to withstand the external pressure of the
water in which it is suspended, even if a partial vacuum develops inside
the pipe. Preferably, flanged steel pipe of adequate strength for the job
shall be used. A separate lifting device shall be provided for each
tremie pipe with its hopper at the upper end. Unless the lower end of
the pipe is equipped with an approved automatic check valve, the
upper end of the pipe shall be plugged with a wadding of gunny
sacking or other approved material before delivering the concrete to
the tremie pipe through the hopper, so that when the concrete is forced
down from the hopper to the pipe, it will force the plug (and along with it
any water in the pipe) down the pipe and out of the bottom end, thus
establishing a continuous stream of concrete. It will be necessary to
raise slowly the tremie in order to allow a uniform flow of concrete, but
it shall not be emptied so that water is not allowed to enter above the
concrete in the pipe, at all times after placing of concrete is started and
until all the required quantity has been placed. The lower end of the
tremie pipe shall be kept below the surface of the plastic concrete. This
will cause the concrete to build up from below instead of flowing out
over the surface and thus avoid formation of layers of laitance. If the
charge in the tremie is lost while depositing, the tremie shall be raised

Specifications RVNL
above the concrete surface and unless sealed by a check valve, it shall
be replugged at the top end, as at the beginning, before refilling for
depositing further concrete.
13.0 CURING OF CONCRETE
13.1 General
Concreting operations shall not commence until adequate

arrangements for concrete curing have been made by the Contractor .
Curing and protection of concrete shall start immediately after

compaction of the concrete to protect it from:
a) Premature drying out particularly by solar radiation and wind
b) High internal thermal gradients
c) Leaching out by rain and flowing water
d) Rapid cooling during the first few days after placing
e) Low temperature
f) Vibration and impact which. may disrupt the concrete and
interfere with its bond to the reinforcement..
Where members are of considerable size and length, with high cement
content accelerated curing methods maybe applied, as approved by
the Engineer.
13.2 Moist Curing - The concrete should be kept constantly wet for a
minimum period of 14 (fourteen) days. Water should applied on
unformed surfaces as soon as it can be done without marring the
surface and on formed surfaces immediately after the forms are
stripped. The concrete shall be kept constantly wet by ponding or
covered with a layer of sacking canvas, hessian or a similar absorbant
material. When air temperature is expected to drop below 5 0 C during
the curing period, additional covering of cotton/gunny bags straw or
other suitable blanketting material shall be provided so that concrete
temperature at surface does not fall below 100 C.
13.3 Curing Compound – Curing compound shall be used only with the
prior approval of the Engineer. Approved curing compounds may be
used in lieu of moist curing with the permission of the engineer. Such
compounds shall be applied to all exposed surfaces of the concrete
alongwith stripping of form work. Tests shall be done to ascertain:

Specifications RVNL
(i) Loss of moisture in concrete with and without curing
compound.
(ii) Cube strength of concrete with moist curing and curing
compound.
(iii) Permeability of concrete.
13.4 Steam –Curing-Steam curing can be advantageously used to save

time of curing of concrete for transfer of prestress. The optimum steam
curing cycle for a particular situation can only be determined by trial
and error. However, it has been found satisfactory to use a
presteaming period of 4 to 5 hour or rate of temperature rise between
22-330 per hour and a maximum curing temperature of 66.82 0 C for a
period such that entire curing cycle does not exceed 18 hour. Rapid
temperature changes during the cooling period should be avoided and
drop in ambient temperature in the enclosure is not sharper than 20 0 C
per hour. The reuse of casting beds and forms alongwith 18 hour
steam curing makes it a total 24 hour cycle. Prestress to members in
pretension beds should be transferred immediately after the
termination of steam curing, while the concrete and forms are still
warm, other wise the temperature within the enclosure shall be
maintained at over 150 C until the prestress is transferred to the
concrete. The steam curing will be considered complete when the
concrete has reached the minimum strength at Strength at Stress
transfer or handling strength.
14.0 FINISHING
Immediately after removal of forms, exposed bars or bolt, if any, shall

be cut inside the concrete member to a depth of at least 50 mm below
the surface of the concrete and the resulting holes filled with cement
mortar of dry pack consistency.
All construction and expansion joints in the completed work shall be left
carefully tooled and free from any mortar and concrete. Expansion joint
filler shall be left exposed for its full length with clean and true edges.
The finished surfaces of concrete after removal of formwork should be

such that no touching up is required. All fins caused by form joints, if
any, shall be ground using electric surface grinder.
Immediately on removal of forms, the concrete work shall be examined

by the Engineer before any defects are made good.
a) The work that has sagged or contains honeycombing to an

extent detrimental to structural safety or architectural
appearance shall be rejected.

Specifications RVNL
b) Surface defect of a minor nature may be accepted. On
acceptance of such work by the Engineer, the same shall be
rectified as directed by Engineer.
15.0 TESTS AND STANDARDS OF ACCEPTANCE
Concrete shall conform to the surface finish and tolerance as

prescribed in these specifications for respective components.
Random sampling and lot by lot of acceptance inspection shall be

made for the 28 days cube strength of concrete.
Concrete under acceptance shall be notionally divided into lots for the
purpose of sampling, before commencement of work. The delimitation
of lots shall be determined by the following:
i) No individual lot shall be more than 30 cum in volume.
ii) At least one cube forming an item of the sample representing the
lot shall be taken from concrete of the same grade and mix
proportions cast on any day.
iii) Different grades of mixes of concrete shall be divided into

separate lots.
iv) Concrete of a lot shall be used in the same identifiable component

of the bridge.
15.1 Sampling and testing
1. Concrete for making 3 test cubes shall be taken from a batch of

concrete at point of delivery into construction, according to
procedure laid down in IS: 1199.
2. A random sampling procedure to ensure that each of the
concrete batches forming the lot under acceptance inspection
has equal chance of being chosen for taking cubes shall be
adopted.
3. 150 rnm cubes shall be made, cured and tested at the age of 28
days for compressive strength in accordance with IS: 516. The
28 day test strength result for each cube shall form an item of
the sample.
15.2 Test Specimen and sample strength
Three test specimens shall be made from each sample for testing at 28
day. Additional cubes may be required for various purposes such as to
determine the strength of concrete at 7 days for any other purpose.

Specifications RVNL
The test strength of the sample shall be the average of the strength of
3 cubes. The individual variation should not be more than + 15 percent
of average.
15.3 Frequency
The minimum frequency of sampling of concrete of each grade shall be

in accordance with Table below:
Quantity of concrete in work, m3 No. of samples
1-5 1
6-15 2
16-30 3
31-50 4
51 and above 4 plus one additional

sample for each
additional 50 m3 or part
thereof
At least one sample shall be taken from each shift of work.
16.0 ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
16.1 Compressive strength - When both the following conditions are met,
the concrete complies with the specified compressive strength:
a) The mean strength determined from any group of four consecutive
test results complies with the appropriate limits in column A of table
given below;
b) Any individual test result complies with the appropriate limits in
Column B of table given below.
16.2 Flexural strength - When both the following conditions are met, the
concrete complies with the specified flexural strength:
(a) The mean strength determined from any group of four consecutive
test results exceeds the specified characteristic strength by at least
0.3 N/mm2.
(b) The strength determine from any test result is not less than the
specified characteristic strength less 0.3 N/mm2.
TABLE - CHARACTERISTIC COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS (Clause 16.1 & 16.2)

Specifications RVNL
Specified Group of test A B
grade results The mean of the Any individual
group of test result test result is not
exceeds the less than the
specified characteristic
characteristic compressive
compressive strength less:
strength by at least:
2 2
N/mm N/mm
M 20 & Any
3 3
above consecutive 4
16.3 Quantity of Concrete Represented by Strength Test Results - The

quantity of concrete represented by a group of 4 consecutive test
results shall include the batches from which the first and last samples
where taken together with all intervening batches.
For the individual test result requirements given in column B of table
given above or in item (b) of clause 16.2 only the particular batch from
which the sample was taken shall be at risk.
Where the mean rate of sampling is not specified the maximum
quantity of concrete that four consecutive test results represent shall be
limited to 60 m3.
16.4 If the concrete is deemed not to comply pursuant to 16.2, the

structural adequacy of the parts affected shall be investigated and any
consequential action as needed shall be taken.
16.5 Concrete of each grade shall be assessed separately.
16.6 Concrete shall be assessed daily for compliance.
16.7 Concrete is liable to be rejected if it is porous or honey combed; its
placing has been interrupted without providing a proper construction
joint. The reinforcement has been displaced beyond the tolerances
specified; or construction tolerances have not been met. However, the
hardened concrete may be accepted after carrying out suitable
remedial measures to the satisfaction of the Engineer.
16.8 If the concrete produced at site does not satisfy the above strength
requirements, the Engineer will reserve the right to require the
contractor to improve the methods of batching, the quality of the
ingredients and redesign the mix with increased cement content, if
necessary. The Contractor shall not be entitled to claim any extra cost
for the extra cement used for the modifications stipulated by the
Engineer for fulfilling the strength requirement specified.
16.9 It is the complete responsibility of the contractor to redesign the
concrete mixes by approved standard methods and to produce the
reinforced concrete conforming to the specification and the strength
requirements approved by the Engineer. It is expected that the
contractor will have competent staff to carry out this work.

Specifications RVNL
16.10 Permeability test for concrete shall be carried out as detailed in clause
7.3 of Section (d) (Structural Concrete) at the time of concrete mix
design and thereafter only in case there is a change in the source of
ingredients of concrete.
As frequently as the Engineer may require, testing shall also be carried
out in the field for:
(a) Moisture content and absorption and density of sand and
aggregate.
(b) Silt content of sand.
(c) Grading of sand and aggregates.
(d) Slump test of concrete.
(e) Concrete cube test.
(f) Density and pH value of Plasticizer.
The Contractor shall provide and maintain on site at all times, until the
works are completed, equipment and staff required for carrying out
these tests. The Contractor shall grant the Engineer or his
representative full access to his laboratory at all times and shall
produce on demand complete records of all tests carried out on site.”
16.11 Before concreting commences on any section of the works the

Contractor shall obtain approval of the Engineer or his representative
as regards the formworks and reinforcements conforming with the
drawings. He shall also indicate to the Engineer in writing and obtain
his approval for positions of construction joints
17.0 CRACKS
(i) If cracks develop in concrete construction, which in the opinion
of the Engineer may be detrimental to the strength of the
construction, the Contractor at his own expense shall test the
construction item. If under such test loads the cracks develop
further, the Contractor shall dismantle the construction, carry
away the debris, replace the construction and carry out all
consequential work thereto.
(ii) If any cracks develop in the concrete construction, which in the
opinion of the Engineer, are not detrimental to the stability of the
construction, the Contractor at his own expense shall grout the
cracks with polymer cement grout of approved quality and also
at his own expense and risk shall make good to the satisfaction
of the Engineer, which in the opinion of the Engineer has
suffered damage either in appearance or stability owing to such
cracks. The Engineer's decision as to the extent of the liability of
the Contractor in the above matter shall be final and binding.

Specifications RVNL
Design crack widths
Environment Design crack width in mm

Moderate 0.25
Severe 0.20
Extreme 0.10
17.1 Defective Concrete
Should any concrete be found honeycombed or in any way defective

which may be suspected to affect the performance of the structure,
shall be rejected outright. However, some surface defects like minor
honeycombing etc. not affecting the structural properties shall on the
instruction of the Engineer be repaired as per the approved procedure.
18.0 TOLERANCE IN CONCRETE ELEMENTS
18.1 The Tolerances for Finished Concrete Bridge Structures shall be

governed by IRS – Bridge Code and shall be as follows :
Sl. Description Tolerances

No.
1. Shift from alignment + 25 mm
2. Deviation from plumb or specified 1 in 250, sbject to a
maximum value of batter
for face of exposed piers
0.05 times the least lateral
dimension of pier.
3. Deviation from plumb or specified 1 in 125
batter for face of back filled
abutments.
4. Cross Sectional dimensions of - 5 mm
piers abutments and girders. + 20 mm
5. Thickness of deck slab of bidges + 6 mm
- 3 mm
6. Size and location of openings + 12 mm
7. Plan dimensions of footings + 50 mm
(formed) - 25 mm
8. Plan dimensions of footings + 75 mm

Specifications RVNL
(unformed excavation) - 00 mm
9. Thickness of footings + No limit
- 5%
10. Footing eccentricity 0.02 times the width of the
footing in the direction of
deviation but not more han
50 mm
11. Reduced level of top of footing / + 5 mm
pier / bed block
12. Centre to centre distance of pie + 30 mm
and abutments at pier top
13. Centre to Centre distance of + 5 mm
bearings along span
14. Centre to centre distance of pier + 5 mm
bearings across span
19.0 FALSEWORK & FORMWORK
19.1 False work
19.2 General
False work shall be designed to meet the requirements of the permanent

structure, taking into account the actual conditions of materials,
environment and site conditions.
Careful attention shall be paid to the detailing of connections and
function with a view to avoiding gross errors leading to significant
damage or failure.
19.3 Loads
False work shall be designed to cater for following loads:
a) Dead load of wet concrete and reinforcement;

b) Weight of formwork;
c) Plant and equipment including impact;
d) Impact due to deposition of concrete;
e) Construction personnel;

Specifications RVNL
f) Prestressing loads;
g) Lateral loads;
h) Wind loads;
i) Force due to water current, if any.
19.4 Materials – All the materials shall conform to the specified quality
consistent with the intended purpose and actual site condition as
applicable.
19.5 False work Plans – False work plans shall include the following
information:
a) Design Assumptions – All major design values and loading

conditions shall be shown on these drawings. They include
assumed values of superimposed load, rate of placement, mass of
moving equipment which may be operated of formwork, foundation
pressures, camber diagrams and other pertinent information,
applicable.
b) Type of materials, sizes, lengths and connection details.
c) Sequence of removal of forms and shores.
d) Anchors, form ties, shores and braces.
e) Field adjustment of the form during placing of concrete.
f) Working scaffolds and gangways.
g) Seepholes, vibrator holes, or access doors for inspection and
placing of concrete.
h) Construction joints, expansion joints.
i) Sequence of concrete placements and minimum/maximum elapsed
time between adjacent placements.
j) Chamfer strips or grade strips for exposed corners and construction
joints.
k) Foundation details for false wok.
l) Special provisions such as protection from water, ice and debris at
stream crossings.
m) From coatings and release agents.
n) Means of obtaining specified concrete.
o) Location of box outs, pipes, ducts, conduits and miscellaneous
inserts in the concrete, attached to or penetrating the forms.
p) Location and spacing of rubber pads where shutter vibrators are
used.
19.6 Formwork
19.6.1 General – The formwork shall conform to the shapes, lines and
dimensions shown on the drawings such that the relevant tolerances of
finished concrete as specified are achieved.

Specifications RVNL
Formwork shall be so constructed and supported as to remain
sufficiently rigid during the placement and compaction of the concrete
and shall be sufficiently water-tight to prevent loss of water-or mortar
from concrete. The formwork and false work must be designed keeping
in view all loads and forces.
“Forms for finished surfaces should be smooth and mortar tight. If

wood forms are used, the boards must be uniform in the thickness,
tongued and grooved, smoothly finished on the surface next to the
concrete, evenly matched and tightly placed, except where the desired
surface or appearance requires special treatment. The use of forms of
plywood/Steel/ similar product is also permitted.
19.6.2 Design of Form Work
The contractor shall furnish the design and drawing of complete form
work (i.e. the forms as well as their supports) for approval of the
Engineer before any erection is taken up. If proprietary system of
formwork is used, the contractor shall furnish detailed information to
the Engineer for approval.
Notwithstanding any approval or review of drawing and design by the

Engineer, the contractor shall be entirely responsible for the adequacy
and safety for formwork.
The foundation of all supports shall be designed to suit the bearing
capacity of soil to support the designed loads without settlement.
The contractor shall prepare detailed shop drawing showing the

arrangement of formwork for structural members including shoring
system, horizontal and diagonal bracing system, details foundation etc.
The sizes of individual members shall be as per approved design
calculations.
19.6.3 Finishing – No surface finishing will normally be provided. If minor

defects are noticed, the surface should be rendered. The required
finish shall be obtained by use of properly designed formwork of closely
jointed boards. The surface may be improved by carefully removing all
fins and other projections thoroughly washing down and then filling the
most noticeable surface blemished with a cement and fine aggregate
paste. Fore major defects, if noticed any repairs should be carried out
with prior approval of the engineer.

Specifications RVNL
Moulds for pretension works shall be sufficiently strong and rigid to
withstand, without distortion the effects of placing and compacting
concrete as well as those of prestressing in the case of manufacture by
the individual mould process where the prestressing tendon is
supported by the mould before transfer.
19.6.4 Cleaning and Treatment of Forms – All rubbish, particularly

chippings, shavings and sawdust shall be removed from the interior of
the forms before the concrete is placed and the formwork in contact
with the concrete shall be cleaned and thoroughly wetted or treated
with an approved release agent. Care shall be taken that such
approved release agent is kept out of contact with the reinforcement.
19.6.5 Stripping Time- Forms shall not be struck until the concrete has
reached a strength at least twice the stress to which the concrete may
be subjected at the time of removal of formwork. The strength referred
to shall be that of concrete using the same cement and aggregates,
with the same proportions and cured under conditions of temperature
and moisture similar to those existing on the work. Where possible, the
formwork shall be left longer as it would assist the curing.
In normal circumstances and where ordinary Portland cement is used,

forms may generally be removed after the expiry of the following
periods:
a) Walls, columns and vertical 24 to 48 hours as may be

faces of all structural members decided by the engineer.
b) Slabs ( props left under) 3 days
c) Beam soffits (props left under) 7 days
d) Removal of props under slabs:
1) Spanning up to 4.5 m 7 days
2) Spanning over 4.5 m 21 days
e) Removal of props under slabs:

1) Spanning up to 6 m 14 days
2) Spanning over 6 m 21 days
For other cements, the stripping time recommended for ordinary

Portland cement be suitably modified with the consent of engineer.

Specifications RVNL
The number of props left under, their sizes and disposition shall be
such as to be able to safely carry the full dead load of the slab or beam
as the case may be together with any live load likely to occur during
curing or further construction.
Where the shape of the element is such that the formwork has
reentrant angles, the formwork shall be removed as soon as possible
after the concrete has set, to avoid shrinkage cracking occurring due to
the restraint imposed.
The forms should be so constructed as to be removable in the sections

without marrying or damaging the surface of the concrete. Forms
should be removed as soon as possible in order to make necessary
repair sand finish the surface. As soon as forms are removed, list of
major/minor defects noticed in concrete should be prepared. Repairing
methodology should be approved by Engineer. After making the
necessary repairs, the surface should be finished with wood float so as
to free from streaks, dis-colourations or other imperfections. Plastering
should not be permitted and a steel trowel should not be used to finish
surfaces.
19.6.6 Removal of Formwork
The scheme for removal of formwork (i.e.de-shuttering and
decentering) shall be planned in advance and furnished to the
Engineer for scrutiny and approval. No formwork or any part thereof
shall be removed without prior approval of the Engineer.
The formwork shall be so removed as not to cause any damage to
concrete. Centering shall be gradually and uniformly lowered in such a
manner as to permit the concrete to take stresses due to its own weight
uniformly and gradually to avoid any shock or vibration.
Where there are re-entrant angles in the concrete sections, the

formwork should be removed at these sections as soon as possible
after the concrete has set in order to avoid cracking due to shrinkage of
concrete.
19.6.7 Specialized Formwork
Specialized formwork may be required in the case of slip formwork,

underwater concreting etc. Such specialized formwork shall be
designed and detailed by competent agencies and a set of complete
working drawings and installation instructions shall be supplied to the

Specifications RVNL
Engineer. The site personnel shall be trained in the erection and
dismantling as well as operation of such specialized formwork. In case
proprietary equipment is used the supplier shall supply drawings,
details, installation instructions, etc. in the form of manuals along with
the formwork. Where specialized formwork is used close coordination
with the design of permanent structure is necessary.
For slip form the rate of slipping the formwork shall be designed for
each individual case taking into account various parameters including
the grade of concrete, concrete strength, concrete temperature,
ambient temperature, concrete admixtures, etc.
In order to verify the time and sequence of striking/removal of

specialized formwork, routine field tests for the consistency of concrete
and strength development are mandatory and shall be carried out
before adoption.
For specialized formwork, the form lining material may be steel sheet of
appropriate thickness. Steel sheeting is preferred because large
number of repetitions are involved. A method of erection has been
suggested in the chapter on Erection methodology .The Contractor
may adopt the same after firming it up or go in for an alternative safe &
stable method of erection.
20.0 MEASUREMENT FOR PAYMENT
Structural concrete shall be measured in cubic meters. In reinforced

concrete, the volume occupied by reinforcement shall not be deducted.
Payment shall be made based on the dimensions as per the drawings
if the structure is within prescribed tolerances.

Specifications RVNL
(e)- PRESTRESSED CONCRETE WORKS
1.0 GENERAL
1.1 Codes and Standards
Prestressed Concrete works shall comply with the requirements and

standards given in the present specifications. However, it shall be the
responsibility of the contractor to adopt the latest version of the
relevant technical specifications with all the correction slips.
i) IRS Bridge Rules

ii) IRS Concrete Bridge Code (CBC)
iii) IS : 14268 – 1995
iii) IS : 1786 – 1985
iv) UIC – 772 R
1.2 Installation of cables, prestressing operation and grouting shall be

entrusted to only trained and qualified personnel. All prestressing
accessories must be procured from authorised manufacturers with in-
house testing facilities. The prestressing operations shall be supervised
by authorized representative of approved prestressing equipment
manufacturing company.
Manufacturer’s recommendations regarding end blocks and special

arrangements in anchorage zones applicable to their particular system
shall be observed. Metal ducts shall be such that destructive galvanic
action will not occur. The trajectory of ducts shall be as per approved
drawings.
All materials used in the prestressed concrete shall be got tested as

per specifications.
Prestressing operations shall be carried out only under the direction of

an experienced and competent supervisor who shall be approved by
the Engineer. All personnel operating the stressing equipment shall
have to be properly trained in its use. In addition to the normal
precautions against accident which should be taken at all times for the
whole of the works, special precautions shall be taken when working
with and near tendons which have been tensioned or are in the
process of being tensioned.

Specifications RVNL
2.0 MATERIALS
2.1 Concrete
2.1.1 Cement
Only 43 grade cement conforming to IS 8112-1989 shall be used for all

RCC and plain concrete works, with which the contractor should be
able to obtain the required strength. For prestressed concrete works,
53 grade grade cement conforming to IS: 12269-1987/IRS T 40 grade
shall be used.
2.1.2 Aggregates
Only aggregates conforming to IS:383-1970 shall be used in plain,

RCC or PSC concrete works. Marine aggregate shall not be used.
The provisions in IS:2386 (Part 2) shall prevail when dealing with
suspicious aggregates. Where required by the Engineer, aggregates
shall be tested in accordance with IS:2386-1963 (Part I to VIII).
2.1.3 Water
Water free from impurities and as per clause 4.3 of IRS Concrete
Bridge code shall only be permitted.
2.1.4 Admixture
Acceptable admixtures conforming to IS:9103 and clause 4.4 of IRS

Concrete Bridge Code – 1997 may be used with the approval of the
Engineer, if tests have shown that their use improves the properties of
concrete, i.e. increasing workability, entraining air or expanding the
concrete. Admixture must not contain chlorides, nitrates, sulphides,
sulphates, or any other products, which are likely to damage steel or
concrete. When an expanding agent is used the total unrestrained
expansion shall preferably be between 4 to 6%. Aluminum powder as
an expanding agent is not permitted. The cost of use of such
admixtures will be borne by the contractor with in his quoted rates.
2.1.5 Binding Wire
Only soft GI wire of 16 gauge shall be used for binding reinforcement.

The GI wire shall be treated by Anticorrosion Process, approved by the
Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
2.2 High Tensile Steel For Prestressing
All prestressing strands shall be low relaxation steel of Class II

conforming to IS: 14268-1995 (as amended upto date)
2.2.1 The tenderer(s) will be required to furnish type of prestressing steel

and the name of the firm from which the supply is intended to be
procured and also the necessary test certificates regarding both
chemical as well as physical properties of the prestressing steel
proposed to be used in the prestressing cables. The tenderer(s) will
have to make their own arrangements for procuring full quantity of
prestressing cables of required design and quality.
2.2.2 All prestressing steel shall be procured in coils not less than 2440 mm
diameter and shall be straightened and degreased(if present) by an
approved method before use.
2.2.3 All prestressing steel shall be provided with protective coating

immediately after procurement, during storage, after threading and
ultimately in position. Such protective coatings shall not be deleterious
and detrimental to the ultimate use of prestressing cables nor shall it
interfere with the design qualities required during services.
Prestressing steel shall not be contaminated with form release agents

used on forms or beds.
All prestressing steel shall be stored under proper cover to minimize

corrosion. Prestressing steel having deeply etched or pitted surfaces
shall not be permitted for use in the prestressed concrete works. To
avoid rapid destructive corrosion, care shall be taken in the storage of
prestressing steel to prevent galvanic or battery action which can
occur when two dissimilar metals are adjacent to an ionized medium
common to both. Strand surfaces shall always be inspected prior to
placement of concrete and contaminated ones shall be cleaned with an
effective solvent.
2.3 Untensioned Reinforcing Steel
All reinforcement to be used as untensioned steel in the permanent

structures shall be arranged by the Contractor.
Reinforcing steel shall be of HYSD bars (Grade Fe 415) conforming to

IS : 1786 – 1985 with a minimum yield strength of 415 N/sq.mm.
Reinforcement shall have minimum clear cover as mentioned in
relevant drawings. Minimum lap and anchorage length of reinforcement
shall be kept as IRS Concrete Bridge Code. Not more than 50% shall
be lapped at any one location and the laps should be staggered by
1.33 times the lap length and not be less than 150mm.

Specifications RVNL
2.4 Sheathing
2.4.1 The corrugated sheathing shall be double ribbed of inner diameter, as

per drawing manufactured from galvanized steel strips of 0.5mm thick
by approved equipment. The strip to be used shall be hot-dip
galvanized @ 120 gm/m2. Alternatively HDPE Sheathing as per latest
IRS specifications can also be used.
2.4.2 The sheaths shall be of such strength as not to be dented or deformed

during handling or concreting. They shall conform to the requirements
as per tests specified in Appendix “B” of IRS concrete bridge code and
a test certificate of this effect shall be furnished by the manufacturer.
2.4.3 Sheaths shall be sufficiently water-tight to prevent concrete laitance

penetrating in them in quantities likely to increase friction. Special care
shall be taken to ensure water-tightness at the joints. The joints shall
conform to the provisions contained in Appendix “C” of IRS concrete
bridge code.
2.5 Anchorage
2.5.1 Anchorage shall be procured from authorized manufacturers only

conforming to BS: 4447 and shall be handled and used strictly in
accordance with the manufacture’s instructions and recommendations.
2.5.2 The anchorage shall be safe and secure against both dynamic and
static loads as well as against impact.
2.5.3 “Where embedded anchorage are provided, its spacing, reinforcement details,
concrete strength, cover and other dimensions shall conform to the manufacturer’s
specification/specialized literature.”
3.0 FORM WORK
3.1 Form work shall conform to clause 6.2 to 6.5 of IRS concrete Bridge
Code 1997 for all PSC/RCC works. These specifications shall be read
in conjunction with the IS specifications and MORTH Specifications.
3.2 The form work, false work, staging scheme etc. shall be designed by
the Contractor and approved by the Engineer before starting of work.
4.0 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Schedule and sequence of tensioning tendons shall be as shown in the

drawing.

Specifications RVNL
4.1 Tensioning Equipment
4.1.1 All tensioning equipment shall be procured from authorised

manufacturers only and be approved by the Engineer. Where
hydraulic jacks are used, they shall be power-driven. The tensioning
equipment shall satisfy the following requirements:
(i) The means of attachments of the prestressing steel to the jack or

any other tensioning apparatus shall be safe and secure;
(ii) The tensioning equipment shall be such that it can apply controlled
total force gradually on the concrete without inducting dangerous
secondary stresses in steel, anchorage or concrete and
(iii) Pressure gauges fitted in the hydraulic system to determine the

pressure in the jacks shall be provided.
4.1.2 The force in the tendons during the tensioning shall be measured by
direct-reading load cells or obtained indirectly from gauges fitted in the
hydraulic system to determine the pressure in the jacks. Facilities shall
be provided for the measurement of the extension of the tendon and of
any movement of the tendon in the gripping devices. The load
measuring device shall be calibrated to an accuracy within +2% and
checked at intervals to the approval of the Engineer. Elongation of
tendon shall be measured to an accuracy within + 2% or 2 mm
whichever is more accurate.
4.1.3 Calibration of Pressure Gauge shall be done before prestressing is

done and at intervals as ordered by the Engineer. The Contractor shall
have a Master Gauge kept in Engineer’s custody separately for
calibration purpose.
4.1.4 The alignment and position of ducts within the girder are critical.
Short kinks and wobbles shall be avoided. The trajectory of ducts
shall not depart from the curve or straight lines shown in the drawing by
more than 1 in 240. The cable position shall not deviate by more than
5 mm from the designed trajectory vertically.
4.1.5 Anchorage devices for all post tensioning systems must be aligned with
the direction of the axis of the tendons at the point of attachment.
Concrete surfaces, against which the anchorage devices bear must be
normal to this line of direction. Accurate measurement of anchorage
losses due to slippage or other causes shall be made and compared
with the assumed losses and necessary adjustments or correction shall
be made in the stressing operation.
4.1.6 The clear cover shall be uniform and as per the drawings. Concrete
cover blocks used, shall be of the same concrete mix as the member

Specifications RVNL
and shall contain the binding wire to secure it to the reinforcement. All
ends of binding wire shall be carefully turned inside so that they do
not project out of concrete cover. Reinforcement bars shall be
adequately secured by chairs/ties/hangers so that it will maintain its
position during casting and vibrating concrete. Ends of the wires used
to tie bars shall be bent into the member.
5.0 METHOD OF CONCRETING
5.1 Normally, concreting of Box girder shall be done in one single pour
only. However, if the arrangements of casting of PSC box girder
proposed by the tenderer require two stage concreting, the scheme
should be submitted with details for obtaining prior approval of the
Engineer. For concreting of Box girder, if use of approved quality of
super-plasticizer cum retarders or any other additives is considered
inevitable without sacrificing strength, specific prior approval of
Engineer shall be taken. The cost of such additives shall be borne by
the Contractor within his quoted rates.
5.2 Mixing and production of concrete shall conform to clause 5.5,5.6 of

IRS CBC 1997 and clause 9 of IS 456-2000.
5.3 Special care shall be taken for curing of concrete in order to ensure
maximum durability and to minimise cracking. Concrete surface shall
be kept continuously wet for a period of at least 15 days. Rapid
lowering of concrete temperature which may induce a thermal shock
shall be avoided. Any modern methods of curing including application
of coats on the concrete surface can be adopted with the prior approval
of the Engineer.
5.4 The minimum and maximum cement content for PSC work shall be 430
kg and 500 kg per cubic metre of concrete respectively. Similarly, the
corresponding figures for RCC work shall be 400 kg and 500 kg per
cubic metre respectively.
5.5 Sampling, strength test of concrete and acceptance criteria shall be as

per clause 8.7 of IRS-CBC 1997.
5.6 Compaction of concrete shall be according to clause 13 of IS:456-

2000. Sufficient number of shutter/form vibrators and needle vibrators,
as directed by the Engineer shall be used during concreting.
5.7 During concreting, care shall be taken to ensure that the sheathing is
not damaged. Needle vibrators shall be used with extreme care by
well experienced staff only, to ensure the above requirements.
5.8 The HTS strands shall be moved in both directions during the
concreting operations, which can easily be done by light hammering

Specifications RVNL
the ends of the wires/strands during concreting. It is also advisable
that 3 to 4 hours after concreting, the cable should be moved both
ways through a distance of about 20 cms to reduce the chance of
blockages due to any leakage of mortar. This operation can also be
done by fixing prestressing jacks at one end, pulling the entire cable
and then repeating the operation by fixing the jack at the other end.
5.9 The concreting should be stopped at the end of each shift at

predetermined points as approved by the Engineer.
5.10 All precast slabs/parapet blocks used in gang paths etc. are to be table
vibrated.
5.11 Additional tests for Concrete
5.11.1 As frequently as the Engineer may require, additional testing shall be

carried out for concrete in addition to mandatory test specified in IRS
concrete Bridge Code, 1997, relevant IS Code/MORTH Specifications.
Cost of all such additional testing shall be borne by the contractor.
5.11.2 Deleted
5.11.3 Deleted
5.11.3.1 Deleted
5.11.3.2 Deleted
5.12 Batching Plants, Mixers and Vibrators
5.12.1 For all structural concreting work the Contractor shall provide automatic
or any other suitable weigh-batching plant of sufficient capacity. The
plant used shall conform to IS: 4925.
5.12.2 The Contractor shall provide Concrete mixers (IS:1791 – Batch type
concrete mixers, IS : 2438-Roller Pan Mixer) and Vibrators (IS:2505-
Concrete Vibrators Immersion Type, IS:2506-Screed board concrete
vibrators, IS: 4656-Form Vibrators for Concrete) as per site
requirement supplied by only the recognised manufacturers.
6.0 PROTECTION OF PRESTRESSING STEEL
6.1 All pre-stressing steel shall be free of deleterious materials such as

grease, oil, wax, dirt, paint, loose rust or other similar contaminants that
would reduce bond between steel and concrete. Pre-stressing steel

Specifications RVNL
shall not be contaminated with form release agents used on forms or
beds.
6.2 The following points are recommended for pre-stressing steel to

minimise corrosion:
i) Proper packing should be made during shipment. The diameter of

coils should not be too small to induce high bending stresses.
ii) Pre-stressing steel should always be stored in dry warehouses

avoiding direct contact with the ground.
iii) Dragging of pre-stressing steel on the ground is prohibited.
iv) Possibility of ‘stray currents’ passing through the pre-stressing

steel should be eliminated.
v) Threading of cables should preferably be done as late as possible

into the duct after hardening of the concrete. Only where
unavoidable, the cables be threaded in advance of concreting.
vi) High tensile steel is to be stored under cover to minimise

corrosion. Prestressing steel with deeply etched or pitted surface
will not be permitted for use in PSC work.
vii) Strand surfaces shall always be inspected prior to placement in
the duct and contamination shall be cleaned with an effective
solvent.
viii) Prestressing steel shall be protected by suitable coating of water

soluble grease/oil during storage. Procurement of pre-stressing
steel shall be so phased by the Contractor that the storage period
before its actual use in works is limited to the bare minimum as
approved by the Engineer. The execution of works shall be so
planned that threading of cables inducts is done just prior to
stressing. All works preliminary to placing of cables shall be done
in a covered shed to be erected at site at the Contractor’s cost.
7.0 STRESSING OF PRESTRESSING STEEL
7.1 To avoid possibility of part of sheathing getting clogged by the

overlying concrete, it shall be ensured that the cables move freely
inside the sheath before, during and after concreting.
7.2 All precautions shall be taken to ensure that the sheathings do not get
contaminated with deleterious chemicals, salts, etc. during
manufacture, storage and installation.

Specifications RVNL
7.3 Any slack in the pre-stressing tendon shall first be taken up by applying
a small tension. For arriving at the extent of correction and the actual
total elongation, the following procedure (as per clause 7.2.6.5.6.1 of
IRS Concrete Bridge Code) shall be followed;
“The force induced in the prestressing tendons shall be determined by

means of gauges attached to the tensioning apparatus as well as by
measuring the extension of steel and relating it to its stress strain
curve. The variation between the two measurements should be within
5%. It is essential that both methods are used jointly so that the
inaccuracies to which each is singly susceptible are minimized. Due
allowance shall be made for the frictional losses in the tensioning
apparatus. If the variation of two measurements exceeds 5% then:
(i) the cause shall be ascertained,
(ii) the cable should be released and restressed,
(iii) even then, if the variation does not come within 5% then the
cable is to be rejected.
The pressure gauge of devices attached to the tensioning apparatus to

measure the force shall be periodically calibrated to ensure that they
do not at any time introduce errors in reading exceeding 2 percent.
Note- If the calculated elongation is reached before the calculated

gauge pressure is obtained, continue tensioning till attaining the
calculated gauge pressure, provided the elongation does not exceed
1.05 times the calculated elongation. If this elongation is achieved
before the calculated gauge pressure is attained stop stressing and
inform the engineer for ascertaining the cause.
If the calculated elongation has not been reached continue tensioning

by intervals of 5 Kg/cm2 until the calculated elongation is reached
provided the gauge pressure does not exceed 1.05 times the calculated
gauge pressure.
If the elongation of 1.05 times the calculated gauge pressure is less

than times the calculated elongation, the following measures must be
taken, in succession, to define the cause of this lack of elongation:
• Recalibrate the pressure gauge

• Check the correct functioning of the jack, pump and leads
• De-tension the cable. Slide it in its duct to check that it is not
blocked by mortar, which has entered through holes in the
sheath. Re-tension the cable, if free.
• Elastic modulus of strand of PSC Steel should be adopted as

Specifications RVNL
per the test result of the steel.
• If the required elongation is not obtained, further operations
such as cutting or sealing, should not be undertaken without the
approval of the engineer.”
The rate of application of load shall be in accordance with the

manufacture’s recommended procedure for post tensioning. Slip/draw
must be measured at ends and the extension measured for the total
length.
7.4 Large tensioning forces, which are necessary for all pre-stressing
operations make all such constructions very hazardous. The
Contractor is, therefore, required to establish good safety devices and
following instructions shall be complied with:
i) Care shall be taken during tensioning to ensure the safety of all

persons in the vicinity.
ii) Jacks shall be secured in such a manner that they will be held in
position, should they lose their grip on the tendons.
iii) No person shall be allowed to stand behind the jacks or close to

the line of the tendons while tensioning is in progress.
iv) The operations of the jacks and the measurement of the

elongation associated operations shall be carried out in such a
manner and from such a position that the safety of all concerned
is ensured.
v) A safety barrier shall be provided at both ends to prevent any

tendon, which might become loose from recoiling unchecked.
vi) During actual tensioning operation, warning sign shall be

displayed at both ends of the tendon.
vii) After prestressing, concrete shall neither be drilled nor any portion
cut nor chipped away nor disturbed, without express approval of
the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
viii) No welding shall be permitted on or near tendons nor shall any
heat be applied to tendons. Any tendon, which has been affected
by welding, weld spatter or heat, shall be rejected.
7.5 The drawing indicates both sides stressing simultaneously. If

necessary one side stressing can also be permitted. The
tenderer/contractor should specify the method and system of stressing
in their tender offer.
7.6 It shall be noted that the system of jacking the cable wholly (i.e. for
pulling all the wires/strands of each cable together and anchoring) be
adopted for the PSC girders and the quoted rates shall take care of
this.
8.0 GROUTING OF PRESTRESSING CABLE

8.1 General
8.1.1 The recommendations cover the cement grouting of post tensioned

tendons of prestressed concrete members of bridges. This also covers
some of the essential protective measures to be adopted for minimizing
corrosion in PSC bridges.
8.1.2 The purpose of grouting is to provide permanent protection to the post

tensioned steel against corrosion and to develop bond between the
prestressing steel and the surrounding structural concrete. The grout
ensures encasement of steel in an alkaline environment for corrosion
protection and by filling the duct space, it prevents water collection and
freezing.
8.2 Materials
8.2.1 Water
Water free from impurities and as per clause 4.3 of IRS Concrete
Bridge code shall only be permitted.
8.2.2 Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement should be used for preparation of the grout.

It shall be as fresh as possible and free from any lumps. Pozzolana
cement shall not be used.
8.2.3 It is not recommended to use sand for grouting of prestressing

tendons. In case the internal diameter of the ducts exceed 150mm, use
of sand may be considered. Sand, if used , shall conform to IS: 383.
The weight of sand in the grout shall not be more than 10% of weight of

Specifications RVNL
cement, unless proper workability can be ensured by addition of
suitable plasticizers.
8.2.4 Admixtures
Acceptable admixtures conforming to IS:9103 may be used with the

approval of the engineer, if tests have shown that their use improves
the properties of grout, i.e. increasing fluidity, reducing bleeding
entraining air or expanding the grout. Admixtures must not contain
chlorides, nitrates, sulphides, sulphates or any other products, which
are likely to damage the steel or grout. When an expanding agent is
used, the total unrestrained expansion shall preferably be between 4 -
6%. Aluminium powder as an expanding agent is not permitted for
grouting because its long term effects are not free from doubt.
8.3 Grout Openings or Vents
8.3.1 All ducts should have grout openings at both ends. For this purpose
special openings shall be provided where such openings are not
available at end anchorages. For draped (curved) cables crown points
shall have a grout vent. For draped cables longer than 50m grout vents
or drain holes may be provided at or near the lowest points. All grout
openings or vents shall include provisions for preventing grout leakage.
8.3.2 Standard details of fixing couplers, inlets, outlets and air vents to the
duct anchorage shall be followed as recommended by the supplier of
the system of prestressing.
8.3.3 Ducts shall be securely fastened at close intervals. All unintended

holes or openings in the duct must be repaired prior to placement of
concrete. The joints of the couplers and the sheathing shall be made
water proof by use of tape or similar suitable system capable of giving
leak proof joints. Grout openings and vents must be securely be
anchored to the duct and to either the forms or to reinforcing steel to
prevent displacement during concreting operations due to weight,
buoyancy and vibrations.
8.3.4 Ducts require very careful handling as, being of thin metal are
susceptible to leakage due to corrosion in transit or storage.
Tearing/ripping in handling particularly when placed adjoining
reinforcement steel by pulling apart of joints while inserting tendons,
prior to concreting or by accidental puncturing while drilling for form,
ties/inserts needs to be carefully prevented. Ducts are also liable to
damage by rough use of internal vibrator and sparks from welding
being done close by.
8.4 Equipment

Specifications RVNL
8.4.1 Grout Agitator
It is essential that the grout is maintained in a homogenous state and of

uniform consistency so that there is no separation of cement. It is
therefore, necessary that the grout be continuously agitated by a
suitable mixer with a minimum speed of 1000 RPM and travel of
discharge not exceeding 15m per second.
8.4.2 Grout Pump
The pump shall be a positive displacement type and shall be capable

of injecting the grout in a continuous operation and not by way of
pulses. The grout pump must be fitted with pressure gauge to enable
pressure of injection to be controlled. The minimum pressure at which
the grout should be pumped shall be 0.3 MPa and the grout pump must
have a relief arrangement for bypass of the grout in case of build up of
pressure beyond 1 MPa. The capacity of the grout pump should be
such as to achieve a forward speed of grout of around 5 to 10 meters
per minute. The slower rates are preferable as they reduce the
possibility of occurrence of voids. If the capacity of the pump is large, it
is usual to grout two or more cables simultaneously through a common
manifold.
Use of hand pumps for grouting is not recommended. Use of

compressed air operated equipment for injection is prohibited, as it is
likely that there will be some air entrapped in grout.
8.4.3 Water Pump
Before commencement of grouting, a stand by direct feed high

pressure water pump should be kept available at site for an
emergency. In case of any problem in grouting the ducts, such pump
shall immediately be connected to the duct and all grout flushed by use
of high pressure flushing. It is therefore necessary to have adequate
storage of clean potable water for operation of the water pump for
such emergencies.
8.4.4 Grout Screen

The grouting equipment shall contain a screen having a mesh size of
100micron. Prior to introduction into the grout pump the grout should
be passed through such screen. This screen shall be easily accessible
for inspection and cleaning.
8.4.5 Connections & Air Vents

Specifications RVNL
Standard details of fixing inlets, and air vents to the sheathing and/or
anchorage should be followed as specified by the supplier of the
system of prestressing. In general, all connections shall be of the
“Quick Couple” type and at change of diameters, suitable reducers
shall be provided.
8.5 Properties of the Grout
8.5.1 Water/cement ratio should be as low as possible, consistent with

workability. This ratio shall not normally exceed 0.45.
8.5.2 Before grouting, the properties of the grout mix should be tested in a
laboratory depending on the facilities available. Tests shall be
conducted for each job periodically. The recommended test is
described below.
(i) Compressive Strength

The compressive strength of 100 mm cubes of the grout shall
not be less than 17 N/mm2 at 7 days. Cubes shall be cured in a
moist atmosphere for the first 24 hours and subsequently in
water. These tests shall be conducted in advance to ascertain
the suitability of the grout mix.
(ii) Cement
Which shall normally be ordinary Portland cement and shall be
less than one month old. The cement shall be stored in dry
place. When used, its temperature shall not exceed 40 degree
C unless special precautions are taken.
8.6 Mixing of Grout
8.6.1 Proportions of the materials shall be based on field trials made on the
grout mix before commencement of grouting, but subject to the limits
specified above. The materials should be measured by weight.
8.6.2 Water shall be added to the mixer first, followed by cement. Admixture
if any may be added as approved by the Engineer.
8.6.3 Mixing time depends upon the type of the mixer but will normally be
between 2 and 3 minutes. However, mixing should be for such a
duration as to obtain uniform and thoroughly blended grout without
excessive temperature increase or loss of expansive properties of the
admixtures. The grout should be continuously agitated until it is
injected.
8.6.4 Once mixed, no water shall be added to the grout to increase its
fluidity.

Specifications RVNL
8.6.5 Hand mixing is not permitted.
8.7 Grouting Operations
8.7.1 General
8.7.1.1 Grouting shall be carried out as early as possible but not later than one
week of stressing a tendon. Whenever this stipulation cannot be
complied with for unavoidable reasons, adequate temporary protection
of the steel against corrosion by methods or products which will not
impair the ultimate adherence of the injected grout should be ensured
till grouting. The sealing of the anchorage ends after concreting is
considered to be a good practice to prevent ingress of water. For
structures in aggressive environment, sealing of the anchorage ends is
mandatory.
Notes:
1. Application of some patented water soluble oils for coating of
steel/VPI powder injections/sending in of hot, dry and oil free
compressed air through the vents at frequent intervals have shown
some good results.
2. Some of the methods recommended for sealing of anchorages are

to seal the openings with bitumen impregnated gunny bag or water
proof paper or by building a brick pedestal plastered on all faces
enclosing the exposed wires outside the anchorages.
8.7.1.2 Any traces of oil if applied to steel for preventing corrosion should be
removed before grouting operation.
8.7.1.3 Ducts shall be flushed with water for cleaning as well as for wetting the
surfaces of the duct walls. Water used for flushing should be of the
same quality as used for grouting. It may, however, contain about 1
per cent of slaked lime or quick lime. All water should be drained
through the lowest drain pipe or by blowing compressed air through the
duct.
8.7.1.4 The water in the duct should be blown out with oil free compressed air.
Blowing out water from duct for cables longer than 50m draped up at
both ends by compressed air may not be effective Outlet/vent provided
at or near the lowest point shall be used to drain out water from duct.
8.7.1.5 The connection between the nozzle of the injection pipe and duct
should be such that air cannot be sucked in.
8.7.1.6 All outlet points including vent openings should be kept open prior to
the commencement of injection of grout.

Specifications RVNL
8.7.1.7 Before grouting, all air in the pump and hose should be expelled. The
suction circuit of the pump should be airtight.
8.7.2 Injection of Grout
8.7.2.1 After mixing, the grout should be kept in continuous movement.
8.7.2.2 Injection of grout must be continuous and should not be interrupted.
8.7.2.3 The method of injection should ensure complete filling of the ducts. To
verify this, it is advisable to compare the volume of the space to be
filled by injected grout with the quantity to grout actually. Also the
bypass system indicated above is essential for further safety.
8.7.2.4 Grouting should be commenced initially with a low pressure of injection

of upto 0.3 N/mm2 increasing it until the grout comes out at the other
end. The grout should be allowed to flow freely from the other end until
consistency of the grout at this end is the same as that of the grout at
the injection end. When the grout flows at the other end, it should be
closed off and build up of pressure commenced. Full injection pressure
at about 0.5 N/mm2 shall be maintained for at least one minute before
closing the injection pipe. It is a recommended practice to provide a
stand pipe at the highest point of the tendon profile to hold all water
displaced by sedimentation or bleeding. If there is a build up of
pressure much in excess of 1 N/mm2 without flow of grout coming at
the other end, the grouting operation should be discontinued and the
entire duct flushed with high water pressure.
8.7.2.5 Grout not used within 30 minutes of mixing should be rejected.
8.7.2.6 Disconnection is facilitated if a short length of flexible tube connects the

duct and injection pipe. This can be squeezed and cut off after the
grout has hardened.
8.8 Precautions and Recommendations for Effective Grouting
8.8.1 When the ambient temperature during the day is likely to exceed 40
degree C, grouting should be done in the early morning or late evening
hours.
8.8.2 When the cables are threaded after concreting, the duct must be
temporarily protected during concreting by inserting a stiff rod or a rigid
PVC pipe or any other suitable method.
8.8.3 During concreting, care shall be taken to ensure that the sheathing is
not damaged. Needle vibrators shall be used with extreme care by
well experienced staff only to ensure the above requirements.

Specifications RVNL
8.8.4 It is a good practice to move the cables in both directions during the
concreting operations. This can easily be done by light hammering the
ends of the wires/strands during concreting. It is also advisable that 3
to 4 hours after concreting the cable should be moved both ways
through a distance of about 20 cms. With such movement, any
leakage of mortar which has taken place in spite of all precautions
loses bond with the cables, thus reducing the chance of blockages.
This operation can also be done by fixing prestressing jacks at one
end, pulling the entire cable and then repeating the operation by fixing
the jack at the other end. Compressed air should be also be pumped
to clear leaked mortar plug.
8.8.5 In case of stage prestressing, cables tensioned in the first stage should
not remain ungrouted till all cables are stressed. It is a good practice
while grouting any duct in stage prestressing to keep all the remaining
ducts filled up with water containing 1 percent lime or by running water
through such ducts till the grout has set. After grouting the particular
cable the water in the other cables should be drained and removed
with compressed air to prevent corrosion.
8.8.6 Care should be taken to avoid leaks from one duct to another at joints
of precise members.
8.8.7 End faces where anchorages are located are vulnerable points of entry
of water. They have to be necessarily protected with an effective
barrier. Recesses should be packed with mortar/concrete and should
preferably be panted with water proof paint.
8.8.8 After grouting is completed, the projecting portion of vents should be

cut off and the face protected to prevent corrosion.
9.0 INSPECTION
In general the scope of inspection to be performed in the prestressing

work shall include the following:
i) Identification, examination, acceptance and laboratory testing of

materials.
ii) Inspection and recording tensioning.
iii) Inspection of Bed and forms prior to concreting.
iv) Checking of dimensions of members, positions of cables/ducts,

reinforcing steel, air vents, other incorporated materials,
anchorages, openings, blackouts, etc.

Specifications RVNL
v) Continual inspection of batching mixing, conveying, placing,
compacting, finishing, curing, of concrete cubes, etc.
vi) Preparation of concrete specimens for tests and performing of

tests for slumps, air content, cube strength, etc.
vii) General observation of casting, site, equipment, working

conditions, weather and other conditions affecting product.
viii) Final inspection of finished members.
ix) Any other items required direction for ensuring quality, process,
and smooth functioning of the work.
10.0 RECORD KEEPING
In order to establish evidence of proper manufacture and quality of the

prestressed concrete members, a system of records as mentioned below shall
be maintained by the contractor besides such records as may be directed by
the Engineer during the progress of the work. Two copies of such record shall
be made and one copy duly signed by the contractor and the site Engineer
shall be submitted to the Engineer.
i) Each prestressed member shall be identified by bed and date of

cast and an identification number which shall refer to design
calculation, drawing, tensioning records, concreting records, cube
strength records. Maintaining of these records shall be the
responsibility of the contractor.
ii) Certified test report of the materials such as prestressing steel,

anchorages, sheathings, admixtures, expansion joints,
aggregates, etc. brought by the contractor and used in the
structure. These report shall show that the materials conform to
the relevant specifications. Keeping record of all these test reports
including those of cement and reinforcing steel, shall be the
responsibility of the contractor.
iii) An accurate record of tensioning and grouting operations for each

and every cable shall be kept. These shall include but not be
limited to the following:
a) Date of tensioning/grouting
b) Cast bed identification
c) Description, identification and number of the girder

Specifications RVNL
d) Manufacture, size and class of tendon.
e) Identification of all the tensioning equipment.
f) Identification and number of the cable/duct being tensioned

/grouted.
g) Cube strength on the date of tensioning.
h) Design elongation and gauge pressure for the particular

cable under tension.
i) Chart indicating actual gauge pressure and corresponding

measured elongation at each end and at each stage of
tensioning with graph showing actual gauge pressure vs
measured elongation and correction value of elongation for
initial tension before marking.
j) Slip of anchorages at each end.
k) The actual net elongation and shortfall or otherwise from the

design value for each cable.
l) All data on the date of grouting e.g. time of start and

completion, initial and final pressure of grout injection, total
cement consumption, etc.
m) Any un-natural occurrences encountered during tensioning

or grouting ; such as failure of equipment, snapping of
tendons, excessive slippage, blockage of ducts resulting in
heavy shortfall in elongation or excessive increase in
pressure of grout injection, or any other problem that may
have direct or indirect influence on the net stress or effective
grouting.
iv) Records of concreting operations and tests shall be kept so that

the following data be recorded for each member or each group of
members cast on one bed.
a) Date, time and duration of concreting. Identification of

batching plant (including its initial and final reading) and
other important concreting equipment. Quality by weight for
each ingredient of concrete and mixing time of each batch.
b) Identification of casting bed and member.
c) Design Mix proportion.

Specifications RVNL
d) Adjustments in water content in the mix due to bulkage of
sand or absorbed water in coarse aggregate.
e) Identification and numbering of work strength testing cubes.
f) Various field tests conducted at site like workability test,

determination of water content in sand and coarse
aggregate, etc.
g) Weather condition, ambient temperature, concrete

temperature.
h) Method and duration of curing.
i) Strength of cubes at 7 days, 28 days and on the date of

prestressing.
j) Failure of equipment and interruption in continuous

concreting.
k) Total cement consumption.
l) Any un-natural occurrence that may have direct or indirect

effect on the overall quality of the work.
v) All equipment used in the work shall be calibrated to the

satisfaction of the Engineer. The record for calibration done shall
show the following:-
a) Date of calibration.
b) Agency and laboratory performing the calibration.
c) Method of calibration.
d) A curve showing full range calibration with gauge readings

plotted against actual load.
11.0 INSTALLATION OF BEARINGS
Care shall be taken during installation of the bearings to permit their

correct functioning in accordance with the design scheme. It will be
desirable that the representatives of the manufacturer be at the time of
installation of bearings at least for first few girders or the work of
installation be also included in the scope of the work of the
manufacturers.

Specifications RVNL
The supplier of the bearings shall despatch the bearings in its true
position from the workshop with its top and bottom plates suitably
clamped. Dismantling of bearings at site shall not be permitted under
normal circumstances.
The load shall be transferred on to the bearing only when the bedding
materials has developed sufficient strength.
In case of cast-in-situ construction, the bearings shall be carefully

protected during concreting operations. Any mortar contaminating the
bearing shall be completely removed before it sets.
The details of seating of pot and other bearings shall be strictly as per
manufacturer’s recommendations.
12.0 INSTALLATION OF EXPANSION JOINTS
It shall be preferable to have stainless steel as expansion joint. Care

shall be taken during installation of the expansion joints to permit their
correct functioning in accordance with the design scheme. It will
desirable that the representatives of the manufacturer be present at the
time of installation of expansion joints at least for first few joints or the
work of installation be also included in the scope of work of the
manufacturer.
13.0 DRAINAGE OUTLETS
The drainage outlets shall be in conformity to the requirements and

code of practice. The spacing of the drainage outlets shall be as per
approved drawing or as directed by the Engineer. The down spouts
shall be adequately fixed to the deck and shall be of rigid corrosion
resistant materials not less than 100 mm dia in the least dimension and
shall be provided with suitable clean out fixtures. These outlets shall be
so provided that the discharge of the rain water drained by them is not
directed towards any part of the super-structure or sub-structure
component.
14.0 MEASUREMENTS FOR PAYMENT
Prestressed Concrete shall be measured in cubic metres. The volume

occupied by mild steel reinforcement/ HYSD bars, high tensile steel,
sheathing and anchorages shall not be deducted.
High tensile (prestressing) steel shall be paid for separately and its
length shall be measured as actually incorporated in the finished work.
From the length so measured its weight shall be calculated in tonnes
on theoretical basis and paid for. Anchorage devices, additional length
of cables for attaching jack, ducts or sheathing, grout, non-prestressed

Specifications RVNL
steel reinforcement fixed to the anchorage devices, making of recesses
and filling the same, protection by painting with epoxy and furnishing
samples for testing shall all be deemed to be included in the item of
high tensile steel and shall not be measured separately.
15.0 RATE
The contract unit rate for prestressed concrete shall cover the cost of
all materials, labour, tools and plant required for mixing, placing in
position, vibrating and compacting, finishing as per directions of the
Engineer, curing and other incidental expenses for producing concrete
of specified strength to complete the structure or its components as
shown on the drawings and according to specifications. The contract
unit rate shall also include the cost of making, fixing and removing of
all centering and forms required for the work.
The contract unit rate for high tensile steel shall cover the cost of
material, labour, tools and plant required for manufacturing, placing,
tensioning anchoring and grouting the high tensile steel in the
prestressed concrete as shown on the drawings and as per
specifications herein above or as directed by the Engineer.
The cost of anchorage devices, additional length of cables for attaching

jack, ducts or sheathing, grout, non-prestressed steel reinforcement
fixed to the anchorage devices, making of recesses and filling the
same, protection by painting with epoxy and furnishing samples for
testing shall all be included in the unit rate. Rate shall also include
payments if any to be made to the supplier of the prestressing system
who has to monitor, ensure and certify the correctness of all
operations.

Specifications RVNL
(f) - BORED PILES
1.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENT
1.1 Content
This section covers the technical requirement for installation of bored

cast-in-situ reinforced concrete vertical piles & raker piles of specified
load carrying capacity and diameter, including load tests on piles for all
types of structures.
1.2 Codes and Standards
Some of the relevant Indian Standards, codes etc. applicable to this

section of specification are enlisted below :
IS : 1892 Code of practice for subsurface investigation for
foundation
IS : 2131 Method of standard penetration test for soils
IS : 2911 Code of practice for design and construction of pile

Foundations (Part 1 / Sec.1) Driven cast in situ
concrete piles.(Part I / Sec 2) Bored cast-in-situ
concrete piles. (Part-IV) Load test on piles.
IS :6926 Code of practice for diamond core drilling for site

investigation for river valley projects.
2.0 PILE INSTALLATION
2.1 Installation of piles shall be carried out as per pile layout drawings,
installation criteria and the instructions of the Engineer.
2.2 Safe load capacity of pile of various diameters in vertical compression,

horizontal(lateral), for various pile diameters are specified in the
schedule of items.
2.3 The Contractor shall ensure and guarantee the “safe load” capacities
both for initial test piles and working piles, as mentioned in the
schedule of items.
2.4 Before installing the initial test pile, Contractor shall finalise the pile
testing arrangement and get the approval from the Engineer.
2. 5 It is envisaged that the working piles shall be installed after the

successful completion of the initial pile load test.

Specifications RVNL
2.6 In case the Contractor desires to install the working piles, pending
successful completion of initial pile load test, he may be permitted to do
so, provided he gives undertaking to the Engineer to bear all
associated risks and costs involved to make up for the short falls in the
pile capacity, in the event of the failure of the initial pile load tests to
establish specified safe load carrying capacity of initial test pile.
2.7 The Engineer reserves the right to reject any pile which in his opinion is
defective on account of safe load carrying capacity, structural integrity,
position, alignment, concrete quality etc. Piles that are defective shall
be pulled out or left in place as judged convenient by the Engineer,
without affecting the performance of adjacent piles. The Contractor
shall install additional piles to substitute the defective piles, as per the
directions of the Engineer, at no extra cost to the owner. Further, the
cost of additional piles and increase in the pile cap size, if any, on
account of additional piles shall be borne by the Contractor. Cement
and steel used on account of additional piles and / or increase in the
pile cap size shall be subject to provision of panel recovery at the rate
specified under relevant clauses of special conditions of contract. If
any bore hole is defective or is abandoned, it shall be filled up with lean
concrete 1:4:8 at contractor’s cost.
2.8 In case, the Contractor fails to establish the safe load carrying capacity
based on initial pile load test, the owner shall have full rights to get the
work of piling done by any other agency of repute, all at the risks and
cost of the Contractor.
2.9 Each pile shall be identified with a reference number. The convenience
of installation may be taken into account while scheduling the sequence
of piling in a group.
2.10 Level marks shall be accurately painted on each pile immediately after its
installation. Subsequently, if any pile displays any tendency to heave up
due to installation of other piles or due to any other reasons, the same
shall be reinstalled firms as per the directions of the Engineer without any
extra cost.
2.11 The Contractor shall record all the information during installation of
piles. Typical data sheet for recording pile data shall be as shown at
Annexure-1. On completion of each pile installation, pile record in
triplicate shall be submitted to the Engineer within two days of
completion of concreting of the pile.
2.12 Approval of termination depth by the Engineer in no way absolve the

Contractor of his responsibility to guarantee the `safe load’ capacities
of the piles as indicated in this document.

Specifications RVNL
2.2 Control of Position and Alignment
2. 2.1 Piles shall be installed as accurately vertical (for vertical piles) as well
as to specified rake (for raker piles) as possible. The permissible limits
for deviation with respect to position and (inclination) alignment shall
confirm to IS: 2911.
2.3 Pile Installation
The equipment and accessories for installation of piles shall be

selected giving due consideration to the sub soil conditions, ground
water conditions, type of founding material etc. These shall be of
standard type and shall have the approval of the Engineer.
2.3.1 Bored Pile
a) Boring / drilling operations shall be done by rotary hydraulic feed

drilling rigs with reverse mud circulation (A&C-17) or other suitable
boring/drilling methods approved by engineer. The boring/drilling
equipment shall have suitable and adequate accessories for boring /
drilling through all type of strata expected at site.
b) Working level shall be above the cut-off-level. After the initial boring of
about 1m, temporary guide casing of suitable length shall be lowered in
the pile bore for vertical pile. The diameter of guide casing shall be
such as to give the necessary finished diameter of the concrete pile.
The centre line of guide casing shall be checked before continuing
further boring. Guide casing shall be minimum of 1.0m length.
Additional length of casing may be used depending on the condition of
the strata, ground water level etc. For raker piles, permanent guide
case shall be provided upto the founding level.
c) The temporary guide casing (if provided) shall be withdrawn cautiously,

after concreting is done upto the required level. While withdrawing the
casing, concrete shall not be disturbed.
d) The size of cutting tools shall not be less than the diameter of the pile
by more than 75mm. However, the pile bore shall be of the specified
size.
e) Permanent MS Liners shall be provided for piles as instructed by the

Engineer, upto point of refusal or as directed by the Engineer. The
Contractual fabricate MS Liners from MS sheets to suit to the diameter
of the pipe. The required length of the Liners will be made up by
welding each unit at site. The thickness of the Liners shall not be less
than 5 mm and for the bottom length of 1.2 m or such increased length

Specifications RVNL
as decided by the Engineer, the thickness can be increased suitably.
The bottom end of the MS Liner shall be stiffened by welding additional
plates to withstand the impact during driving.
f) In case hard rock is encountered, chiseling is essentially required for

softening of the rock, the same may be adopted only on approval of the
Engineer, at no extra cost to the owner. However, advancement of pile
bore shall be done by drilling only.
g) The piles shall be founded on hard or soft rock or other suitable strata
as per the directions of the Engineer. Where the pile is required to be
founded in hard rock, a minimum anchorage of 0.5 m shall be provided.
h) Drilling mud (bentonite slurry) shall be used for stabilizing the sides of
the pile bore. Drilling mud to be used shall meet the requirements, as
given below.
i) Liquid limit of bentonite when tested in accordance with IS:2720

( part v) shall be more than 300 percent and less than 450
percent.
ii ) Sand content of the bentonite powder shall not be greater than 7

percent.
iii) Bentonite solution should be made by mixing it with fresh water

using pump for circulation. The density of the freshly prepared
bentonite suspension shall be between 1.034 and 1.10 gm / ml
depending upon the pile dimensions and type of soil in which the
pile is to be installed. However, the density of bentonite
suspension after mixing with deleterious materials in the pile
bore may be upto 1.25 gm / ml.
iv) The marsh viscosity when tested by a marsh cone shall be

between 30 to 60 seconds.
v) The differential free swell shall be more than 540 percent.
vi) The pH value of the bentonite suspension shall be between 9

and 11.5.
i) Maintaining the bore hole: The bentonite slurry shall be maintained at

1.5m above the ground water level during boring operations and till the
pile is concreted. The bentonite slurry shall be under constant
circulation till start of concreting and shall meet the requirements
stipulated in the subsequent clauses.

Specifications RVNL
j) Cleaning of Pile bore
(i) After completion of the pile bore upto the required depth, the pile
bore shall be cleaned by three stage flushing of slurry using airlift
technique. The bottom of the pile bore shall be thoroughly cleaned
by airlift technique. Cleaning shall ensure that the pile bore is
completely free from sludge / bored material, debris of rock /
boulder etc. Necessary checks shall be made so as to confirm the
thorough cleaning of the pile bore.
ii) Pile bore shall be cleaned by fresh drilling mud through tremie pipe
before and after placing the reinforcement and just before the start
of concreting.
iii) Concreting operations shall not proceed if the contaminated drilling

mud at the bottom of the pile bore possess a density of more than
1.25 t / cu.m. The drilling mud sample shall be collected from the
bottom of pile bore. For this a solid cone shall be lowered by a
string to the bottom of pile bore. A sampler tube closed at top with a
central hole (hollow cylinder) is lowered over the cone, then a top
cover shall be lowered over the cylinder. Care shall be taken for
proper fittings of assembly to minimise the leakage, while lifting the
cone assembly to the ground surface. The slurry collected in the
sampler tube shall be tested for density and sand content.
iv) Consistency of the drilling mud suspension shall be controlled

throughout concreting operations in order to keep the bore
stabilized, as well as to prevent concrete getting mixed up with the
thicker suspension of the mud.
v) A protocol shall be maintained regarding the strata at the founding

level, SPT value, percent core recovery, Unconfined Compressive
Strength (UCS) from the nearest borehole, socketing horizon,
flushing of pile bore, time interval between end of boring and start of
concreting, bentonite density before start of concreting.
2.4 Carriage and Disposal
2.4.1 Bored spoil material and contaminated mud shall be disposed off up to
a lead of 2 kms as directed by Engineer.
3.0 CONCRETING
3.1 Technical specification for cast-in-situ concrete and allied works along
with IS: 2911 shall be applicable to concrete works for piles.

Specifications RVNL
3.1.1 Grade of concrete to be used in cast-in- situ piles shall preferably be
M25 or as specified but never less than M20 and cement content shall
not be less than 400kg per cubic metre of concrete. Maximum water
cement ratio shall be 0.5 for cast-in situ piles.
3.1.2 The slump of concrete shall vary between 150 to 180 mm for bored
piles.
3. 2 Concreting shall not be done until the Engineer is satisfied that the
termination level of pile, is as per the installation criteria mentioned else
where in the specification.
3. 3 The time interval between the completion of boring and placing of

concrete in pile bore shall not exceed 6 hrs. In case the time interval
exceeds 6 hrs the pile bore shall be abandoned. However, the
Engineer may allow concreting provided the Contractor extends the
pile bore by 0.5 m beyond the termination level and clean the pile bore.
The entire cost of all operation and materials for this extra length shall
be borne by the Contractor.
3.4 Concreting shall be done by tremie method. The operation of tremie

concreting shall be governed by IS: 2911. Drilling mud shall be
maintained sufficiently above the ground water level as specified
elsewhere in the specification.
3.4.1 Concreting by tremie shall continue to allow the initial pours of concrete
mixed with bentonite slurry, sludge and cut spoils from the bore over
flows and the consistency and quality of the over flowing concrete is
comparable to that of designed mix. The length of over flow will be
decided by the Engineer.
3.4.2 It shall be ensured that volume of concrete poured is atleast equal to

the theoretically computed volume of the pile shaft being cast.
3.5 Top of Concrete in Pile and Cut-off-Level (COL)
3.5.1 Cut-off-Level of piles shall be as indicated in drawings released for

construction and / or as indicated by the Engineer.
3.5.2 The top of concrete in pile as cast shall be above the cut-off-level by
1.0 metre (maximum) to remove all laitance and weak concrete and to
ensure good concrete at cut-off-level, for proper embedment into the
pile cap.
3.5.3 Cement being used for concreting this extra length of pile above the
cut-off-level, as per the requirements of technical specification shall
only be considered as the material being used for the work, for the
purposes of reconciliation of cement consumption.

Specifications RVNL
3.5.4 Preparation of Pile head: The area surrounding the piles shall be
excavated upto the bottom of the pile caps. After seven days of
concreting of pile, the exposed part of concrete above the COL shall be
removed / chipped off and made rough at COL. The projected
reinforcement above COL shall be properly cleaned and bent to the
required shape and level to be anchored into the pile-cap. The pile top
shall be embedded into the pile cap by 150 mm or clear cover to
reinforcement, whichever is higher.
3.5.5 All loose material on the top of pile head after chipping to the desired
level shall be removed and disposed off upto a lead of 2Kms as
directed by the Engineer.
4.0 REINFORCEMENT
4.1 Technical specification for cast-in-situ concrete and allied works along
with IS:2911 shall be applicable for reinforcement for piles.
4.2 Longitudinal reinforcement in pile shall be high yield strength deformed

steel (HYSD) bars conforming to IS:1786, unless specified otherwise.
Lateral reinforcement in pile shall be of mild steel conforming to IS: 432
Part-1 or HYSD bars as per IS: 1786.
4.3 The longitudinal reinforcement shall project 50 times its diameter above
cut-off-level unless otherwise indicated.
4.4 The minimum clear spacing between the two adjacent main
reinforcement bars shall normally be 100 mm for the full depth of cage
and they shall be held firmly in position by tack welding suitable
stiffeners. For links, the spacing shall not be less than 150mm and in
no case more than 250mm.
4.5 Proper cover to reinforcement and central placement of the

reinforcement cage in the pile bore shall be ensured by use of suitable
concrete spacers or rollers, cast specifically for the purpose.
Placement of reinforcement cage to its full length shall be ensured
before concreting.
4.6 Minimum clear cover to the reinforcement shall be 50 mm, unless

otherwise mentioned.
5.0 BUILDING UP OF PILES
5.1 If any pile, already cast as per construction drawing, requires any extra
casting due to any change in cut-off-level, then the pile shall be built up
by using at least one grade higher concrete than specified for piles,
ensuring proper continuity with the existing concrete and to the
satisfaction of the Engineer. Necessary reinforcement, as per design
Specifications RVNL
requirement and suitable shuttering shall be provided, before casting
the concrete. Surrounding soil shall also be built up to the required
level by proper compaction, to ensure lateral capacity of the pile.
6.0 BREAKING OFF OF PILES
6.1 If any pile already cast requires breaking, due to subsequent change of
cut-off-level, then the same shall be carried out, not before seven days
of casting without affecting the quality of existing pile, such as
loosening, cracking etc., and to the satisfaction of the Engineer.
7.0 100 mm DIA BORE HOLE
7.1 Bore hole shall be made as per IS: 1892 for determining (which is one
of the criteria of establishing) start of socking horizon and termination
level of piles. Standard Penetration Test (SPT), as per IS: 2131, in a
bore hole shall be conducted at 1.0 m interval in the overburden soil
and rock portion having core recovery < 30%.
7.2 Number of bore holes for determining termination shall vary depending
on the site condition and as decided by the Engineer. In case of
uniform strata, 1 borehole may be sufficient for 40-50 piles or in a pile
group. In case of erratic strata, the number of boreholes may be 1 in
20 to 40 piles. However, at the location of initial load test piles, one
such borehole shall be done at each location.
8.0 LOAD TEST ON PILES
8.1 This part of the specification covers the requirements for initial and
routine load tests on reinforced concrete single vertical piles of
specified diameter to assess their vertical, horizontal (lateral) and pull
out load carrying capacities.
8.2 The work shall include mobilisation of all necessary equipment,

kentledge, anchor piles / rock anchors, or combination of kentledge
and anchor piles / rock anchors, providing necessary engineering
supervision and technical personnel, skilled and unskilled labour, etc.,
As required, to carryout the complete pile testing and submission of
test reports.
8.3 The Contractor shall carryout all works meant within this specification,
even if not explicitly mentioned under the scope. All the works shall be
carried out to the satisfaction of the Engineer.
8.4 All pile testing shall conform to IS: 2911(Part IV) and modified to the
extent given below.

Specifications RVNL
8.5 It is essential that all the equipment and instruments are properly
calibrated both at the commencement and immediately after the
completion of tests, so that they represent true values. If the Engineer
so desires, the Contractor shall arrange for having the instruments
calibrated in presence of the Engineer, at an approved laboratory at his
own cost and the test report / calibration certificate shall be submitted
to the Engineer.
8.6 The complete jacking system including the hydraulic jack, hydraulic
pump and pressure gauge shall be calibrated as unit. The complete
unit shall be calibrated over its complete range of travel for increasing
and decreasing loads same as that of test loads. The calibration
certificate shall be submitted to the Engineer.
8.7 The reaction load to be made available for the test shall be atleast 25%
greater than the maximum jacking force. The reaction system as
relevant shall be designed for the total reaction load. All reaction loads
shall be stable and balanced during all operations of testing. During
testing, stability of reaction system shall be ensured.
8.8 The load applied on the pile shall be measured by a calibrated

pressure gauge mounted on the jack with a least count of not more
than 10% of the safe load.
8.9 The displacement of pile (in vertical, horizontal and uplift) shall be
measured using dial gauges having a least count of 0.01mm.
a) Load test shall be conducted at pile cut of level ( COL ). If the

water table is above the COL the test pit shall be kept dry
through out the test period by suitable de-watering methods.
b) Incase of initial vertical load test, where the water table level is
higher than the COL, Contractor may use anchor piles / rock
anchors for testing purposes. Engineer at his discretion, may
decide to raise the COL above water table.
8.10 Full details of the equipment proposed to be used, the test setup and
pile testing scheme alongwith detailed design, drawings shall be
submitted to the Engineer, before making arrangements to carryout the
tests, for his approval. Approval of the Engineer shall also be obtained
after the test set up is complete prior to commencement of loading.
8.11 All operations in connection with pile load test shall be carried out in a
safe manner so as to prevent the exposure of people to hazard and
also to ensure the safety of men and material.

Specifications RVNL
8.12 a) Proforma for pile load tests is shown at Annexure - II shall be
submitted in triplicate to the Engineer immediately on completion
of each test. The record shall also include the plots of ( i ) load
vs settlement and ( ii ) time vs settlement ( for each increment of
Load ), ( iii ) characteristics of the piles and interpretation of the
pile load test curve as per the criteria for safe loads, as
mentioned in the specification.
b) Two fixed independent benchmarks shall be established as

reference point at least 15m from the test pile to monitor the
settlements.
8.13 If any initial pile load test gets abandoned and / or is not successfully
completed then the Contractor shall install another test pile and repeat
the initial test after correcting the fault, at his own cost. Extra cement
and steel consumed on account of repeat of initial load test shall be
considered as wastage for reconciliation of reinforcement steel and
cement.
8.14 Test Pile Installation
8.14.1 Piles shall be installed as specified elsewhere in this specification.
8.14.2 Pile installation data as applicable shall be furnished along with the
load test results in triplicate, to the Engineer.
8.15 Type of Tests
8.15.1 The Contractor shall carry out two categories of load tests i.e. initial
load test and routine load test.
8.15. 2 Initial load test shall be conducted to assess the safe load carrying
capacity of pile before start of installation of working Piles. This shall
include the following type of tests.
a) Vertical ( compression ) load test to assess safe vertical load

capacity.
b) Lateral load test to assess safe horizontal load capacity.
8.15.3 Routine load tests shall be conducted to verify the load capacity of
working pile. This shall include the following types of tests :
a) Direct vertical ( compression ) load test for vertical load capacity
b) Lateral load test for horizontal load capacity.

Specifications RVNL
8.15.4 The minimum number of routine load test on working piles shall be as
directed by Engineer.
8.16 Test Pile
8.16.1 The test piles for routine load test shall be identified by the Engineer.
For initial load test, test piles shall be installed as directed by the
Engineer.
8.16.2 A minimum time period of four weeks shall be allowed between the
time of pile casting and testing. Test pile head shall be prepared for
testing purposes only, one week after casting the pile.
8.16.3 Test piles shall be cut off at the proper level and provided with a proper
cap / head, so as to provide a plane bearing surface for the test plate
and for proper arrangements for seating of the jack and dial gauges.
8.17 Vertical Load Test
8.17.1 Equipment and Test Set up
A steel plate of sufficient thickness but not less than 50mm shall be
centered on the pile head / cap to prevent it from crushing under
applied load. The size of the circular test plate shall not be less than
the pile size nor less than the area covered by the base of the hydraulic
jack (s).
The datum bars shall be supported on immovable supports

preferably of concrete pillars or steel sections placed sufficiently far
away from the test pile. The distance shall not be less than 3 times the
diameter of test pile and in no case less than 2 metres from the edge of
test pile. These supports shall be placed at a sufficient depth below
ground to be unaffected by ground movements.
8.17.2 Loading System
The test load on pile shall be applied in one of the following ways as
approved by the Engineer.
a) By means of hydraulic jack(s), which obtain reaction from

kentledge heavier than the required test load. While using this
method care shall be taken to ensure that the centre of gravity of
kentledge is on the axis of the pile. The load applied by the
jack(s) shall also be coaxial with the pile. The nearest edge of
the crib supporting the kentledge stack shall not be closer than
1.5 metres to the edge of the test pile.

Specifications RVNL
b) By means of hydraulic jack(s), which obtain reaction from
anchor piles ( for initial pile load test ) and / or suitable loading
frame. While using this method all anchor piles shall be at a
centre to centre distance of atleast three times the test pile shaft
diameter from the test pile and in no case less than 2 metres.
Care shall be exercised to ensure that the datum bar supports
are not affected by heaving up of the soil.
c) By means of hydraulic jack(s), which obtain reaction from

suitable rock anchors ( for initial pile load test ). When this
method is adopted, the anchor transferring the load to the
ground shall not be closer than two times the test pile shaft
diameter to the test pile and in no case less than 1.5m.
d) By means of combination of kentledge, anchor pile / rock

anchors.
e) The measurement of strains for load monitoring may also be

done by load cell connected to a digital read out unit.
8.17.3 Measuring System
(i) Settlement of the pile shall be recorded by four dial gauges

placed at diametrically opposite locations and suspended
from the datum bar around the pile. Settlement / movement of
the pile top can also be made by three Linear Variable
Differential Transducers (LVDTs) having at least 100mm of
travel. The read out unit shall have a minimum display of 3½
digits, capable of monitoring output at least 10 DC/PC type
LVDTs.
(ii) Additionally a graduated scale of at least 150mm long and

divided in graduations of 500  shall be fixed to the pile and
tungsten wire shall be fixed in opposite side. Measurement
of the pile settlement shall also be done by a suitable total
station / digital theodolite. Typical set up for measuring
system shall be submitted by the Contractor.
8.17.4 Test Procedure
The test shall be carried out by the direct loading method in successive
increments for initial and routine load test.
A) Direct Loading Method

The test shall be carried out as per the procedure outlined
below:-

Specifications RVNL
a) The load shall be applied to the pile top in increments (
steps ) of about 20% of the rated capacity of the pile or as
directed by Engineer. Each increment of load shall be
applied as smoothly and expeditiously as possible.
Settlement reading shall be taken before and immediately
after the application of next increment and at 15, 30
minutes and thereafter at every 1/2 hour until application
of the next load increment.
b) Each stage of loading shall be maintained till the rate of

movement of the pile top is not more than 0.2mm / hr or
until two hours have elapsed, whichever is earlier.
c) The rate of movement of pile shall not be permitted to be

extrapolated from period of test less than one hour.
d) Loading on the pile shall be continued till one of the

following takes place:
i) In case of initial load test
- Applied load reaches three times the safe

vertical load carrying capacity.
- The maximum settlement of pile exceeds a

value of 10 percent of pile diameter.
ii ) In case of Routine Load Test
- Applied load reaches one and half times the

safe vertical load carrying capacity.
- The maximum settlement of Test Loading in

position attains 12mm.
e) Where yielding of the soil / rock does not occur, full test
load shall be maintained on the pile head for a minimum
period of 24 hrs, after the last increment of load has been
applied. Settlement /values shall be recorded at every 6
hrs interval during this period.
f) Unloading shall be carried out in the same steps as

loading. A minimum period of 30 minutes shall be allowed
to elapse between two successive stages of load
decrement. The final rebound shall be recorded 6 hours
after the entire test load has been removed.

Specifications RVNL
8.17.5 Assessment of Safe Load
The safe vertical load carrying capacity of single pile from the initial and
routine vertical load tests shall be the least of the following values :
i) Two-third of the final load, at which the total settlement is

12mm.
ii ) 50 percent of the final load, at which the total settlement equals

to 10 percent of the pile diameter.
8.18 Horizontal (Lateral) Load Test
8.18.1 Equipment and Test set up
a) The test plate shall be set in high strength grout to provide full
bearing against the projected areas of the pile. The size of the
circular test plate shall be adequate to accommodate the
spherical bearing and transfer the load to the pile.
b) Sufficient clearance shall be allowed between the test pile and

the datum bar for the anticipated lateral movement of the pile,
when datum bar ( for fixing the dial gauge ) is located on the
opposite side to the point of load application.
8.18. 2 Loading System
a) Loading shall be applied by a hydraulic jack of adequate

capacity equipped with spherical bearing at the top of ram and
bearing plate at the bottom side, abutting the pile horizontally
and reacting against a suitable system.
b) The reaction may be provided by the wall of the excavated pit,

when the test is being conducted below ground level or by a
neighboring pile, in which case thrust pieces shall be inserted on
either end of the jack to make up the gap, as approved by the
Engineer.
c) Load shall be applied on the pile at or approximately at Cut-Off-

Level ( COL ).
8.18. 3 Measuring System
a) The deflection shall be measured at a point diametrically

opposite to the point of Load application. Use of LVDTs placed
on opposite side of the load application as mentioned elsewhere
shall be done to measure deflection.

Specifications RVNL
b) Deflection of the pile at the level of load application shall be
measured by dial gauge fixed to datum bar. The datum bar shall
rest on immovable supports, as described elsewhere in this
specification.
8.18.4 Test Procedure
a) The test procedure shall be similar to that for vertical load test.
b) Loading on the pile shall be continued till one of the following

takes place:
i) In case of Initial load test
- Applied load reaches three times the safe lateral

load carrying capacity.
- Deflection of pile at the loading point exceeds 12

mm.
ii ) In case of routine load test
- Applied load reaches one and half times the safe

lateral load carrying capacity.
- Deflection of pile at the loading point exceeds 5

mm.
8.18.5 Assessment of Safe Load
The safe lateral load carrying capacity of single pile from the initial
lateral load test shall be the least of following values:
i ) 50 percent of the final load, at which the total deflection is 12mm.
ii ) Load corresponding to 5 mm total deflection.
However, for routine lateral load test, ( i ) shall not be applicable and
shall be assessed for ( ii ) only.
9.0 SAMPLING, TESTING, ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION TOLERANCES
9.1 Frequency of sampling, testing and quality assurance including the

method of conducting the tests, acceptance criteria and construction
tolerances shall be as per IS specification.

Specifications RVNL
10.0 RATES AND MEASUREMENTS
10.1 Rates
10.1.1 The contract unit rate for cast-in-situ driven and bored piles shall
include the cost of concrete and all other items. The contract unit rate
shall also include costs of all labour, materials, equipments and all
other incidentals involved.
The contract unit rate for coated/uncoated reinforcement shall

cover the cost of material, fabricating, transporting, storing, bending,
placing, binding and fixing in position as shown on the drawings as per
these specifications and as directed by the Engineer, including all
labour equipment, supplies, incidentals, sampling, testing and
supervision.
The contract unit rate for installation of piles shall include full
compensation for furnishing all labour, materials, tools and equipment
and incidentals for doing all the works involved in driving or making
bores for cast-in-situ driven and bored concrete piles, cutting off pile
heads, all complete in place to the specified penetration of piles. The
rates quoted shall include boring for piles through all types of strata
including stiff clay, shales, soft rock, disintegrated rock, hard rock etc.,
including disposal of spoils obtained from the bore. Providing
temporary liner/casing and its withdrawal and placing reinforcement in
position shall also be deemed to be included in the rate for installation
of piles and no additional payment shall be made for the same.
The contract unit rate for permanent steel liners shall include
cost of all labour, materials, fabrication, placing the steel liner to the
required depth and cutting of liners at cut off level as shown on the
drawings and as ordered by the Engineer.
The contract unit rate for concrete in pile cap shall cover all
costs of labour, materials, tools, plant and equipment, form work and
staging including placing in position, sampling and testing and
supervision complete in all respect.
10.1.2 Unit rates for Initial pile load test shall also include for :
a) Preparing the scheme including associated design for pile

testing and getting the same approved from the Engineer,
including the submission of test report.
b) Preparation of pile head to perform initial load test,
c) Keeping the test pit dry including de-watering, if required.

Specifications RVNL
d) All excavation and back filling required for initial load test .
e) All kentledge, suitable loading frame, anchor piles, rock anchors,

or combination of any of these including cement, reinforcement,
whatsoever required.
10.1.3 Unit rates for routine pile load test shall also include for :
a) Preparing the scheme for pile testing and getting the same
approved, from the Engineer, including submission of test
report.
b) Keeping the test pit dry including de-watering, if required.
c) All additional excavation and back filling, over and above the pile
cap size, required for routine load test.
d) All kentledge, suitable loading frame, anchor piles, rock anchors,

or combination of any of these including cement, reinforcement,
whatsoever required.
10.1.4 Unit rate for concreting in pile shall also include for extra length of the
pile above Cut-Off-Level.
10.2 Measurements
This clause shall be read in conjunction with the clause for the
measurements given in Bill of Quantities.
10.2.1 The item of pile installation by boring through soil including weathered
rock shall be measured in linear measurement for the length bored
from ground level through soil / weathered rock up to approved start of
socketing level of the pile in metres.
10.2.2 For steel liners/casing shown on the drawings to be permanently left in

place, the measurement shall be by weight in tones that remain in the
finished structure complete in place, limited to that shown in drawings
or ordered by the Engineer.
10.2.3 The item of concreting in pile shall be measured in linear measurement

for the length of pile below the cut-off-level in meters. No additional
payment shall be made for concrete allowed to be over flown while
doing tremie concreting of pile.
10.2.4 Reinforcement in pile shall be measured in tonne in the item of

reinforcement. Wastage, overlaps, couplings, welded joints, spacer
bars, chairs etc., and annealed G.I. wire for binding shall not be
Specifications RVNL
measured and cost of these items shall be deemed to be included in
the rates quoted by the Contractor.
10.2.5 Concrete, reinforcement, formwork required for building up of piles

shall be measured under the respective items of concrete
reinforcement, formwork, as applicable.
10.2.6 The item of breaking off of piles, due to subsequent change in design
cut-off-level shall be measured in cubic metres.
10.2.7 The item of initial vertical, lateral and pullout load tests shall be
measured in numbers of initial load tests. However, any tests
abandoned and / or not successfully completed shall not be measured.
10.2.8 The item of routine vertical and lateral load tests shall be measured in
numbers of routine load tests. However, any tests abandoned and / or
not successfully completed shall not be measured.

Specifications RVNL
Annexure - I
PILE DATA
1. Reference No. Location (Co-ordinates) ______ area.
2. Sequence of piling
3. Pile diameter & type
4. Working level (Platform level)
5. Cut off level (COL)
6. Actual length below COL
7. Pile termination level (a) Start of socket ( Level)
b) Termination of pile (Level):
8. Top of finished concrete level
9. Date and time of start and completion of boring.
10. Depth of ground water table in the vicinity.
11. Type of soil/ rock at pile tip
12. Method of boring operation
13. Details of drilling mud as used:
i) Freshly supplied mud
Liquid limit
Sand content
Density
Marsh viscosity
Swelling index
PH value
ii) Contaminated mud.
density
Sand content
14.1 Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
Penetration for 100 blows at
Socketing Level for reference pile:
14.2 Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS)
Value in rock (from the nearest bore hole):
Core recovery (from the nearest bore hole):
14.3 Rate of drilling in mm / hr.:
a) At start of socketing horizon
b) At termination level
16. Date and time of start and completion of concreting.
17. Method of placing concrete
18. Concrete quantity
Actual :
Theoretical :
19. Ref. number of test cubes
20. Grade and slump of concrete
21. Results of test cubes

Specifications RVNL
22. Reinforcement details:

Main reinforcement Stirrups: Type
No._______________ No.___________
Dia ______________ Dia ___________
Depth_____________ Spacing________
23. Any other information regarding obstructions, delay and other interruption to
the sequence of work.
24. Pile bore log details (in brief).

Specifications RVNL
Annexure - II
PROJECT _________________
PILE LOAD TEST: VERTICAL/ HORIZONTAL/UPLIFT
Pile No.:
Date of cast:
Method of boring:
Type of pile:
Diameter:
Capacity:
Type of test:
Loading method: Direct / Cyclic details :
Commencement of test:
Completion of test :
Brief description of testing arrangement:
Tension or Compression piles:
Capacity of jack:
Jack constant:
Weight of kentledge
Reaction pile deload (if any)
DATE TIME PRESSURE LOAD DIAL GAUGE SETTLEMENT (mm) REBOUND

GAUGE MT READING AVERAGE NET
Submission of test results:
i. Time Vs Settlement.
ii. Load Vs. Settlement indicating the safe load.
Separation of skin friction & end bearing of pile, in case of cyclic initial vertical load
tests.

Specifications RVNL
(g) - CONSTRUCTION OF WELL FOUNDATIONS
1.0 SCOPE OF WORK
1.1 This specification covers the construction of Well Foundations.
This work shall consist of construction of well foundations for

abutments and piers in accordance with the details shown on the
drawings and conforming to the requirements of these specifications.
The indicative founding levels of the wells shown in the drawing are for
guidance only.
2.0 SOIL CHARACTERISTICS
The details of Soil investigation carried out by the Employer are

indicated in the General Arrangement Drawings.
However, the contractor shall acquaint himself fully of the nature of

substrata likely to be encountered and quote for the appropriate
method and equipment for sinking of the wells at the proposed site. No
claim on this account will be acceptable to the Employer later on. The
Contractor may carry out some borings, if he considers it necessary,
before quoting his price.
3.0 STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS/CODES OF PRACTICE
All work shall, unless specified otherwise in these specifications,

conform to the latest revisions and/or replacement of the following or
any other Indian Standard Specifications and Codes of Practice.
IS:269 - Indian Standard Specifications for Ordinary & Low

Heat Portland Cement.
IS:383 - Indian Standard Specifications for Coarse & Fine

Aggregates from Natural Sources for Concrete.
IS:432 - Indian Standard Specifications for Mild Steel and

Medium Tensile Steel Bars and Hard Drawn Steel
Wire.
IS:456 - Code of practice for plain and reinforced concrete.
IS:516 - Indian Standard Specifications for Method of test

for strength of concrete.

Specifications RVNL
IS:800 - Code of practice for General Construction in Steel
IS:4082 - Recommendations of stacking and storage of

construction materials at site.
IS:1199 - Indian Standard Specifications for Method of

Sampling and analysis of concrete.
IS:1786 - Indian Standard Specifications for Cold Twisted

Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement.
IS:2502 - Code of practice for bending and fixing of Bars for

concrete reinforcement.
IS:2722 Indian
- Standard Specifications for Portable Swing Weight
batches for concrete (Single and Double Bucket
type)
IS:1791 - Specification for batch type concrete mixers.
IS:2751 - Code of Practice for Welding of Mild Steel Bars

used for reinforced concrete construction.
IS:4926 Indian Standard Specifications for ready Mixed

concrete
IS:10262 - Concrete Mix Design
IRS - Concrete Bridge Code (with latest A&C Slip)
IRS - Bridge Rules (with latest A&C Slip)
IRS - Steel Bridge Code
IRS - Code of practice for the design of substructures

and foundations of bridges (latest revision)
IRC:78 - Foundation & Sub structure code of practice for

Road Bridges.
Manual on the design and construction of well and pile foundations

(1985)-issued by RDSO.

Specifications RVNL
The contractor shall make available at site one copy of each of the
codes. In the case of dispute in the interpretation or contradiction in
different Clauses of various codes, the decision of the Engineer shall
be final and binding.
4.0 SPECIFICATIONS FOR WELL FOUNDATION
4.1 Description
This work consists of construction of well foundation, taking it down to

the founding level through all kinds of sub strata, plugging the bottom,
filling the inside of the well, plugging the top and providing a well cap in
accordance with the details shown on the drawing and as per these
specifications, or as directed by the Engineer.
4.2 General
The process of taking down the well to the founding level is known as
well sinking. After reaching the founding level, the hollow inside the
well, (“dredge hole”) is plugged at the bottom by concrete (“bottom
plug”). The dredge hole is then filled with approved filling material upto
the level indicated on the drawing and provided with a concrete plug
(“top plug”).
To facilitate sinking of well, steel cutting edge is fabricated and

connected to a concrete well curb of required shape. On top of the well
curb, adequate height of well steining is cast and the process of sinking
is carried out. After a portion of the well has been sunk, another height
of well steining is cast on top of the previous section and further sinking
carried out. This process is continued till the bottom level of the well
(cutting edge) reaches the founding level.
At the top of the well steining, an adequately designed “well cap” is

laid.
Blasting may have to be resorted to in order to facilitate sinking through

difficult strata, such as boulders and rock etc. In case blasting is
anticipated protective/strengthening measures specified in clause
710.6(IV) of IRC:78 shall be taken.
In case the borehole data shows the presence of steeply dipping rock,
chiseling may have to be resorted to so as to obtain proper seating of
the foundation. The necessity of adopting pneumatic sinking shall be
decided by the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
4.3 Setting out and preparation for sinking
Before the work is started the whole of the work site shall be cleared by
the contractor at his own cost.
Contractor shall set out the work according to the plan and as directed
by the Engineer or his representative. Reference pegs are to be made
permanent and kept clear of all obstruction. It is the responsibility of the
contractor without any extra payment to fix the centerline and position
of the piers during the course of the work. A base line will be fixed by
the Railway and Contractor should make use of this base line for fixing
the centerline of the piers. If required, the contractor shall lay
subsidiary base lines as required during execution of the work.
Contractor shall obtain the approval in writing from the Engineer for the
correctness of the setting out and the reference marks, before
commencing the actual execution of the works. However, such
approval shall not relieve the contractor of his responsibility in correct
setting out of the work.
Necessary reference points shall be fixed, away from the zone of blow-
ups or possible settlement resulting from well sinking operations. Such
reference points shall be connected to the permanent theodolite
stations with the base line on the banks. The centre of the individual
wells shall be marked with reference to these stations. The distance,
wherever practicable, shall be checked with the help of accurate tapes
and precision survey instruments.
Reference points shall also be fixed to mark X-X axis (usually traffic
direction) and Y-Y axis (normal to X-X axis) accurately.
A temporary benchmark shall also be established near the well

foundation, away from the zones of blow-ups or possible settlement.
The benchmark shall be checked regularly with respect to the
permanent bench mark established at the bridge site.
For wells which are to be pitched in water, an earthen or sand island

shall be constructed. Sand islands are practicable for water depths of
about 5 metre under stable bed soil conditions. For greater depths or in
fast flowing rivers or for locations where soil is too week to sustain
sand island, floating caissons may have to be adopted.
The plan dimensions of sand island shall be such as to have a working

space of at least 2 meter all round the steining. The dimension of the
sand island shall however be not less than twice the dimension in plan
of the well or caisson. Sand island shall be maintained to perform their
functions, until the well is sunk to a depth below the bed level at least
equal to the depth of water.

Specifications RVNL
Sand island shall be protected against scour and the top level shall be
sufficiently above the prevailing water level to be decided by the
Engineer so that it is safe against wave action.
While sand island are constructed at well location, floating caissons

are generally fabricated at or near the banks on dry land or dry docks.
Floating caisson are towed into position in floating condition.
Floating caissons may be of steel. They should have at least 1.5m free
board above water level and increased, if considered necessary, in
case there is a possibility of caissons sinking suddenly owing to
reasons such as scour likely to result from the lowering of caissons,
effect of waves, sinking in very soft strata etc.
Stability of floating caissons shall be ensured against overturning and

capsizing while being towed and during sinking for the action of water
current, wave pressure, wind etc.
For floating caissons, a detailed method statement for fabrication,

floating and sinking of caissons shall be prepared and furnished to the
Engineer. Such statement shall include the total tonnage of steel
involved, fabrication and welding specifications, list of materials and
plant and description of operations and manpower required for the
work. The caisson shall be tested for leakages before being towed to
site.
4.4 Equipment
Equipment shall be deployed for construction of well foundation as

required and as directed by the Engineer. Generally, the following
equipments may be required for the work.
(a) Crane with grab buckets – capacity 0.5 to 2.0cum
(b) Submersible pumps
(c) Air compressors, air locks and other accessories where

pneumatic sinking of well is anticipated.
(d) Chisels of appropriate sizes.
(e) Aqua-header for cutting rocky strata.
(f) Diving helmets and accessories.
(g) Equipment for concrete production, transportation, placing and

compaction.

Specifications RVNL
5.0 CUTTING EDGE
The parts of cutting edge shall be erected on level firm ground.

Temporary supports shall be provided to facilitate erection and
maintaining the assembly in true shape. The fabrication may be carried
out in the shop or at site. Steel sections shall not be heated and forced
into shape. However, “V” cuts may be made in the horizontal portion,
uniformly throughout the length, to facilitate cold bending. After
bending, such “V” cuts should be closed by welding. Joints in the
lengths of structural sections, unless otherwise specified shall be fillet
welded using single cover plate to ensure the requisite strength of the
original section.
The cutting edge shall generally be laid about 300mm or more above
prevalent water level.
All excavated earth / sand and spoils after dredging shall be deposited
properly at a place or places including the bridge approaches upto 60
m distance, clear of the water way as directed by the Engineer. No
extra payment for the lead, lift, ascent or descent for this work will be
made to the contractor.
6.0 WELL CURB
The cutting edge and well curbs shall be assembled on timber laid on
the leveled sand bed. Before commencing the erection, the contractor
shall carry out such load tests of the ground as may be necessary to
determine the satisfactory spacing of the timbers and the stability of
island during erection and concreting of well curb.
Concrete in curbs shall not be placed until the erection of steel work
and reinforcements has been completed and approved by the
Engineer or his representative. Concrete shall be placed in a
continuous operation in layers not exceeding 300 mm in depth
extending around the whole length of the curb each layer being
systematically compacted applying mechanical vibration in order to
reduce voids and increase the density. The entire concreting in the
well curb shall be completed in a continuous manner.
The well curb may be precast or cast-in-situ. Steel formwork for well
curb shall be fabricated strictly in conformity with the drawing. The
outer face of the curb shall be vertical. Steel reinforcements shall be
assembled as shown on the drawings. The bottom ends of vertical
bond rods of steining shall be fixed securely to the cutting edge with
check nuts or by weld.

Specifications RVNL
The formwork on outer face of curb may be removed within 24 hours
after concreting. The formwork on inner face shall be removed after 72
hours.
All concreting in the well curb shall be done in one continuous

operations.
7.0 WELL STEINING
The dimensions, shape, concrete strength and reinforcements of the

well shall strictly conform to those shown on the drawings. The
formwork shall be of M.S. sheets shaped and stiffened suitably.
Steining built in the first lift above the well curb shall not be more than 2
metres and in subsequent lifts it shall not exceed the diameter of the
well or the depth of well sunk below the adjoining bed level at any time.
For stability, the first lift of steining shall be cast only after sinking the
curb at least partially for stability. Concreting of steining may be carried
out in subsequent lifts of about 2 to 2.5 metres. Attempts should be
made to minimize the number of construction joints. The concreting
layers shall be limited to about 450 mm restricting the free fall of
concrete to not more than 1.5m. Laitance formed at the top surface of a
lift shall be removed to expose coarse aggregates before setting of
concrete at the proposed construction joint. As far as possible,
construction joints shall not be kept at the location of laps in the
vertical steining bars.
The steining of the well shall be built in one straight line from bottom to
top such that if the well is tilted, the next lift of steining will be aligned in
the direction of the tilt. The work will be checked carefully with the aid
of straight edges of lengths approved by the engineer. Plumb bob or
spirit level shall not be used for alignment. After sinking of a stage is
complete, damaged portions if any, of steining at top of the previous
stage shall be properly repaired before constructing the next stage.
The height of steining shall be calibrated by making at least 4 gauges

(preferably in traffic direction and in a direction normal to traffic
direction) distributed equally on the outer periphery of the well each in
the form of a 100mm wide strip painted on the well, with every metre
mark shown in black paint. The gauges shall start with zero at the
bottom of the cutting edge. Marking of the gauges shall be done
carefully with a steel tape.
After reaching the founding level, the well steining shall be inspected to
check for any damage or cracks. The Engineer will direct and the
contractor shall execute the remedial measures before acceptance of
the well steining. In case the well cannot be accepted even with any
remedial measures, then the well shall stand rejected. The cost of any

Specifications RVNL
redesigning and strengthening of any structural component (s ) on
account of such rejection of a well shall be borne by the contractor.
8.0 WELL SINKING
8.1 General
The well shall as far as possible be sunk true and vertical through all
types of strata.
Sinking or loading of the well with Kentledge shall be commenced only

after the steining has been cured for at least 48 hours or as specified in
the drawings.
No well shall be permitted to be placed in a pre-dredged hole.
The well shall be sunk by excavating material uniformly from inside the
dredge hole. Use of water jetting explosive and divers may be adopted
for sinking of wells through difficult strata with prior approval of the
engineer. Since the wells are located close to existing bridge on wells,
sinking by Jacking Down Method shall be preferred.
Normally dewatering of well should not be permitted as a means for

sinking the well. It also shall never be resorted to if there is any danger
of sand blowing under the well, Dewatering shall however be done
when well is to be founded into rock. The necessity for pneumatic
sinking shall be decided by the Engineer.
8.2 Use of Kentlege as Sinking Load
Kentledge shall be placed in an orderly and safe manner on the loading

platform and in such a way that it does not interfere with the excavation
of the material from inside the dredge hole and also does not in any
way damage the steining of the well.
Where tilts are present or there is danger of well developing a tilt, the
position of the load shall be regulated in such a manner as to provide
greater sinking effort on the higher side of the well.
8.3 Use of Water Jetting
Water jetting may be employed for well sinking wherever necessary.
8.4 Use of Explosives
Mild explosive charges may be used as an aid for sinking of the well
only with prior permission of the Engineer. Blasting of any sort shall

Specifications RVNL
only be done in the presence of the Engineer and not before the
concrete in the steining has hardened sufficiently and is more than 7
days old. When likelihood of blasting is predicted in advance,
protection of the bottom portion of the well shall be done as per these
specifications. After blasting operations are completed, the well curb
and steining should be examined for any cracks and remedial
measures taken.
If blasting has been used after the well has reached the design
foundation level, normally 24 hrs shall be allowed to lapse before the
bottom plug is laid.
The charges shall be exploded well below the cutting edge by making a
sump so as to avoid chances of any damage to the curb or to the
steining of the well. A minimum sump of 1 meter depth should be made
before resorting to blasting. Use of large charges, 0.7 kgs or above,
may not be allowed except under expert direction and with the
permission from the Engineer. Suitable pattern of charges may be
arranged with delay detonators to reduce the number of charges fired
at a time. The burden of the charge may be limited to 1 metre and the
spacing of holes may normally be kept as 0.5 to 0.6 metre.
All prevalent laws concerning handling, storing and using of explosive

shall be strictly followed during the blasting operation.
All safety precautions shall be taken as per IS:4081 “Safety Code for
blasting and related drilling operations”, to the extent applicable,
whenever blasting is resorted to.
There should be no equipment inside the well nor shall there be any
labour in the close vicinity of the well at the time of exploding the
charges.
If rock blasting is to be done before seating of the well, the damage

caused by flying debris should be minimized by covering blasting holes
by rubber mats before blasting.

Specifications RVNL
8.5 Use of Divers
Use of divers may be made both for sinking purpose like removal of
obstructions, rock blasting and for inspection. All safety precautions
shall be taken as per any acceptable safety code for sinking with divers
or any statutory regulations in force.
Only person trained for the diving operations shall be employed and
shall be certified to be fit for diving by an approved doctor.
They shall work under expert supervision. The diving and other
equipment shall be of acceptable standard and certified to this effect by
an approved independent agency. It shall be well maintained for safe
use.
Arrangement for ample supply of low pressure clean cool air shall be
ensured through an armoured flexible hose pipe. Stand by compressor
plant shall be provided in case of breakdown.
Separate high pressure connection for use of pneumatic tools shall be

made. Electric lights where provided shall be at 50 volts (maximum)
The raising of the diver from the bottom of wells shall be controlled so
that decompression rate conforms to the rate as laid down in
appropriate regulations.
8.6 Use of Pneumatic Sinking
8.6.1 General
Well sinking shall be carried out as far as possible by open

dredging/Jacking down. When the contractor considers that
continuation of open sinking has become impracticable, he shall submit
full details of his proposal for sinking under compressed air to the
Engineer for decision. The contractor shall make such modifications to
his plant and proposed procedure for sinking as the Engineer may
require, but such instruction or approval given by the Engineer in
respect of Contractor’s proposal for sinking shall in no way relieve the
Contractor of his responsibility for the proper execution and safety of
the works and of the personnel employed thereto.
Pneumatic sinking of wells shall be resorted to only where-
i) The well has to be sunk through soft rock and stray hard rock
and
ii) The Engineer is satisfied that all other methods employed by
Contractor consistently have failed to sink the well satisfactorily further

Specifications RVNL
down. However the decision of the Engineer so as to resort/ or not to
resort to pneumatic sinking shall be final and binding on the contractor.
The Engineer shall familiarize himself with particular refrence to

caisson diseases and working of the medical air lock. A doctor
competent to deal with cases of “Caisson Diseases” or other
complications arising as a result of working under high pressure shall
be stationed at the construction site when pneumatic sinking is under
progress.
The contractor shall provide complete facilities including the issuing of

orders to ensure strict enforcement of the requirements outlined in
these specifications.
Safety provisions as contained in IS:4138 and in these specifications

shall be strictly followed.
Pneumatic sinking shall be restricted to a depth of 30.0m below water

level.
8.6.2 Man-Locks and Shafts
Locks, reducers and shafts used in connection with caissons shall be

riveted construction throughout. The materials used in their
manufacture shall be steel plate with thickness not less than 6 mm.
Shafts shall be subjected to hydrostatic or air pressure test of at least

0.5 Mpa, at which pressure they shall be tight. The pressure at which
testing has been done shall be clearly and visibly displayed.
Shafts shall be provided, with a safe, proper and suitable staircase for
its entire length including landing platforms which are not more than
6metres apart. Where this is impracticable due to space constraint,
suitable ladders along with landing platforms shall be installed. These
shall be kept clear and in good condition at all times and shall be
constructed, inspected and maintained to the entire satisfaction of the
Engineer.
A 1.0 m wide platform with 1.0m high railing shall be provided all round
the caisson air locks.
Where 15 or more men are employed, caisson shall have 2 locks, one
of which shall be used as a man lock.
Lock shall be located so that the lowest part of the bottom door shall
not be less than 1 metre above high water level.

Specifications RVNL
The supply of fresh air to the working chamber shall at all times be
sufficient to permit work to be done without any danger or excessive
discomfort. All air supply lines shall be supplied with check valves and
carried as near to the face as practicable.
A man lock shall be used solely for the compression or decompression

of persons, and not for the passage of plant and material and shall be
maintained in a reasonably clean and sufficiently warm state. However
any hand tool or hand instruments used for the purpose of the work
may be carried into the man lock.
Where it is not reasonably practicable to provide a separate man lock

for use by persons only, the lock when it is in actual use for
compression or decompression of a person or persons shall not be put,
simultaneously, to any other use and shall be in a reasonably clean
and sufficiently warm state.
8.6.3 Valves
Exhaust valves shall be provided, having rises extending to the upper

part of the chamber. These shall be operated, whenever necessary
specially after a blast. Precaution shall be taken that men are not
allowed to resume work after a blast until the gas and smoke are
cleared.
8.6.4 Medical Supervision and Certification
Every employee absent from work for 10 or more consecutive days due
to illness or any other disability shall be required to pass the regular
physical examination by the doctor before being permitted to return to
work.
After a person has been employed continuously in compressed air for a

period of two months he shall be re-examined by the doctor and shall
not be permitted to work until such re-examination has been made and
report is satisfactory.
No person known to be addicted to the excessive use of intoxicants

shall be permitted to work in compressed air.
The doctor, at all times, shall keep a complete and full record of
examinations made by him, which shall contain dates of examinations,
a clear and full description of the person examined. His age and
physical condition at the time of examination and a statement as to the
period such a person has been engaged in such employment. Records
shall be kept at the place where the work is in progress and shall be
subject to inspection by authorized officers.

Specifications RVNL
Every man lock shall always have a doctor or a responsible person in
attendance. In case the person in charge is not a doctor he must have
a positive means of promptly communicating with and securing the
services of a competent doctor in case of emergency. Such
arrangements shall invariably be subject to the approval of the
Engineer.
If the air pressure exceeds 0.2 Mpa gauge or if 50 or more men are
employed, it is obligatory for the person in charge of medical lock to be
a doctor experienced in this type of work.
All cases of compressed air illness shall be reported and copies of all
such reports shall be kept in a file at the place of work.
8.6.5 Lighting
All lighting in compressed air chambers shall be operated only by

electricity. Two independent electric lighting systems with independent
sources of supply shall be used. These shall be so arranged that the
emergency source shall become automatically operative in case of
failure of the regularly used source.
The minimum intensity of light on any walkway ladder, stairway or any

working level shall be one quarter (1/4) candlepower. In all workplaces,
the lighting shall always be such as to enable workmen to see their
way about clearly. All external parts of lighting fixtures and electrical
equipment lying within 2.5 metres above the floor shall be constructed
of non-combustible, non-absorbing insulating materials. If metal is used
it must be effectively earthed. Portable lamp shall have non-
combustible, non-absorbing insulating sockets, approved handles,
basket guards and approved cables. The use of worn or defective
portable and pendent conductors shall be prohibited.
8.6.6 Safety Against fire hazard
No oil, gasoline, or other combustible material shall be stored within 30

metres of any shaft, caisson, or tunnel opening. However, oil may be
stored in suitable tanks in isolated fire proof buildings, provided such
buildings are not less than 15 metres from any shaft, caisson or tunnel
opening or any building directly connected thereto.
Positive means shall be taken to prevent leaking flammable liquids

from flowing into areas specifically mentioned in the preceding
paragraph.
Where feasible, a fire hose connected to a suitable source of water

shall be provided at the top of every caisson. Where fire mains are not
accessible, a supply of water shall be stored in tanks near the top of

Specifications RVNL
every caisson, provided fire pails or suitable pumps are kept available.
Approved fire extinguishers shall also be provided.
8.6.7 Sanitation
Properly heated, lighted and ventilated dressing rooms shall be

provided for all employees engaged in compressed air work. Such
rooms shall contain lockers and benches and be open and accessible
to men during intermission between shifts. Adequate toilet
accommodation of one for 25 employees shall be provided.
Care shall be taken to keep all parts of the caisson and other working
compartments including locker rooms, dry rooms, rest rooms, and
other equipment in a good sanitary condition and free from refuse,
decaying or other objectionable matter. No nuisance shall be tolerated
in the air chamber. Smoking shall be strictly prohibited and all matches
and smoking materials shall be left out of the locker rooms.
A separate dry room shall be provided where working cloths may be

dried within reasonable time.
8.6.8 Protection against gases
In all cases where gas is expected including alluvium impregnated with

decayed vegetable matter the use of Davy Safety Lamp shall be
compulsory.
8.6.9 Additional Safety Provisions
(a) The weight of pneumatic platform and that of steining and

kentledge, if any, shall be sufficient to resist the uplift from air
inside, skin friction being neglected in this case. If, at any
section the total weight acting down wards is less than the uplift
pressure of air inside, additional kenteledge shall be placed on
the well.
If it is not possible to make the well heavy enough during

excavation, “blowing down” may be used. The men should be
withdrawn and air pressure reduced. The well should begin to
move with small reduction in air pressure. “Blowing down”
should only be used when the ground is such that it will not
heave up inside the chamber when the pressure is reduced.
When the well does not move with the reduction in air pressure,
kentledge should be added. “Blowing Down” should be in short
stages and the job should not exceed, 0.5m at any stage. To
control sinking during blowing down, use of packing are
recommended.

Specifications RVNL
(b) The pneumatic sinking plant and other machinery shall not be
only proper design and make, but also shall be worked by
competent and well-trained personnel. Every part of the
machinery and its fixtures shall be minutely examined before
installation and use. Availability of appropriate spares, standbys,
safety of personnel as recommended in IS:4138 for working in
compressed air and other labour laws and practices prevalent in
the country, as specified to provide safe, efficient and
expeditious sinking shall be allowed.
(c) Inflammable materials shall not be taken into air locks and
smoking shall be prohibited. Wherever gases are suspected to
be issuing out of dredge hole, the same shall be analyzed by
trained personnel and necessary precautions adopted to avoid
hazard to life and equipment.
(d) Where blasting is resorted to, it shall be carefully controlled and

all precautions regarding blasting shall be observed. Workers
shall be allowed inside after blasting only when a competent and
qualified person has examined the chamber and steining
thoroughly and found the same to be safe.
8.7 Precautions During Sinking
(a) When the wells have to be sunk close to each other and clear
distance between them is not greater than the diameter of wells,
sinking shall be taken up on all wells and they shall be sunk
alternately so that sinking of wells proceeds uniformly.
Simultaneously and even dredging shall be carried out in the
wells in such a manner that the difference in the levels of the
sump and cutting edge in the adjacent wells does not exceed
half the clear gap between them. Plugging of all the wells shall
be done together.
(b) Bore chart shall be referred to constantly during sinking for

taking adequate care while piercing different types of strata. The
type of soil as obtained during the well sinking should be
compared with bore chart so as to take prompt decisions.
(c) Before seasonal floods all wells on which sinking is in progress

shall be sunk to sufficient depths below the designed scour
level. Further, they shall be temporarily filled and plugged so
that they do not suffer any tilt or shift during the floods.
(d) All necessary precautions shall be taken against any possible

damage to the foundations of existing structures in the vicinity of
the wells, prior to commencement of dredging from inside the
well.

Specifications RVNL
(e) The dredged material shall not be allowed to accumulate over

the well. It shall be dumped and spread, as far away as
possible, and then continuously and simultaneously removed, as
directed by the Engineer. In case the river stream flows along
one edge of the well being sunk, the dredged material shall not
be dumped on the dry side of the bank on the side on which the
river current flows.
(f) Very deep sump shall not be made below the well curb, as it
entails risk of jumping (sudden sinking) of the well. The depth of
sump shall be generally limited to one-sixth of the outer
diameter/least lateral dimension of the well in plan. Normally,
the depth of sump shall not exceed 3.0 metres below the level of
the cutting edge unless otherwise specifically permitted by the
Engineer.
(g) In case a well sinks suddenly with a jerk, the steining of the well
shall be examined to the satisfaction of the Engineer to see that
no damage has occurred to it.
(h) In pneumatic sinking, the well shall not, at any time, be dropped
to a depth greater than 500 mm by the method of “blowing
down”.
(i) Dewatering shall be avoided if sand blows are expected. Any

equipment and men working inside the well be brought out of
the well as soon as there are any indications of a sand-blow.
(j) Sand blowing in wells can often be minimized by keeping the

level of water inside the well higher than the water table and
also by adding heavy kentledge.
(k) In soft strata prone to settlement/creep, the construction of the

abutment wells shall be taken up only after the approach
embankment for a sufficient distance near the abutment has
been completed.
(l) To ensure that this does not affect the stability of the
foundations of existing bridge nearby.
8.8 Tilts and Shifts
The inclination of the well from the vertical is known as tilt and the
horizontal displacement of the centre of the well at the founding level
from its theoretical positions is known as shift.
Unless otherwise specified, the tilt of any well shall not exceed 1
(horizontal) in 100 (Vertical), and the shift at the well base shall not be

Specifications RVNL
more than D/40 (where D=width or diameter of well) or 150mm
whichever is higher in any resultant direction.
Tilts and shifts shall be carefully checked and recorded in the format as
per Appendix-1200/I-1 & Appendix-1200/II of MOST specifications for
Road & Bridge works regularly during sinking operations. For the
purpose of measuring the tilts along the two axis of the bridge, reduced
level of the marks painted on the surface of the steining of the well
shall be taken. For determination of shift, locations of the ends of the
two diameters shall be precisely measured along the two axis, with
reference to fixed reference points.
Whenever any tilt is noticed, adequate preventive measures like

placing eccentric kentledge, pulling, strutting, anchoring or dredging
unevenly and depositing dredge material unequally, putting obstacles
below cutting edge, water jetting etc. shall be adopted before any
further sinking. After correction, the dredged material shall be spread
out uniformly.
A pair of wells close to each other have a tendency to come closer

while sinking. Timber struts may be introduced in between the steining
of these wells to prevent tilting.
Tilts occurring in a well during sinking in dipping rocky strata can be

safeguarded by suitably supporting the curb.
In the event of a well developing tilt or shift beyond the specified

permissible values, the contractor shall have to carry out, at his own
cost, suitable remedial measures to the satisfaction of the Engineer, to
bring the tilt and shift within permissible values, as far as practicable.
If the resultant tilt and/or shift of any well exceeds the specified
permissible values, generally it should not exceed 1 in 100 and
D/40(where D-width or diameter of well) or 150mm whichever is higher
respectively. The well so sunk shall be regarded as not conforming to
specifications and a sub-standard work. The Engineer in his sole
discretion, may consider accepting such a well Provided.
(i) Calculations for foundation pressures and steining stresses,

accounting for the actual tilt and shift furnished by the contractor
show that the well is safe. Any remedial measures required to
bring the stresses within permissible values (such as increase in
the dimension of the well cap, provision of dummy weights on
the well cap etc) shall be carried out by the contractor without
claiming for any extra cost.
In case the Engineer, in his discretion, rejects the well, the contractor
shall dismantle the rejected well to the extent directed by the Engineer

Specifications RVNL
and remove the debris. Further, the contractor shall, at his own risk and
expense complete the bridge with modified span arrangement
acceptable to the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
9.0 SEATING OF WELLS
The well shall be uniformly seated at the founding strata. It shall be

ensured by test borings that the properties of the soil encountered at
the founding strata and upto a depth of one and a half times the well
diameter is identical to that adopted in the design. The procedure for
test borings shall satisfy the provisions of these specifications. In case
the soil encountered is inferior to that adopted in design, the well shall
be re-designed by the Engineer adopting the soil properties actually
encountered and the founding level intimated to the contractor, who
shall carry out the work.
In case of seating of wells in hard rocky strata, where the rock profile is
steeply sloping, pneumatic methods of sinking may be adopted to seat
the well evenly as directed by the Engineer. The decision of adopting
pneumatic sinking shall be taken by the Engineer. The cutting edge
may also be embedded for a suitable depth in the rocky strata, as
decided by the Engineer keeping in view the quality of rock. As an
additional measure of safety, the well shall be anchored to the rocky
strata by anchor bars provided in the steining of the well, as shown on
the drawing irrespective of the fact that tension develops or not at the
base of the well under design loads. After the well has been evenly
seated on good hard rock, arrangements shall be made to facilitate
proper inspection in dry and visible conditions before the bottom plug is
laid.
10.0 BOTTOM PLUG
For bottom plug, the concrete mix shall be designed (in dry condition)
to attain the concrete strength as mentioned on the drawing and shall
contain 10 percent more cement than that required for the same mix
placed dry, to cater for underwater concreting. However, the total
cement content shall not be less than 380 kg/cu.m of concrete with a
slump in the range of 150 mm to 200 mm. Admixture may be added to
the concrete to impart the required characteristics indicated herein.
Concrete for the bottom plug shall be laid by tremie pipe method.
Tremie concrete when started shall be continued without interruption
for full concreting in the bottom plug. The concrete production
equipment and placement equipment should be sufficient to enable
under water concreting within stipulated time. Necessary standby
equipment should be available for emergency situation.
Before commencing plugging, all loose material from the bottom of the
well shall be removed.

Specifications RVNL
Concreting shall be done in one continuous operation till the dredge
hole is filled upto the required height and thereafter sounding shall be
taken up to ensure that the concrete has been laid to the required
height.
Least disturbance shall be caused to the water inside the well while
laying concrete in the bottom plug.
Concrete shall not be disturbed in any way for at least 14 days.
In order to check any rise in the level of the bottom plug soundings
should be taken at the close of concreting and once every day for the
subsequent 3 days.
The soundness of the bottom plug may be tested by dewatering the

well by 5 metre below the surrounding water level and checking the
rise of water. The rate of rise shall preferably be less than 10 cms per
hour. In case the rate is higher, suitable remedial measures as
directed by the Engineer shall be taken by the contractor at his own
cost.
11.0 SAND FILLING
Sand filling shall commence after a period of 3 days of laying of bottom

plug. Also, the height of the bottom plug shall be verified before starting
sand filling.
Sand shall be clean and free from earth, clay, clods, roots, boulders,
shingles, etc and shall be compacted as directed. Sand filling shall be
carried out upto the level shown on the drawing, or as directed by the
Engineer.
12.0 TOP PLUG
After filling sand upto the required level a plug of concrete shall be
provided over it as shown on the drawing, or as directed by the
Engineer.
13.0 WELL CAP
A reinforced cement concrete well cap will be provided over the top of
the steining in accordance with the drawing. Formwork will be prepared
conforming to the shape of well cap. Concreting shall be carried out in
dry condition. A properly designed false steining may be provided
where possible to ensure that the well cap is laid in dry conditions.
The bottom of the well cap shall be laid preferably as low as possible,
taking into account the water level prevalent at the time of casting. The

Specifications RVNL
well cap shall be monolithic with the pier/shaft/abutment and with well
steining.
14.0 TOLERANCES
The permissible tilt and shift shall not exceed 1 (horizontal) in 100
(vertical) and the shift at the well base shall not be more than 150 mm
in any resultant direction.
For the well steining and well cap the permissible tolerance shall be as
follows:-
(a) Variation in dimension + 50mm,-10mm

(b) Misplacement from specified position in plan 15mm
(c) Surface irregularities measured in plan with 5 mm
3m straight edge
(d) Variation of levels at the top  25 mm
15.0 TESTS AND STANDARDS OF ACCEPTANCE
The materials shall be tested in accordance with these specifications

and shall meet the prescribed criteria.
The work shall conform to these specifications and shall meet the
prescribed standards of acceptance.
16.0 MEASUREMENTS FOR PAYMENT

All quantities shall be measured from the drawing, or as ordered by the
Engineer, excepting those required to be provided by the contractor at
his cost.
(a) The cutting edge shall be measured in tonnes based on the net
weight of metal used in it.
(b) The concrete in curb, well steining and well cap shall be
measured in cubic metres in each of the items. The
reinforcement shall be measured in tonnes separately in each of
the items.
(c) The measurement for well sinking shall be made in running

metres for depths and in all types of strata. If no level has been
specified in the contract, sinking shall be measured from the low
water level or from the level at which the cutting edge was laid,
whichever is higher ( By Painting the Gauge from that point ).

Specifications RVNL
(d) The quantity of concrete in bottom & top plug shall be measured
in cubic meter..To ensure that the level of the top of bottom plug
is as shown in approved plan, proper sounding shall be taken at
required number of locations & the volume of the concrete to go
into the bottom plug shall be calculated & compared with the
actual quantity laid.
(e) The quantity of sand filling shall be measured in cubic meters.
17.0 RATE
(a) The contract unit rates of cutting edge shall cover all costs of
labour, material, tools, plant and equipment, including placing in
position, sampling and testing and supervision all as per
respective Section of work and as described in this section.
(b) The contract unit rates for concrete in curb, steining, bottom
plug, top plug and well cap, shall cover all cost of labour,
materials, tools, plant and equipment, formwork and staging
including placing in position, sampling and testing and
supervision, as per respective section of structural concrete and
as described in this section.
(c) The contract unit rates for reinforcement in curb, steining and
well cap shall cover all cost of labour, materials, tools, plant and
equipment, including bending to shape, placing in position,
sampling, testing and supervision all as per respective sections
of steel reinforcement and as described in this section. Dredged
material if conforming to specification can be used for filling.
(d) The contract unit rates for sand filling shall cover the costs of
labour, material tools and equipment including placing in
position, sampling, testing and supervision all as described in
this section. Dredged material, if conforming to specification can
be used for filling.
(e) The contract unit rates for sinking shall cover the cost of labour
tools and equipment and plant and for all operations and other
incidentals for sinking of well including setting out and
preparation for sinking and seating excepting provisions of
pneumatic sinking as described in this section.
(f) The contract unit rate of material to be excavated by pneumatic

sinking shall cover all costs of labour, material, tools, plant and
other equipment and other incidentals and safety provisions and
supervisions required for pneumatic sinking as per this section.
(g) Reduction in contract unit rates for sinking as a penalty :

Specifications RVNL
If any well with tilt and/or shift exceeding beyond permissible

values is accepted by the Engineer, the contractor shall give a
reduction in rates as follows:-
S. Amount of tilt and/or shift % reduction on

No. the rates for
sinking of whole
well
Tilt exceeding the specified permissible 5 Per cent
value but equal to or within 1 in 60.
Tilt exceeding 1 in 60 but equal to or 10 Per cent
within 1 in 50.
Tilt exceeding 1 in 50 20 Per cent
Shift exceeding the specified 2 Per cent
permissible value but equal to or within
200 mm.
Tilt exceeding 200mm but equal to or 5 Per cent
within 300mm
Shift exceeding 300mm 10 Per cent
Penalties for excessive tilt and shift shall be deducted
separately.
****

Specifications RVNL
(h) - STEEL WORKS
1.0 GENERAL
This specification covers the fabrication, erection and load testing of

64.6m span through type steel truss superstructure and bearings.These
specifications shall also be applicable to steel material to be used in FOB
&PP shelters.
1.1 Site Inspection
Contractor is requested to inspect the site and carry out careful

examination to satisfy them as to the nature of work involved and
facilities available at the site. They should note carefully all the existing
structures and those under construction through other agencies. They
should also study the suitability of utilizing the different equipments and
the machinery that they intend to use for the execution of the work. The
Contractor should also select suitable sites for the purpose of locating
their store yard, laboratory, staff quarters etc., and satisfy themselves
with regard to the feasibility of transporting the trusses from the yard to
the final site of placement etc.
2.0 FABRICATION
2.1 General
The fabrication of the girders and its accessories shall be carried out by
the Contractor in his factory premises or in a well-established fabrication
workshop to be set up by the Contractor at bridge site or any other
location as approved by the Engineer. The workshop staff shall have
requisite experience, proven skill and experience in the technique of
fabricating large components. Accuracy of fabrication shall be realized
through controlled high precision jigs, fixtures and templates, which shall
be inspected and passed by Engineer / any other inspection agency as
nominated by Engineer. The fabrication shall be preceded by Quality
Plans to be submitted by the Contractor and every activity shall be
documented in detail. The Quality Plans shall clearly indicate how
individual processes such as cutting of raw steel, marking, drilling,
assembly, riveting/welding, painting, handling etc shall be monitored for
quality. The quality parameters for monitoring shall be identified
alongwith monitoring frequency and quality records to be maintained.
The officials responsible for monitoring these identified quality
parameters shall also be specified in these quality plans. The Contractor
shall get these quality plans approved from Engineer before start of
fabrication work. The Engineer shall be empowered to check the
manufacturing process from time to time to ensure that the work is
executed as per approved quality plans. The quality records shall be
submitted to Engineer for record, after completion of fabrication work.

Specifications RVNL
The work of fabrication in Contractor’s fabrication shop will at all times be

open for inspection by Engineer or any other agency as nominated by
Engineer. Before dispatch of fabricated steel work from the shops the
same will be inspected in the Contractor’s fabrication workshop by
Engineer or any other authority/agency nominated by Engineer who will
thereafter issue inspection certificate.
Any defects noticed during inspection in the execution of work shall be

rectified or replaced by the Contractor at his own cost. The decision of
Engineer or any other agency nominated for inspection as to the
existence of the defect, the manner in which the defective work has to be
rectified or replaced, shall be final and conclusive.
In the fabrication of girder, necessary arrangement and provision shall be

kept for inspection facilities underneath the girder and also for carriage of
service cables, pipe lines etc as per approved plan.
2.2 Fabrication Drawings
The Contractor shall prepare detailed shop drawings including drawing

office dispatch lists (DODL’s) on the basis of design drawings supplied
by Engineer, in such size and in such details as may be specified by
Engineer. The shop drawings shall be submitted to Engineer in triplicate,
one copy of which will be returned after scrutiny and approval. The
fabrication drawings shall indicate member sizes prior and after flame
cutting, machining to obtain correct length and shape, tolerance
provisions, welding sequence, type and size of welding. No work of
fabrication will be started without such approval being obtained. Engineer
will make all efforts to approve the drawings submitted by the Contractor
within reasonable time but no claim from Contractor for any delay on this
account shall be entertained by Engineer.
For Engineer’s use and record, the Contractor shall supply free of
charge, four sets of prints on strong paper and one set of neatly
executed tracings of all approved detailed drawings and fabrication
drawings, soon after communication of approval, for use at site.
2.3 Maintenance of records by Fabricators
The records of fabrication shall be maintained in the registers as per the

formats given in Appendix I of IRS B1 – 2001.
2.4 Tolerances in Fabrication
Fabrication tolerance for girders shall be as stipulated in Appendix II of

IRS-B1-2001.

Specifications RVNL
Permissible deviation for driven rivets shall be as stipulated in Appendix-

IV of IRS-B1-2001.
3.0 BRIEF DESIGN DATA
The through type triangulated steel girders are designed for Heavy
Mineral Broad Gauge Loading as per Indian Railway Bridge Rules and
Standard Specifications. All panel joints are designed for vertical and
transverse forces including secondary moments.
The structure shall be fabricated to camber as per steel bridge code and
as provided in the approved drawings. The deflection of the girder is
expected not to exceed the values as given in the approved drawings.
All members of the girder and joints are to be either riveted or welded as
shown in the approved structural drawings. No welding except where
approved by the Engineer is to be carried out at site. All welding and
riveting are to be carried out as per relevant IRS Specifications.
4.0 MATERIALS
4.1 Steel
Steel grade conforming to IS:2062, is proposed to be used for all

components for all spans.
The steel shall comply in all respects with the requirements of approved
drawings and relevant codes and specifications and shall be procured
from primary approved manufacturers only such as
SAIL/TISCO/JINDAL/RINL/IISCO. However, only certain isolated
sections of structural steel, not being rolled by primary approved
manufacturers, can be procured from the authorized re=rollers of
p[rimary approved manufacturers or authorized licencee of BIS having
traceability system and who use billets produced by primary approved
manufacturers. Traceabililty shall be ensured by an officer specially
authorized by the concerned CPM of the PIU on case to case basis for
this purpose. (a/c no. 14) It may be noted that quality of steel used for
fabrication shall be the essence of the contract & shall be rigidly
followed. Steel sections to be supplied by the manufacturers shall be
Ultrasonically tested as per codal provisions at the manufacturer’s
premises before dispatch. The Contractor on receipt of supply in his
factory premises/fabrication workshop shall carryout random USFD
testing as per standards laid down in various codes and verify them with
the list received from manufacturers. Only tested steel shall be used for
fabrication. All rolled sections shall bear cast mark and shall be of such
length as to avoid butt welded joints in components of truss. Such rolled

Specifications RVNL
sections shall be within rolling tolerances stipulated as per IS:1852 and
shall be defects free.
The tenderer(s) shall supply information in the tender regarding

source/manufacturers from where procurement of steel is proposed by
him/them. However, the usage of type and grade of steel may vary
during the execution of the work depending upon the design requirement
and market availability. No claim shall be entertained from the Contractor
on this account and payment shall be as per relevant items in the
schedule of items, quantities and rates.
Steel for rivets shall conform to IS:1148 for M.S and IS:1149 for H.T.S.
Welding consumables for Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) shall

conform to IRS-M-28, wire and flux combination for submerged arc
welding to IRS M-3 and filler wires for CO2 welding to
RDSO/M&C/Specification issued vide letter No. M&C/W/111/24 dated
1.1.1994/7.2.1994.
All welding consumables (electrodes, wire, flux etc.) shall be procured

only from the manufacturers approved by RDSO subject to final approval
by Engineer.
In an extreme eventuality of steel of particular section not being made

available locally by Indian Steel manufactures, the tenderer/s may have
to import steel. The imported steel shall be of equivalent specification.
Use of built-up sections in place of rolled sections can be permitted.
Working out the weight of steel for payment in such cases will be based
on the actual sections used. Engineer will not take any responsibility of
delays in importing the steel and no cognizance of the same will be given
in the completion period.
4.2 Sleepers
Steel channel sleepers shall be fabricated and provided as per RDSO

approved plans B-1636 and B-1636/I with latest alterations and Indian
Railway Standard Specification shall be provided.
4.3 Tests &Test Certificates

4.3.1 Test Certificates
All materials for the work shall pass tests and/or analysis prescribed by
the relevant IS specifications or such other equivalent specifications.
For all materials including rivets and bolts, the Contractor shall furnish
copies of test certificates from the manufacturers including proof sheets,
mill sheets etc. showing that the materials have been tested in

Specifications RVNL
accordance with the requirements of various specifications and codal
provisions.
If any further testing of materials is required by Engineer in respect of

these and other items, it shall be arranged for by the Contractor at a
reputed laboratory/National test house as approved by Engineer. For
this, nothing extra shall be payable and accepted rates in the schedule of
items, quantities and rates shall be deemed to include this.
Even satisfactory outcome of such tests or analysis shall in no way limit,

dilute or interfere with the absolute right of the Engineer to reject the
whole or part of such materials supplied, which in the judgment of the
inspecting authority does not comply with the conditions of the contract.
The decision of the Engineer in this regard shall be final, binding and
conclusive for all purposes.
4.3.2. Inspection & Testing
All rolled sections shall lbe within rolling tolerance stipulated as peer
IS:1852 and shall be defects free. Rolling tolerance including weight per
meter for each type of rolled section shall be tested by taking one sample
per 40 MT or part thereof.
4.4 Handling and Storing of Steel Sections
All projecting plates or bars shall be kept in shape by timber or angle

bars spiked or bolted to them and the ends of chord lengths, end posts
etc at their shipping joints shall be protected and stiffened so as to
prevent damage or distortion in transit as the Engineer may direct.
All threaded ends and machined surfaces are to be efficiently protected

against damage in transit. The parts shall be transported in convenient
lengths.
All straight bars and plates except small pieces are to be transported in
convenient bundles temporarily riveted or bolted together or bound with
wrought iron or suitable wire as the Engineer may direct. All rivets, bolts,
nuts, washers, plates under 300mm square and small articles generally
are to be packed separately for each span in cases each weighing when
full not more than 350 kg or in strong petroleum casks, or barrels as
approved by Engineer. If not entirely filled by the contents the space left
shall be closely packed with wood shaving or other suitable material.
Bolts and rivets of different sizes shall be separately packed in bags,
each bag having a label indicating its contents. A list of contents shall be
placed on top of each case or cask.
All rolled steel received from supplier shall be carefully unloaded to avoid
twisting, bending and damage to mill scale, stacking area shall be

Specifications RVNL
covered and the materials placed on a raised platform above ground
level and every care taken to avoid contact with water in order to prevent
rusting and pitting.
All sections damaged during transit or handling shall be stacked

separately and damaged portions shall be indicated by paint of distinct
colour. Such materials shall be dealt with as per instructions of the
Engineer. Badly damaged portions may require replacement. Slightly
distorted parts or broken parts must be dealt with as the case demands
and as directed by Engineer. The rectified sections shall be used for
fabrication only after approval of Engineer.
Where the work has been passed in the manufacturer’s factory premises
as strictly interchangeable, all members bearing the same marks can be
stacked together without reference to any particular position. Care must
be taken by the Contractor that the parts at site are available in proper
sequence. Every portion of work shall be distinctly stenciled with paint
and marked with the punch not less than 15mm dia for guidance in
erection in the field, and stamped with the letters specified in the
drawings. In the case of non-interchangeable work, the system of
marking shall be as shown in drawing.
All field rivets for site riveting, service bolts and drift for assembly of girder,
shall be stored under cover.
The Contractor shall supply without charge, three complete lists of the
rivets, bolts, service bolts, washers and drifts required for erecting the
work at site, showing the parts of the work to which the various rivets and
bolts belong and having each item marked so as to indicate the particular
case in which it will be found. List of total rivets required for one girder
stating length, numbers, and wastage allowance of 12.5% shall be
prepared and supplied along with the span components, the requirements
for service bolts = 45% and drifts = 15% covering 60% of field holes in one
span plus wastage allowance of 12.5%. Actual requirement for the work
shall be assessed by the Contractor who shall arrange accordingly.
4.5 Steel Tape
Contractor shall use steel tape conforming to IS: 1270 duly tested and
issued with certificate of accuracy by an accredited National testing house
for templating, fabrication of drilling jig etc. The tape shall be calibrated
under a tension of 1.8 kg at 16.7 degree C.
All marking and checking of master gussets, camber layout, etc shall
preferably be at the mean temperature of the fabrication zone.

Specifications RVNL
4.6 Straightening
All rolled sections and plates shall be straight and free from defects like
twists and bends before they are used for marking and cutting.
If any rolled section of plate has minor defects, it shall with the approval of
the Engineer, be cold straightened by pressure with the help of plate and
section straightening machine. Pressure applied for straightening shall be
such as not to damage the surface or microstructure of grains in the steel
member.
Flattening, straightening and bending in hot condition shall not be carried

out unless specified on drawings or approved by Engineer.
4.7 Cutting of Material
All edges shall be machined mechanically (by a sawing machine) or

controlled torch oxy-acetylene flame cut after. All flame cut edges shall be
ground to secure clean and square edges.
No shearing of section or plates is permitted. When flame cutting is

deployed on a plate of long length, flame cutting shall be done by multi-
torch mechanically controlled equipment to ensure a straight clean cut and
prevent lateral distortion due to heat application. All flame cut edges shall
be ground or machined to obtain reasonably clean square and true edges.
Drag lines formed during flame cutting shall be removed.
While chalk marking for flame cutting, following cutting allowance shall be
added to the prescribed dimensions:
Thickness Cutting allowance
Up to 12 mm +3mm
Above 12 and up to 25 mm +5mm
Above 25mm +7mm
Templates made from 3 to 4 mm thick steel plate shall be used for cutting
Gussets. Long length cutting by marking with white chalk and string may
be followed.
Minimum edge distance while preparing profile for gussets, cleats and
edges of components from center of rivet hole to a flame cut edge shall be
1.75 times the diameter of hole, and for machined edge or rolled edge
shall be 1.5 times the diameter of rivet holes, (machined edge means first
edge distance kept 1.75 times diameter of hole for flame cutting and
reduced to 1.5 times diameter of hole by removal of material by
machining).

Specifications RVNL
5.0 METHOD OF FABRICATION
Considering the length and height of span, jigs and fixtures shall be used
to guide and support drilling of holes and fixtures during entire fabrication
work, assembly of components, before riveting / welding of components.
Drilling jigs shall be fabricated with the help of Master gussets fabricated
as templates for all panel joints of truss. Jigs after manufacture shall be
checked and approved by Engineer / any other Inspecting agency as
nominated by the Engineer. Only approved and stamped jigs shall be used
for fabrication. First component after drilling of holes through approved jig
for each specific component of truss, shall be checked with the help of
Master gusset by the Inspecting Officer before further fabrication.
5.1 Tack Assembly
For fabrication of riveted construction, top and bottom chords of members

shall be tack assembled for drilling of holes through jig. Tack assembly of
members shall be done by stitch rivets after positioning the drilling jig in
true position.
Drilling jig and tacked members shall be clamped to a fixture to avoid

shifting of jig during handling and drilling.
Tack welding may be permitted only at ends or locations, which will

eventually be cut and removed. No active part of the component shall be
tack welded as this would initiate crack formation in service.
5.2 Template
The Contractor shall supply and provide templates at his own cost. No
separate payment shall be made for this and accepted rates shall be
deemed to include this aspect. The templates used for the work shall be of
steel of similar category as the member and shall be of tested quality. In
case where actual materials from a bridge have been used as templates
for drilling similar pieces the inspecting officer will decide whether they are
fit to be used as part of finished structure.
5.3 Template Shop
Fully covered template shop consisting of uninterrupted steel or concrete

floor as approved having true and correct level covering adequate area
shall be provided by the Contractor.
Camber layout shall be drawn to full scale from end of girder to half span.
This camber layout once approved shall be used for fabrication of master
gusset profiles and end profile of each member. It shall be used for

Specifications RVNL
working out the actual lengths of each member and checked to conform to
the calculated length.
Master gussets at every panel joint of top chord, bottom chord and middle
web panel shall be marked accurately on camber layout drawn on
template floor.
All precautions shall be taken while drawing camber layout for correct
setting of angle of intersection of chord and web member and great
accuracy shall be ensured while transferring the same on master gusset.
While marking centre point of field rivet holes on master gusset, if there is
symmetry of holes on vertical axis, marking shall be made only on half the
master gusset across vertical axis, and holes drilled by inscribing each
hole. Subsequently remaining half portion shall be drilled through gusset
using the same half portion master gusset. This will help realize symmetry
of holes in gusset and fairing of field rivet hole during girder assembly.
Camber layout and fabrication of Master gusset at every panel joint

requires highly skilled and trained staff experienced in accurate fabrication
of large girders, drilling jigs and fixtures. At least one jig shall be required
for each component. Each jig shall be numbered and a record kept in
register for identification.
5.4 Drilling of Holes
Holes for riveting in members shall be carried out by drilling through jig
only. No punching or hand drilling of holes is permitted. Sub-punching to a
diameter 6mm less than that of finished holes may be permitted by
Inspecting Officer except in the main truss members of open web girders.
When the holes are to be sub-punched they shall be marked off with a
centre punch and made with a nipple punch or preferably, shall be
punched in a machine in which the position of the hole is automatically
regulated. The punching shall be so accurate that when the work has been
put together before drilling, a gauge 1.5 mm less in diameter than the size
of the punched holes can be passed easily through all the holes.
Drilling jig should be provided with an internal turned and case hardened
bush at all holes in jig, for retaining accuracy of all similar units fabricated.
Bushes will have a tolerance of –0.0/+0.1 mm for shop riveting. The
tolerance shall be periodically checked & replaced when the tolerance
exceeds –0.00/+0.4 mm (for hardening). Before fixing to jig, bushes shall
be checked with a plug gauge to ensure these tolerances.
Drilling of all holes through jig by radial drilling machine for fabrication of
top and bottom chords of all members will be allowed. Web members and
floor system having welded construction, field holes for riveting shall be
drilled through jig.

Specifications RVNL
Holes for countersunk heads of rivets, bolts or screws shall be drilled to

the correct profile so as to keep the heads flush with the surface.
Holes for rivets shall be 1.5 mm greater than the diameter of rivet bars
used. Holes for turned bolts, for field connection, where specified on
drawing shall be drilled in the shop 1 mm less than diameter of holes
shown on the drawing and should be reamed at site to suit diameter of
turned bolt.
Drilling to enlarge unfaired holes is prohibited. The holes required to be

enlarged shall be reamed provided the Engineer permits such reaming
after satisfying himself about the extent of inaccuracy and the effect of
reaming on the soundness of the structure. The Engineer reserves the
right to reject all steel work if the holes are not properly matched.
On completion of drilling of holes in each component and before shifting

the jig, it shall be ensured that all holes are drilled to their correct diameter
to reconfirm quality of work.
5.5. Rivets & Riveting of Components
The work shall include supply of all rivets, bolts, nuts, washers etc required
for complete erection at site with allowance for wastage. The Contractor
shall be responsible for supplying site rivets of correct length. The length
of such rivets shall be verified in the presence of Engineer’s representative
by snapping a few rivets of each length to check whether the holes have
been completely filled in by rivet material. Particularly in case of rivets with
long grips (with grip exceeding 6 times the diameter), specimen rivets shall
be cut to see if the holes are totally filled even though the rivets are tight
under the usual hammer tests.
All rivets to be used shall be checked with profile gauge for its true shape,
contours of head, concentricity of head, diameter as well as correct length
to match the thickness of joint. Calibrated gauges for rivet dimensions and
contours shall be provided by the Contractor for use of the Inspecting
Officer and the Engineer.
Service bolts and nuts, ordinary plates, washers and drifts for use in the
erection of the work shall also be supplied by the Contractor at his own
cost. On completion of the work these materials may be taken back by the
Contractor.
The dimension on the drawings refer to the diameters of the rivet holes as
finished rivets. The rivets shall be made to relevant IS specification. The
clearance i.e. the difference in diameter of rivet measured under head
(before heating ) and rivet hole shall not be less than 0.75 mm. The

Specifications RVNL
shanks shall be made of length sufficient to fill the holes thoroughly and to
form the head.
Riveting shall not be started until such time as Engineer or his authorized
representative has personally satisfied himself that the alignment of the
girders is correct, the vertical members plumb correctly, the camber is
according to that shown on the camber diagram with camber jacks
screwed tight, all the mating surfaces are secure and in full contact with
service bolts and field rivet holes in alignment.
All rivets shall be properly heated to straw heat for the full length of the
shank, firmly backed and closed. The head of the rivet, particularly in long
rivets, shall be heated more than the point and in no case shall the point
be heated more than the head. Before placing the rivet in drilled holes the
rivets shall be smartly jerked to shake off oxide scale. Where it is
impossible to back up by normal method of holding up, double gunning
may be resorted to. Alternatively pneumatic holding device may be used.
Unless permitted by Engineer, all riveting shall be done by machine

riveting using hydraulic riveters for sound & perfect riveting. Fabrication
workshop should have Hydraulic Riveting facilities for fabrication of heavy
duty bridge girders as per IRS specifications. Pneumatic riveters may be
used subject to approval of Inspecting Officer/Engineer. The working
pressure to be employed when using pneumatic or hydraulic tools shall be
as per manufacturer’s specifications and approved by the Engineer. Hand
riveting shall only be done when specifically allowed by the Engineer. In
such cases means shall be adopted to ensure the rivets are used for their
entire length and fill rivet holes completely, the snap being used only to
give the correct form of head.
All rivets when driven shall completely fill the holes, have the heads
concentric with the shanks and shall be in full contact with the surface.
Driven rivets when struck sharply on the dolly side head with a 110 gm
rivet-testing hammer shall be free from movement and vibration. While
riveting built up members, great care shall be exercised to ensure that the
set of holes for field rivets in each flange of the built up member is aligned,
dead square in relation to that in the other flange and not aborted. Use of
special jigs shall be made to ensure this fit.
All sparking, loose and burnt rivets, and rivets with cracks, badly formed
eccentric or deficient heads shall be cut out and replaced by others.
Permissible deviation of driven rivets shall be as per IRS B1-2001. Rivets
shall also be cut out when required for the examination of the work. The
Engineer shall approve actual method of cutting out. Recupping and
caulking shall in no circumstances be resorted to.

Specifications RVNL
Service bolts shall be frequently retightened as the riveting proceeds, the
number and position of the drifts used in the joints permitting this. All field
rivets shall be tested as directed by the Engineer.
Care must be taken to use rivets of correct dimensions but burrs or lips
around the rivet heads shall not be removed.
Rivets less than 10 mm diameter may be driven cold subject to approval of

Engineer. Flattened rivet head may be used in certain places where
clearance demands so.
When all the rivets at a joint have been finally passed they shall be painted
as per specification.
5.6 Welding of Components
All welding work shall be as per IRS Standard and by such process that
the workmanship is flawless. All welding shall be by automatic and semi-
automatic submerged arc welding process, except where inaccessible.
Site welding shall be avoided, but if necessary, shall be carried out only on
secondary members having low stresses to transmit across the joint for
which approval of the Engineer shall be required.
Welded construction shall be carried out generally in accordance with

provisions of the Welded Bridge Code and IS:9595 (Metal Arc Welding)
and further subject to specifications as under:
a) Welding shall be done only by qualified and approved welding

operators, whose competency has been verified and certified by
Engineer/Inspecting Officer. Routine re-testing of welding operators
may be required every six months if deemed necessary by the
Engineer who also reserves the right to retest any welding operator at
any time during the contract.
b) All long and continuous welds shall be carried out by automatic

Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) process only, in order to obtain
sound and uniform shape and cross section. CO 2 or manual metal
arc welding (MMAW) may be done for short lengths or for secondary
connections where access to the location of the weld does not permit
Submerged Arc Welding (SAW), subject to approval of Engineer.
Except for special types of edge preparation, such as single and

double U, single and double J, the fusion edges of all the plates
which are to be joined by welding may be prepared by using
mechanically controlled automatic flame cutting equipment and then
ground to smooth finish. Special edge preparation should be made by
machining or gouging.

Specifications RVNL
c) The Contractor shall appoint welding supervisors whose competence
and qualification shall be subject to approval of Engineer/Inspection
Officer. All welds shall be carried out under their direction &
supervision.
Welding position for fabrication of components shall be Flat or

Horizontal position for SAW (flat position preferred) and Flat or
Horizontal position for CO2 or manual metal arc welding.
To ensure above position for welding, component shall be placed in a

manipulator, tack assembled and rotated in the manipulator to assist
welding sequence and prevent distortion of member. In absence of
manipulator, special jig and fixtures shall be provided for positioning
and careful handling by crane.
5.6.1 Welding Procedure
The welding procedure shall be such as to avoid distortion and minimize

residual shrinkage stresses. Properly designed jigs should be used for
assembly. The welding techniques and sequences, quality, size of
electrodes, voltage and current required shall be as prescribed by
manufacturers of the material and welding equipment. The Contractor
should submit full details of welding procedure in proforma given at
Appendix-V of IRS B1 – 2001.
5.6.2 Sequence of welding and welding pass
The sequence of welding and welding pass shall be done as per IRS B1 –
2001.
5.6.3 Welding of stud shear connectors
The stud shear connectors shall be welded in accordance with the

manufacturer’s instructions including preheating.
The stud and the surface to which studs are welded shall be free from
scale, moisture, rust and other foreign material. The stud base shall not be
painted, galvanised or cadmium plated prior to welding.
Welding shall not be carried out when temperature is below 10 degrees

Celsius or surface is wet or during periods of strong winds unless the work
and the welder is adequately protected.
The welds shall be visually free from cracks and shall be capable of
developing at least the nominal ultimate strength of studs.
The procedural trial for welding the stud shall be carried out when
specified by the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
5.6.4 Procedure Trials
Where required by the Engineer/Inspecting Officer, welding and flame

cutting trials as per following shall be carried out and completed before
fabrication on representative samples of materials to be used in the work.
i) The samples of material shall be selected and marked by the

Engineer when the materials for the work are inspected at the mills.
ii) The trials of flame cutting shall be carried out in material
representative of all thicknesses to be used in the work.
iii) The welding & flame cutting trials shall be commensurate to the
satisfaction of Engineer/Inspecting Officer and the procedures to be
adopted in the fabrication of work which shall include:
a) Welding procedure in accordance with relevant specification.
b) Heat control techniques required to ensure that the flame cut
surface of steel are suitable for inclusion in welds.
iv) The trials shall include specimen weld details from the actual
construction which shall be welded in a manner simulating the most
unfavourable instances of fit-up and preparation. After welding the
specimens shall be held as long as possible at room temperature
but in any case not less than 72 hours, and then shall be sectioned
and examined for cracking. Six representative samples of each
weld joint similar to joint used in fabrication of all components shall
be prepared by qualified and certified welding operators.
v) Following groups of tests shall be carried out:
a) Butt welds: Transverse tensile test, transverse & longitudinal
bend test with the root of weld in tension and compression
respectively, charpy V-notch impact test.
b) Fillet welds: Fillet weld fracture test.
c) Tack welds: Inspection for cracking
d) All welds: Macro examination.
Additional tests may also be carried out as per requirement and

instructions of Engineer/Inspecting Officer. Following tests are normally
performed on welds.
(a) Non Destructive Tests (NDT):
- Visual inspection/profile gauge for dimensional check of size and

throat thickness of weld.
- Etching test for penetration of joint.
- Magnetic particle or Ultra Sonic Pulse Velocity (USPV)
- Gamma Radiography & x-ray (only for butt welds)
- Dye penetration of all weld joints.

Specifications RVNL
(b) Destructive Test:
- Tensile test
- Bend test
- Impact test
- Load test.
Once samples representing the weld joint used in fabrication of all

components are tested and test results are found satisfactory, then
approval shall be taken from the Engineer/Inspecting Officer for the
welding of built up components by approved welding operators. Welding
Procedure Qualification Records (WPQR’s) shall be prepared which shall
include joint details, welding consumables (i.e. electrode/wire & flux
combination), weld parameters (i.e. welding current, wire feed speed),
welding position, welding equipment carriage speed (for SAW process),
arc Length, arc voltage etc.
5.6.5 Precautions during welding
The Contractor shall submit list of weld joints of different combined

thickness for approval of welding procedure for all members.
The welding of built up component shall be carried out only by approved

welding operators and in accordance with Welding Procedure Qualification
Records. WPQR’s shall be prepared in advance and approved by the
Engineer. Proper welding sequence shall be followed to avoid distortion
and minimize residual shrinkage stress, and surface defects, within
acceptable tolerance limits.
To ensure sound and defect free welding of built up members, record of

welding adopted as per approved qualifying procedure shall be maintained
in Performa prescribed in guidelines for welded fabrication issued by
RDSO or as stipulated in IRS-B1-2001.
Any change during welding for fabrication of built up member, such as

welding sequence, welding process, positioning, wire and flux
combination, joint details, increase or decrease in combined thickness of
joint by 5 mm etc. shall be carried out only after representative samples
test and procedure qualification, is accepted. In no case deviation from
WPQR’s without approval of Engineer shall be adopted.
5.7 Preparation of Faces
Preparation of joint face: Except for special types of edge preparation such
as single or double ‘U’ & ‘J’ joints, the fusion edges of all plates which are
to be joined by welding shall be prepared by using mechanically controlled
automatic flame cutting equipment with the cutting allowance as per
clause 4.7 and the extra length machined to obtain correct length.

Specifications RVNL
It shall be ensured by Non-destructive tests that the fusion face and

adjacent surface are free from cracks, notches or other irregularities that
are likely to cause defects during service or interfere with deposition of the
weld.
Fusion faces and the surrounding surface upto 50 mm shall be free from
mill scale, moisture, oil, paint dirt or any other substance which may affect
the quality of the weld, and same shall be removed by grinding or flame
cleaning/grit blasting.
Details of joint, fusion faces, root face and gap shall be as per details
given in fabrication drawing or as stipulated in IS:9595.
5.8 Welding Operation
Parts to be welded shall be assembled such that the joints to be welded

are accessible and visible to the operator. Assembly jig and fixture shall be
used for accuracy.
Manipulators should preferably be used to execute the sequence of

welding without disturbance, in the most suitable position. Fixture shall
maintain the alignment with minimum restraint in order to reduce the
possibility of locked up stresses.
Run in and run out plate shall be provided for fabrication of built up
members or truss to ensure that weld will start on run in plate and weld will
stop on run out plate and thus avoid crater defects on the components.
The size and length of weld shall not be less than those specified in the
drawing nor shall they be in excess of the requirement without prior
approval of the Inspecting Officer. The location of weld shall not be
changed without prior approval of the Engineer.
During design and detailing of component lengths, care is to be taken to

avoid butt weld in built up members of truss. Therefore it is essential to
use only nearest size and length of rolled sections that have been
procured to scheduled sizes and lengths by proper planning. No butt weld
shall be carried out without approval of Engineer.
Fabrication of components subject to dynamic loading in the structure

need careful inspection during fabrication by qualified, experienced and
certified Engineer from Contractor’s side and final approval by Inspecting
Officer. This inspection shall be carried out as stipulated in Indian Railway
Welded Bridge Code before, during and after welding.

Specifications RVNL
5.9 Additional Precautions during Welding
Following precautions shall further be observed during fabrication.
- All equipments shall be provided with calibrated gauges to observe

limits of variation for parameters prescribed in WPQR’s for welding
current, arc voltage, speed of travel of equipment etc.
- Covered shed for environmental control (particularly against dust,
moisture and water) shall be provided to avoid entrapment of
hydrogen, which is likely to cause crack initiation in weld or under bed
of weld (i.e. Heat Affected Zone HAZ). Also baking of flux used for
submerged arc welding in oven for an hour at 200 degree C shall be
carried out to ensure that no moisture is contained in flux during
welding.
- All tack welds shall be carried out by qualified and approved welder
only. As tack weld will become part of the final weld, it shall be free
from all cracks and other welding defects.
- If multiple runs are used for fabrication of built up member, inter run
cleaning shall be carried out and subsequent weld bed made only after
approval of inspecting officer or his authorized representative. This is to
check free defects in the weld. Also visible defects such as cracks,
cavities, if any, shall be removed by grinding. It shall be ensured during
welding that craters are avoided.
- Stray arcing of components, which cause local hard spots or cracking
of parent metal, shall be avoided.
- Flux of approved quality will be permitted for use.
- The Auto melt grade wire spools of wires for Submerged Arc Welding
and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) consumables of only the approved quality
will be permitted.
- Pre Heat Treatment will be given to the consumables to remove the
moisture if any
- No violation of welding procedure will be permitted on any account.
5.10 General : Riveting & Welding
Qualified, trained, and experienced supervision is essential at all times

during fabrication, and for maintenance of records.
After riveting of riveted components or welding of welded components,

they shall be finished finally by grinding or matching with the help of a
profile template. All the butting ends of components shall be faced in
milling machine after members have been completely fabricated. In the
case of compression members, the face shall be machined so that the
faces are of proper angle as shown in drawing and the joint when made
will be in close contact throughout within a gap tolerance of less than 0.15
mm. The Inspecting officer may permit a tolerance of (-) 0.4 mm at isolated
points in butting line.

Specifications RVNL
6.0 PAINTING
Specifications for metallising and epoxy painting of bridge girders shall be

as per IRS:B1-2001.
6.1 Surface Preparation
This is the most important factor in ensuring good performance of the steel
girder. The surface should be clean, dry and free from contaminants and it
should be rough enough to ensure adhesion of the paint film. However it
should not be so rough that the film cannot cover the surface peaks.
The cleaning of the surface shall be done initially with the use of emery
paper, wire brushes, scrapers etc. for spot cleaning to remove rust, scale
etc. Subsequently, sand blasting of the surface shall be done to remove
rust, mill scale along with some of the base metal. This will be achieved by
high velocity impact of abrasive material against the surface in accordance
with the provisions of IS:6586, which will also create a base for good
adhesion. The abrasive material once used for cleaning heavily
contaminated surface should not be reused even though re-screened.
Washed salt free angular silica sand of mesh size 12 to 30 with a minimum
of 40% retained on a 20 mesh screen shall be used for blasting. The
material specifications and other requirements shall be as provided in
Indian Railways Bridge Manual, 1998.
All site rivets, bolts, nuts and washers shall be thoroughly cleaned and
dipped in boiled linseed oil. All machined surfaces are to be well coated
with a mixture of white lead conforming to IS:34 and Mutton tallow
conforming to IS:887 as per specifications before desptach to site. Nothing
extra shall be payable to Contractor on this account.
All the components in the floor and deck system including steel channel
sleepers in open web girders and all members in plate & composite girders
shall be metalized as per IRS specifications. Other components of open
web girders and all trolley refuges shall be painted with epoxy based
paints as per specifications.
6.2 Metal Spraying
The sprayed coating shall be applied as soon as possible after surface

preparation.
The wire method shall be used for the purpose of metallising, the diameter
of the wire being 3mm or 5mm. Specified thickness of coating shall be
applied in multiple layers and in no case less than 2 passes of the metal
spraying unit shall be made over every part of the surface. The surface

Specifications RVNL
after spraying shall be free from uncoated parts of lumps of loosely
spattered metal
The composition of the aluminium to be sprayed shall be in accordance

with BS:1475, material 1-B(99.5%) aluminium otherwise as per IS:739
and IS:2590. However, the selection of metal for spraying, i.e. Zinc or
Aluminium shall be subject to final approval by the Engineer.
Atleast one layer of the coating must be applied within four hours of
blasting and the surface must be completely coated to the specified
thickness within 8 hours of blasting.
Minimum thickness of metal coating applied shall be 115 microns and

average thickness shall be 150 microns. The metal coating shall be
checked for thickness by approved magnetic thickness measuring gauge.
At least one reading for each sqm of area painted shall be taken. The
calibration of the gauge shall be checked against a standard of similar
thickness within an accuracy of 10%.
For measurement of dry film thickness, following instruments may be used

by the Contractor:
(i) Electronic coating thickness gauge.

(ii) Elecometer (magnetic thickness gauge) Dial type.
(iii) Surface profile gauge.
After metallising, any oil, grease etc. shall be removed by thorough wash
with a suitable thinner as approved by the Engineer and shall be allowed
to dry for 15 minutes. The first coat shall be applied by airless spray, of
wash primer conforming to SSPCPT-3 53T or Etch primer conforming to
IS:5666 until no visible traces exist.
The second coat shall be zinc chromatic primer conforming to IS:104 and
shall be applied by airless spray. The zinc chrome shall conform to type 2
of IS:51.
The third coat shall be by Aluminium paint conforming to IS:2339. The

girder parts shall be dispatched to site after the third coat (i.e. first finishing
coat or cover coat). After assembling and launching at site, second
finishing coat of Aluminium paint conforming to IS:2339 shall be applied
after touching up the primer and first finishing coat.
The Engineer reserve the right to select the colour scheme for the third
and fourth coats.
6.3 Miscellaneous
Final dry film thickness in case of metallising shall be average 150 microns
and shall be measured before application of final finishing two coats.

Specifications RVNL
Surface preparation shall not be done unless approved paints of sufficient

quantity (both primer and finishing) are available in stock.
Special care should be taken in preparing corners, junctions of members,

head and nuts of bolts, rivets, holes, areas less accessible, hidden pockets
etc. Surface preparation at such locations shall not be inferior to that
attained over the rest of the area.
Surface preparation shall not be carried out in the following conditions:

- In rainy season from June to September and from December to
January.
- In extremely windy/misty/dust blowing conditions.
- At night
- In winter before 8 A.M.
- In summer between 11 and 15 hrs, in areas, which are likely to be
exposed to direct sunlight.
6.4 Inspection
6.4.1 Adhesion: The sprayed metal coating shall be subjected to an adhesion

test using the method described in IRS BI-2001. If any part of the coating
between the lines breaks away from the base metal, it shall be deemed to
have failed the test.
Articles that have been rejected, shall have the defective sections blasted
to clean off all sprayed material prior to re-spraying. Where the rejection
has been solely due to too thin a coating, sprayed metal of the same
quality may be added provided that the surface has been kept dry and is
free from visible contamination.
6.5 Paints : Source & Quality
Paint and other accessories including those for metallising work will be
supplied by the Contractor. Paints manufactured by the firms approved by
the Engineer shall be used.
The Contractor shall furnish to the Engineer, the date of manufacture of

paint as certified by the manufacturers with the necessary container
marking and test certificate for paint conforming to relevant IS code. In
addition to this, he shall also submit the necessary vouchers in respect of
paint purchased by him.
The Engineer reserves the right to get the paint tested at Contractor’s
expenses as considered necessary by the Engineer. If the test results do
not conform to relevant IS specifications fully, then the lot of paint shall be

Specifications RVNL
rejected and got removed from the Contractor(s) storage. If the paint has
already been applied it shall be removed.
In addition to above, the following tests are required to be carried out in

the field.
- Weight per litre.
- Consistency test
- Scratch test.
- Flexibility and adhesive test.
The Engineer reserves the right to reject the lot of paint even on the basis
of field results.
6.6 Painting - General Instructions
Painting shall not be commenced till the surface preparation has been
approved by the Engineer or his representative or inspecting officer.
Sealed containers of paint of approved brand shall be used. The paint

drums must be rolled, turned upside down and shaken before opening.
The paint must be stirred well before use. Over stirring which results in
invisible air bubbles etc, shall be avoided.
Where brush painting is accepted, the paint must be applied by means of

flat brushes not more than 75mm in width having soft flexible bristles
conforming to IS:384.
Round and oval brushes of approved quality conforming to IS: 487 may
also be used as per the instructions of the Engineer or his representative
or inspecting officer.
All new brushes should be soaked in raw linseed oil conforming to IS: 77
for at least 24 hours before use.
A little blue paint shall be added, in the first coat of aluminium paint to
distinguish it from second coat. For paints of other colours for final and
finishing two coats, suitable pigment shall be used as per instruction of the
Engineer, to distinguish the first coat from the second coat.
The date of painting shall be marked with paint on the member.

Specifications RVNL
6.7 Care during Painting
Paint should be mixed in small quantities sufficient to be consumed within

one hour in the case of red lead paint.
The applied coat of paint shall be uniform, and free from brush marks,
sack marks, blemishes, scratching, non-uniform thickness, holes, log
marks, fuel staining, cracking, scaling, and other defects.
Paint shall be applied only on dry and clean surface free from moisture or
dust (including scrapping dust).
Paint should be used within the prescribed shelf life from the date of
manufacture.
Each coat of paint shall be left dry till it sufficiently hardens before the
subsequent coat is applied. Each coat of paint shall be inspected by the
Engineer or inspecting officer and certified as satisfactory before applying
subsequent coat.
6.8 Since the bridge is in the close vicinity of the sea, the protective coating
by metalising by sprayed aluminum as given in the Appendix-VII of IRS-
B1-2001 followed by painting as per painting schedule given in clause
39.2.1 (i) (ii) (iii) of IRS-B1-2001 shall be applied.
6.9 Payment
The payment for complete painting of all components of girders including

all accessories, painting of contact surface etc including all labour and
material, is included in the accepted rates for item (B.O.Q.) in the schedule
of items, rates and quantities and nothing extra shall be paid.
7.0 ASSEMBLY & ERECTION
7.1 General
The Contractor shall provide at his own cost all tools, machinery,
equipment and erection material, including all temporary works and shall
assemble all components in every respect as stipulated in the contract and
in accordance with approved drawings and specifications.
Before starting the work the Contractor shall seek the Engineer’s approval
as to the method he proposes to follow and the type and suitability of
equipment he proposes to use for assembly of girder components and
launching of girder. The approval of the Engineer shall however not in any
way relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for the adequacy and safety
of methods and/or equipments he proposes to use for carrying our work in
full accordance with drawings and specifications.

Specifications RVNL
All temporary works shall be properly designed and fabricated & erected
with great care for the loads, which they will be called upon to support.
Adequate allowance and provision for the effect of lateral forces and wind
loads shall be made to meet unforeseen conditions.
When chains are used for lashing, care must be taken to protect the edges
of members from twisting and distortion, damage to paint and similar
effects.
Temporary bracing shall be provided to take care of stresses caused by

erection equipment or other incidental loads during erection.
The method used for lifting and slinging flexible members shall be brought
to the notice of the Engineer and shall be subject to his approval.
The Contractor shall observe sufficient accuracy in the assembly of every

part of the work to ensure that all parts fit accurately together.
For erection of Open Web Girder span, appendix III of IRS B1 – 2001 shall
be followed.
7.2 Procedure for Assembly in Workshop & Site
The Contractor is required to undertake test assembly of one girder in his

fabrication workshop to prove accuracy of templates and jigs. This
assembly can be done in horizontal position. In case the fabrication
workshop is set up by the Contractor at bridge site itself the test assembly
may be done at assembly platform and after testing of accuracy of jigs,
fixtures& templates and the camber, the same assembly can be launched
after riveting.
The test assembly shall be certified by Inspecting agency of the Engineer.
Following procedure may be used by Contractor subject to checking of

design by Contractor’s consultant and final approval by the Engineer.
(i) The joints at the end of each top & bottom chord shall be drifted,
bolted and preferably stitch riveted to their Geometrical outline.
(ii) The procedure during assembly shall consist of placing camber jacks
in position to support the structure. The camber jacks shall be set
such that they provide sufficient height to allow for lowering of panel
points to obtain and maintain the required camber. Throughout the
process of assembly, tilt, shift, twisting etc. shall be repeatedly
checked. The jacks shall be spaced so that they will support the ends
of the main girders and the panel points.

Specifications RVNL
(iii) The bottom chord members shall then be placed on the camber
jacks, carefully leveled and checked for straightness and the joints
completed by riveting.
(iv) The vertical and diagonal web members, except the end verticals
shall then be erected with gusset connection outward from centre in
their proper position on the bottom chords. Temporary gussets with
correct hole position as on master gusset shall be fixed to connect
the top end of diagonals. Strainers shall be used to realize matching
of holes in the gussets at top & bottom of the diagonals & verticals, to
ensure that the angles between the members at the bottom joints are
as given by the nominal outline of the girders. The verticals and
diagonals shall then be riveted to the lower chord.
(v) All panel points, except the central one shall now be lowered by an
amount sufficient to produce the correct camber on the main girders
as shown on the camber diagram.
(vi) The top chord shall thereafter be erected piece by piece, working
symmetrically outwards from the centre without loss of camber
profile.
(vii) Temporary top gussets, if used, shall be replaced by permanent

gussets outwards from the centre.
(viii) The ends posts shall be erected last. The upper end connection
should preferably be made first and if there is no splicing in the end
vertical, the final closure be made at the bottom connection. If there
is splicing, it shall be made at the splicing.
(ix) Frequent checks shall be made of the camber of girders during

erection and care taken that the correct camber is obtained when the
girder is completely assembled.
7.3 Care during Assembly at Workshop
7.3.1 Drilling & Drifting of Holes
Drilling of joints shall be avoided as far as possible and when necessary

should be done with great care and under expert supervision. Hammers
not exceeding 1kg (2 lb) in weight may be used with turned barrel drifts
and a number of holes drifted simultaneously, the effect of drifting shall be
checked by observation of adjacent unfilled hole.
Any apparent error in shop work which prevents the assembling and fitting
of the mating parts by the proper use of drifts, shall be investigated
immediately.

Specifications RVNL
As all work is rigidly inspected at the fabrication shop before dispatch,
these difficulties should not arise and the cause could possibly be due to
the use of incorrect components. It is usually important that parts be
correctly handed. Should errors still persist, the matter shall be
immediately reported to the Engineer who will decide what action is to be
taken.
7.3.2 Reaming
No reaming shall be undertaken without the written authority of Engineer

or his authorized representative or Inspecting Officer except for under
drilled holes meant for turned bolts. If approved by Engineer, the
Contractor shall supply at his own expense, special rivets as may be
required. Records of all actions relative to the recourse to reaming and
the use of over size rivets shall be reported to the Engineer.
7.3.3 Service Bolts & Drifts
Joints shall normally be made by filling not less than 50 to 60 percent of

the holes with service blots and barrel drifts in the ratio of four to one. The
service bolts are to be fully tightened up as soon as the joint is assembled
to secure full contact of the mating parts.
7.4 Inspection, Testing & Marking
All components shall be offered for inspection prior to painting. All

approved components shall be stamped defect free, painted as per
specifications prior to despatch to bridge site.
On final finishing of each component, it shall be marked distinctly with

paint with shipping mark for guidance, during assembly of component.
Stud shear connectors shall be subjected to the following tests:
a) The fixing of studs after being welded in position shall be tested by

striking the side of the head of the stud with a 2 kg hammer to the
satisfaction of the Engineer.
b) The selected stud head stroked with 6 kg hammer shall be capable of
lateral displacement of approximately 0.25 times the height of the stud
from its original position. The stud weld shall not show any sign of
crack or lack of fusion.
The studs whose welds have failed the tests given in (a) and (b) shall be
replaced.
All other aspects not stated above shall comply with IRS-BI-2001 and
Welded Bridge Code.

Specifications RVNL
7.5 Transports from Workshop & Stacking at Site
All items fabricated in the workshop shall be marked and packaged with
accompanying package list. The items after fabrication shall be
transported by Contractor to site by Rail/Road in a manner as to cause no
damage to the components. Contractor shall be liable for all losses and
damages in transit for the materials consigned by him till materials are
erected and work completed and taken over by the Engineer. Insurance
against loss or damage in transit, if any, shall be the responsibility of the
Contractor.
After identification & correct marking, all components of each girder shall
be dismantled & similar components shall be grouped together & labeled;
rivets bolts and plates of each size shall be packed separately in the
manner described elsewhere in this tender document, after approval by
the inspecting authority.
The packages shall be of such size by length & weight that they are safely
transportable by Rail/Road. The components shall be provided with
necessary packing to avoid damage to painting & members in transit.
Dimensions for transport shall be as per standard schedules.
7.6 Assembly at Site
7.6.1 Holes
After drilling holes in temporary tack assembled components, the

components shall be taken apart after match marking and all burrs left by
drill and sharp edges of all holes shall be removed by spot grinding to
ensure full contact when assembled.
Assembly fixture shall be used to build components for turned bolt

connection. These connections will help realize correct position of
member and matching of coaxial holes in opposite members besides true
alignment and level.
After assembly, all blank holes shall be checked with plug gauge of
diameter 0.8mm less than hole diameter, to check fair matching of holes
before riveting.
7.6.2 Drifts
Drifts as per IRS specifications may be used for drawing light members
into position, but their use on heavy members should be restricted to

Specifications RVNL
securing them in their correct positions. In no case shall drifting be
allowed to such an extent that holes are distorted. Drifting to enlarge
unfaired holes is prohibited.
7.6.3 Reaming
The holes that will have to be enlarged to admit rivets should be reamed
subject to approval of Engineer/Inspecting Officer who will satisfy himself
about the extent of inaccuracy and the effect of reaming on the soundness
of the structure. The Contractor shall supply special rivets to fill reamed
holes, where reaming is approved. Record of all such variations shall be
kept . However, these provisions should not apply for under drilled holes
meant for turned bolts. Copies of all correspondence pertaining to the
recourse of reaming and the use of over size rivets shall be sent by the
Contractor for information to Engineer.
7.6.4 Making of joints
Care shall be taken to see that all burrs are removed and no surface
defects exist before the parts are assembled. The mating surfaces shall
establish full contact when assembled. In cases where the joints have to
withstand stresses arising from special methods of erection, provision is to
be made to take the whole stress that will or may occur. Cylindrical drifts
and turned bolts shall be used to withstand such stresses and no reliance
is to be placed on service bolts for this purpose. Up to a maximum of 40
percent of the holes of each member of the joint are to be filled with drifts
and balance of strength required is to be attained with turned bolts. The
position and number of the drifts and bolts will be decided by Engineer.
7.6.5 Painting of Joints
All surfaces, which are in permanent contact, shall be thoroughly cleaned

down to the bare metal, to remove mill scale, grease etc. They shall be
painted immediately before assembly with one coat of red lead conforming
to IS:102 and raw linseed oil freshly ground and the surface prepared for
painting as per painting specification at Clause 6.0.
7.7 Assembly and Launching
The assembling of components at site to required camber along bridge

axis, preceding additional temporary structures and accessories for
launching of girders and all related matters shall be full responsibility of the
Contractor.
The launching of girders shall be done as per approved drawings. For this
purpose, the Contractor shall submit in triplicate, detailed launching
schemes of all the girders including design calculations, safety procedures
and method statement with such plans, sketches and other details as may

Specifications RVNL
be necessary to determine the suitability and adequacy of the schemes
proposed. The methods adopted shall not, under any circumstances,
cause the stresses in various members of girder spans to exceed
permissible and safe limits at any stage of launching. One copy duly
approved by the Engineer shall be returned to the Contractor.
For the Engineer’s use and record, the Contractor shall supply free of
charge, four sets of prints on strong paper and one set of neatly executed
tracings on linen of approved detailed drawings for assembly and
launching schemes for use at site.
The launching system & procedure shown on enclosed drawings are

purely indicative of the method proposed for launching for which the
permanent members of the girders are designed. The Contractor shall
provide full structural details of the temporary members and their
connections to the girder, along with necessary design calculations not
only justifying members sizes but also of the entire launching system
adopted. Contractor shall provide full structural details of the temporary
member and their connections to the girder, along with necessary design
calculations not only justifying members sizes but also of the entire
launching system adopted. Contractor will be responsible for getting
approval of launching scheme submitted by him from the Engineer.
In order to ensure perfect fit of the temporary components, holes may be

carefully drilled for the connecting members in between the girders in situ
and T & F High tension grip bolts used.
The launching system shall be test tried if directed by the Engineer and no
separate payment for this shall be made.
Nothing extra will be paid to the Contractor for adopting any scheme for
launching and the costs are to be covered in the relevant item in the
schedule of items, quantities and rates. All temporary members shall be
removed after launching and may be taken back by the Contractor.
Erection gussets provided for connecting the members may be cut and
edges ground as required by the Engineer.
7.8 Temporary Strengthening
The launching arrangement may include fabrication of launching nose or

restraining girders, sway restraining devices such as sway ropes,
restraining cables etc, the supply and fixing of members for temporary
strengthening of girder members to take care of erection stresses and
strains and other relevant components for satisfactory and successful
completion of the defined scope of work. Erection stresses must be kept
within safe and permissible limits at every stage of erection.

Specifications RVNL
The Contractor has to make arrangements at his own cost for the steel for
temporary arrangements including sway restraining devices for launching
and temporary strengthening of girder, as may be required for the
launching operations. The rate quoted should take into account these
factors as nothing extra shall be paid.
7.9 Inspection and Rectification
During erection of girders, the Contractor shall provide all facilities and
permit the Engineer to inspect the field assembly, site riveting and erection
of spans.
After inspection by the Engineer, the Contractor shall identify cause of any
defect, imperfection and/or fault noticed during such inspection and initiate
corrective action as per the direction of the Engineer. All defects,
imperfections or faults for which the Contractor is liable under the contract,
shall be made good by the Contractor to Engineer’s satisfaction and the
cost of identifying and rectifying such defects, imperfection or faults shall
be borne by the Contractor.
A neat casting bearing the name of the Contractor, the place and date of
manufacture, the contact number and the standard of loading to be
specified by the Engineer shall be bolted conspicuously on all girders. The
drawing of the name plate shall be approved by the Engineer.
8.0 METHOD OF MEASUREMENT FOR PAYMENT
8.1 Measurement
For the purpose of payment, quoted rates apply to the weights of steel
work calculated from final working drawings based on theoretical weights
given in the producer’s hand books and using minimum square overall
dimensions, no deductions being made for skew cuts, holes or notches.
Each gusset shall be measured as equivalent to the dimension of the
smallest enclosing rectangle. The wastage of steel in the form of skew
cuts etc shall be the property of the Contractor.
3 % of the weight of the members as calculated above shall be added in

case of riveted or composite (riveted and welded) work.
The drawing office despatch lists (D.O.D.Ls) when prepared according to

procedure, shall be submitted by the Contractor to the Engineer for
approval.
The payment for steel work as per item in the schedule of items, rates and
quantities, shall be released in stages of accepted item rates for quantities
executed, as mentioned below. The payment after receipt of material in
fabrication shop shall be made on the basis of measurements contained in

Specifications RVNL
the supplier’s vouchers, if required, these measurements shall be further
verified by the representative of Engineer in charge by measuring
dimensions/sizes of the sections and multiplying the same by standard
weight. Sampling for actual weight of the sections shall also be done by
him as per procedure and frequency prescribed by Engineer in charge.
8.2 Schedule of Stage Payments for fabrication & Erection of Girders
8.2.1 If Contractor establishes fabrication workshop at Bridge site, complete in

all respects having all machinery, equipments and facilities for quality
control.
(i) Procurement of material (on receipt in fabrication

workshop subject to maximum of quantities as 40%
indicated in approved fabrication drawings).
(ii) On completion of fabrication of members as per 15%
specifications and marking and its passing and
certification by Engineer.
(iii) Metallising/painting, as applicable, as per 5%
specifications
(iv) After successful test assembly of girders at bridge 10%
site and checking of camber etc.
Note: Payment under stage (iv) will be merged with stage (ii) after
successful test assembly of one girder at bridge site.
8.2.2 If fabrication of girder components is done in Contractor’s factory premises

at location other than bridge site.
(i) Procurement of material (on receipt in fabrication

workshop subject to maximum of quantities as 30%
indicated in approved fabrication drawingsand also
as indicated in schedule) against B.G.
(ii) On fabrication of girder components as per 15%
specifications and its actual certification & passing
by Engineer, against B.G.
(iii) On successful test assembly, checking of camber 10%
and then dismantling and marking of components.
(iv) Metallising/painting, as applicable, as per 5%
specifications.
(v) On receipt of fabricated material in good condition at 10%
site on certification by authorized representative of
Engineer regarding physical receipt of fabricated
materials.
Note: Payment under stage (iii) will be merged with stage (ii) after
successful test assembly of one girder.

Specifications RVNL
8.2.3 Balance stages for payment
(i) On making the arrangements complete in all 5%

respects for launching of girders and keeping it
ready for launching.
(ii) After final launching of girders and aligning them in 10%
proper position over the respective supports before
lowering on the bearing.
(iii) On completion of field riveting/welding 3%
(iv) On removal of temporary arrangements and 5%

placement of girders on bearing, anchoring the
bearing to girder and pier, to the correct line and
level, and completing the balance riveting.
(v) After providing misc. works such as pathway, railings 4%
final coat of painting etc, cleaning of site of all
obstructions.
(vi) On successful load testing. 3%
Note:
1. After satisfactory erection of 1st span, payment under stage (i) shall
be merged with stage (ii), in para 8.2.3.
2. Prorata payment shall be made in intermediate stage as decided by
the Engineer.
3. If fabrication is done at the Contractor’s workshop/factory premises,
the payment in stages as prescribed in Para 8.2.2(i) to (ii) shall be
released subject to submissions of the bank guarantee of equivalent
amount. The bank guarantee bond should initially be valid for a
minimum period of 18 months, which should subsequently be
extended from time to time depending upon the progress of work.
The bank guarantee bond so given to cover for the payment for Para
8.2.2.(i) to (ii) shall be released to the extant the fabricated material
reaches the concerned bridge site in good condition and certified by
authorized representative of Engineer to this effect. The Contractor
for this purpose can also give the fresh guarantee bond at any time
so that the outstanding payments, for item Para 8.2.2 (i) to (iii) to the
extent fabricated material has not reached at site, are covered by the
guarantee bond. Complete responsibility of the safe keep and
custody of the material at Contractor’s workshop and during transit
and also on receipt at Bridge site shall be of the Contractor and the
Engineer will not have any responsibility on this account for loss or
damage. The Contractor shall make good any loss or damage to the
material at his own cost.

Specifications RVNL
9.0 DEVIATION FROM SPECIFICATION
The Contractor may extend suggestions for member

substitution, fabrication method, launching procedure, and the
like provided the fundamental character such as area & stiffness
of the member and the connections are marginally affected or
preferably unchanged, in order that the structural analysis
carried out is affected by less than 1/2%. The decision of
Engineer shall be final and binding on all such proposals made
by the Contractor. No extra will be paid to the Contractor for
such deviations. The Contractor shall document all such
deviations for the Engineer’s record.
10.0 CONTRACTOR(S) LIABILITY
Any fitting, accessory or apparatus which may not have been

mentioned in this specification or the drawings, but which are
usual or necessary in the execution of such work, are to be
provided by the Contractor without extra payment. The whole
work must be completed in all details, whether mentioned in this
specification or not, with the exception of such work as has been
specified in the schedule of requirements to be separately
provided for in the Contract.
Notwithstanding the specifications and conditions stated in the

contract, the Contractor shall keep the Engineer/Employer
authority fully indemnified and free from all liabilities and risks
consequential to any lapse on his part in respect of material
quality, standard of workmanship, accuracy of fabrication and
the like. He shall provide all labour and material required for
execution of the work as per listed standards and in absence of
any IRS & IS specifications, to the relevant British standards.
11.0 ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR SUPERSTRUCTURE
11.1 The railway track on this Section shall be electrified. In order to prelude
the effect of electric corrosion if any, due to long stay current due to
induction, necessary measures will be taken to equalize the electric
potential. The superstructure should be isolated from the bed block by
suitable elastomeric plates or other insulating material under the bearings.
However, for POT/PTEF bearings, this will not be required.
11.2 The sub-structure of the bridge shall be so constructed/modified that all

parts i.e. bearings, piers caps, piers along the entire height can be easily
accessed for regular inspection. Suitable ladders, inspection galleries,
inspection platforms etc. shall be provided as per approved drawing.

Specifications RVNL
11.3 The bearing shall be provided as per specifications and requirements.
Anti-seismic arrangements shall be provided as per approved drawings.
11.4 Steel channel sleepers shall be provided by Contractor, which will be

fabricated as per plan No. B-1636 and B-1636/1 with latest alterations.
The Contractor shall provide all fixtures and accessories required for fixing
the steel channel sleepers to the steel girder including elastomeric pads as
per IRS specifications. Steel channel sleepers shall be metallised and
painted as per painting clause 6.0. The payment for this item including
metallising and painting shall be made as per relevant Item of the
schedule of items, rates and quantities. The Contractor shall be paid for
quantity as per drawings, which shall be weight of the fabricated sleeper
excluding all accessories/connections required for fixing the sleeper to the
girder. Nothing extra shall be paid for such accessories/connections which
shall be deemed to be included in the accepted rates for relevant item.
11.6 Steel Chequered plates 500mm wide and 7 mm thick, conforming to IS

3502 shall be used for pathway, man refuge floor etc. for entire length of
the bridge. The payment for this shall be made as per relevant item in the
schedule of items, quantities and rates. The cost of fixing (including
fasteners) to girder component/sleepers shall be deemed to be included
in relevant item rate and shall not be paid extra.

Specifications RVNL
(i) - BEARINGS
1. General
1.1 Pot type bearings shall consist of a metal piston supported by a disc or
unreinforced elastomer confined within a metal cylinder to take care of
rotation. Horizontal movement, if required shall with a system of sealing
rings be provided by sliding surfaces of PTFE pads sliding against
stainless steel mating surfaces. The pot bearings shall consist of cast
steel assemblies or fabricated structural steel assemblies.
1.2 Provisions of IRC –83 (Part I) shall be applicable for all metallic elements.
Provisions of IRC-83 (Part II) shall be applicable for all elastomer
elements. Provisions of IRC-83 (Part III) shall be applicable for POT/POT-
PTFE bearing. When any items are not covered by IRC:83 (Part I, Part II
and Part III), the same shall be as per guidelines given hereunder and
BS:5400 (Sections 9.1 and 9.2), except that the same shall be permitted.
If there is any conflict between BS on the one hand and IRC on the other,
the provisions of IRC will be guiding.
1.3 Combination bearings using any judicious combination and sliding

element shall be permitted. As for example:
Name Rotation Slidin Generally for

Element g
Eleme
nt
Pot Pot None Vertical load
Elastomer Elastomer None* Horizontal
Buffer
Pot Pot PTFE-SS** Vertical load &
PTFE Horizontal load
Spherical Spherical PTFE-SS** Vertical load &
Knuckle Knuckle Horizontal load
PTFE
Elastomer Elastomer PTFE-SS** Transverse
PTFE guide
Elastom Elastomer SS-SS** Transverse
er SS** guide
* Elastomer shall permit movement by shear
** Stainless steel For special and innovative bridges, new

combinations beyond what is shown may be required. The same
may be used after approval by the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
2. Fabrication
2.1 The surface mating with the PTFE in the sliding pair shall be corrosion
resistant stainless steel. Normally, the stainless steel shall form the upper
component. The stainless steel shall overlap the PTFE after full
movement on all sides. If stainless steel sheet is used, it should be bonded
by continuous welding along the edges. Adhesive or any other bonding
can be approved by the Engineer. The surface shall be prepared by
thorough cleaning to remove grease, dust or any other foreign substance.
2.2 PTFE modular sheets of the sliding pair shall be located by confinement
assisted by bonding. Confined PTFE shall be recessed into the metal
backing plate. The shoulders of the recess shall be sharp and square to
restrict the flow of PTFE.
2.3 The thickness of the PTFE shall not be less than 4.5 mm with projection
above the recess not exceeding 2.0mm. When the piston is subjected to
tilting, the seal must slide along the wall and alter its shape according to
the angle of tilt. At the same time, it must be sufficiently rigid to bridge the
gap between the piston and the wall of the pot. However, the percentage of
plan area of the lubrication cavities to the gross area shall not exceed 25%.
The depth of the cavity shall not exceed 2.0 mm.
2.4 The diameter of thickness ratio of the confined elastomer shall not exceed
15. The surface of the confined elastomer shall be smooth.
2.4.1 A seal shall be provided to prevent extrusion of the confined elastomer

between the piston and the pot wall. The seal should stay functional under
the loads and rotations acting on it. Additional seal shall be provided to
prevent entry of dust into the pot wall. Sealing rings for pot bearings shall
be fabricated from stainless steel. When the piston is subjected to tilting,
the seal must slide along the wall and alter its shape according to the
angle of tilt. At the same time, it must be sufficiently rigid to bridge the gap
between the piston and the wall of the pot.
2.4.2 The hardness of the piston and the wall at their contact region shall be
minimum 350 BHN to reduce wear. The surface finish of the pot base in
contact with the confined elastomer shall be very smooth.
2.4.3 All bearings shall be installed with anchor and anchor screws or some
similar device such that while replacing, the bearings can be removed with
minimum lifting of the superstructure.
2.4.4 The external surface of the assemblies shall be completely cleaned by

sand blasting. After sand blasting, dust shall be removed from the
surface using clean and dry compressed air or a clean brush after which
suitable coating shall be applied.

Specifications RVNL
2.4.5 POT bearings including all parts as shown on the drawings shall be fully
shop assembled at the manufacturer’s works to ensure proper fitting of
all parts.
2.5 Materials
a) Steel
i) Structural steel shall conform to IS:226 and IS: 2062, as applicable.
ii) Cast steel shall conform to Gr. 280-520W of IS:1030. 0.3 to 0.5 %
copper may be added to increase the corrosion resistance
properties.
iii) Stainless steel shall conform to AISI:304 or X04Cr18Ni10 of IS:6911

for ordinary application. For applications with adverse/ corrosive
environment, the stainless steel shall conform to AISI:316L or
02Cr17Ni12Mo2 of IS:6911.
b) PTFE
PTFE (poly tetra fluoro ethylene) shall be of unfilled pure virgin

quality. It shall be free sintered. The mechanical properties of unfilled
PTFE shall comply with Grade A of BS:3784.
c) Elastomer
The confined elastomer inside pot will have the following properties:
a) Hardness IHRD IS: 3400 (Part II) 50+5

b) Min. tensile IS: 3400 (Part I) 15.5
strength MPa
Minimum Shall be as per Table
c) elongation at 2000-1 of MOST
break, Max. specifications for Road
compression and Bridge works
set and (latest Revision)
Accelerated “Properties of
ageing. elastomer”
For other details, refer to clause 2005.1 of MOST

specifications for Road and Bridge Works (latest revision).

Specifications RVNL
2.6 Workmanship
2.6.1 Welding
All welding shall conform to IS:9595 with electrodes of suitable grade as

per IS:814. Preheating and post weld stress relieving shall be done as
per IS:9595.
2.6.2 Cast steel assemblies
Cast steel for POT bearing assemblies shall conform to requirements of

relevant IS. Castings shall be free from pouring faults, sponginess,
cracks, blow holes and other defects affecting their appearance or their
strength. Wrapped or distorted casting shall not be accepted. Exposed
surfaces shall be smooth and dense.
All irregularities, fins or risers shall be ground off flush with the adjacent
surface. Castings with visible cracks, blow holes, or similar blemishes
shall be rejected if the imperfections are located on bearing surfaces or
cannot be remedied to the satisfaction of the Engineer. Imperfections
which are not located on bearing surfaces shall be cleaned out, filled with
weld metal of the appropriate composition and ground flush with adjacent
surfaces.
2.6.3 Structural steel assemblies
Defects arising from the fabrication of the steel shall be inspected by the
Engineer, who will decide whether the materials may be repaired by the
Contractor or will be rejected. The cost of repairs or replacement shall be
borne by the Contractor.
All steel whether fabricated or not, shall be stored above the ground on
platforms, skids or other supports and adequately protected against
corrosion. Excessively rusted, bent or damaged steel shall be rejected.
All plates shall be flat and rolled bars and shapes straight before marking
out or being worked. Straightening shall be done by methods which shall
not damage the material. Sharp kinks and bends shall be the cause for
rejection.
Steel may be flame cut to shape and length so that a regular surface,
free from excessive gouges and striations is obtained. Flame cutting by
hand shall be done only with the approval of the Engineer.

Specifications RVNL
2.6.4 Tolerances
i) Plan dimensions : -0 to +5 mm
ii) Overall height: : -0 to + 3mm
iii) Height of elastomer: : ±5%
iv) Height of any steel component
a) Machined : -0 to +1 mm
b) Unmachined : Class 2 of IS : 4897
v) Stainless steel sliding surface
a) Flatness : 0.0004L,where L=length in direction

of measurement.
b) Surface finish : Ra < 0.25 pm as per IS: 3073
2.7 Painting
All non- working surfaces shall be coated with two coats of epoxy
primer and one or more coat each of epoxy intermediate and finish,
total thickness < 0.150µm or any other painting scheme as approved
by the Engineer.
2.7.1 Silicon grease shall be applied at the PTFE/SS interface after testing.
2.7.2 Anchor sleeves shall be cement coated at the manufacturer’s works.
2.8 Test
2.8.1 Raw materials
Necessary test certificates for all raw materials as in para shall be

furnished by manufacturers. Reference may also be made to Clause
2005.1 of MOST specifications for Road and Bridge Works (latest
revision) for tests on elastomers.
2.8.2 Test on casting
Tests specified in IS:1030 shall be performed. Castings shall be

ultrasonically tested and certificates submitted. Quality level of castings
shall be level 3 as per IS:9565.
2.8.3 Test on welding
All welding shall be tested by dye Penetration method. Butt welding

shall be tested by Ultrasonic method. Soundness of welding shall be
certified by the manufacturer.

Specifications RVNL
2.8.4 Test on Steel
Mild Steel . to be tested for physical and chemical properties as per

IS:226 and IS:2062.
2.8.5 Test on stainless steel
Stainless steel to be tested for chemical analysis as per

AISI:316.
2.8.6 Test on PTFE
PTFE to be tested for mechanical properties as per BS:5400.
2.8.7 Test on Elastomer
Elastomer to be tested for physical and chemical properties as per

IRC:83 (part-II).
2.8.8 Acceptance test on bearing
(i) All bearings shall be checked for overall dimensions.
(ii) All bearings shall be load tested to 1.1 times maximum design
capacity including seismic force. Bearing tested at higher loads
cannot be used. Manufacture’s certificate with test proof to be
submitted along with the design to the Engineer for approval before
their use in work. If the Engineer desires the bearings to be got
tested by RDSO, Lucknow/ any other Inspecting agency, the same
shall be got done by the Contractor at its own cost..
(iii) A pair of bearings selected at random will undergo testing in order

to determine the coefficient of friction “µ”. The coefficient of friction
shall < 0.05 at the design load.
(iv) Two bearings selected at random shall be tested for permissible

rotation.
2.9 Installation of POT-Cum-PTFE Bearings
2.9.1 General
(i) Care shall be taken during installation of the bearings to permit their
correct functioning in accordance with the design scheme.

Specifications RVNL
(ii) To prevent contaminations, dismantling of the bearings at the site
shall not be done.
(iii) The load shall be transferred onto the bearings only when the
bedding material has developed sufficient strength. The props for the
framework shall only be removed after lapse of appropriate time. In
special cases, this can be ensured by suitable devices like jacks,
etc.
(iv) Temporary clamps and shims (introduced to maintain working

clearance) shall be removed at an appropriate time, before the
bearing is required to permit movement.
(v) Permitted installation tolerance of the bearing from plane of sliding

shall be maintained.
(vi) Cement based non-shrinking grout with air releasing additive and
epoxy based grout, whichever is specified shall be first tried at the
site. For the proprietary grout mixes, appropriate instructions from
the manufacture shall be followed specially with regard to the
following:
(a) Preparation->concrete cleaning, roughening, pre soaking, etc.

(b) Forms ->sturdiness, leak proofing shape, header funnel vents,
etc.
(c) Bearing Base->cleaning, etc.
(d) Placement->mixing, consistency, time period, finishing, etc.
(e) Protection->curing, ambient temperature, etc.
2.9.2 Seating of bearing
2.9.2.1 Using Template
(i) Template with required rigidity and matching holes corresponding

to the base of the bearing shall be used.
(ii) All the anchors shall be fitted to the lower face of the template
using the anchor screws but with steel washer replacing the
elastomer washers. Separate screws may be used in case of
inconvenience in the length of the original screws.
(iii) The template assembly shall be located with regard to level and
alignment. It shall be ensured that the top anchors lie in a
horizontal plane at the required elevation. The anchors shall be
tied/welded to reinforcement to avoid displacement during
concreting.
(iv) Concreting of the pedestal/ pier cap shall be done to a level

leaving a gap of 25-50 mm below the template.

Specifications RVNL
(v) The template and the plate washers shall be removed prior to
placement of the bearing assembly with temporary clamps. The
bearing assembly shall be fitted to the anchors with the help of
anchors screws and elastomer washers. Level at the bearing shall
be checked.
(vi) The gap below the bearing assembly shall be grouted with
cement based grout.
Reference may be made to Clause 2006.6.1 (vi) of MOST specifications

for Road and Bridge Works (latest revision).
2.9.3 Without template with gap
(i) Pockets commensurate with the sizes of the anchors shall be kept
in pedestals during concreting of the same. The pedestal shall be
cast approximately 25 mm short of the required finished level.
(ii) Anchors shall be fitted to the bearing bottom with elastomer

washers and anchor screws. The bearing assembly shall be seated
in the location on steel chairs/packs. The anchors fitted below the
bearing shall go into pockets in the bed block. Level and alignment
of the bearing shall be checked. It shall be ensured that the bearing
sits in a horizontal plane.
(iii) The gap below the bearing assembly including anchor pockets shall
be grouted with cement based grout. Reference may be made to
Clause 2006.6.1(vi) of MOST specifications for Road and Bridge
Works (latest revision).
2.9.3.1 Without Template without Gap
Elongated pockets commensurate with the sizes of the anchors shall be

kept in pedestals during concreting of the same. The geometry and
location of the anchor pockets (with tapered funnel extension, if required)
shall be such that after placement of the bearing the pockets can be
successfully grouted. The pedestal shall be cast 5 mm – 15 mm short of
the required finished level. The required level shall be achieved by
chipping before placement of the bearing. Careful control shall be
exercised to cast at the exact finished level or 1 mm – 3 mm down from
the required finished level.
2.9.3.2 Seating of bearings shall be as per manufacturer’s recommendations.

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Specifications RVNL

(i) Indian Railways Standard Code of practice for Plain, Reinforced

(iv) IS 456 – 2000 Plain and Reinforced Concrete – Code of practice.

(v) Indian Railways Permanent Way Manual.

(vi) Indian Railways Bridge Manual.

(vii) Indian Railways Works Manual.

(ix) IS 800 – 1984 - Code of practice for General Constructions in

(x) Indian Railways Schedule of Dimensions 1676 mm gauge BG

(xi) UIC Code 772 – R Specifications for Elastomeric Bearings.

2.0 SETTING OUT

Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 1 of 161

2.2 Alignment for Bridges

2.3 Survey Tower

3.0 PAINTING ON BRIDGES

Permanent markers like Bridge number, Direction of flow, Bridge

1. The date of painting of steel work should be painted in white on

2. The highest flood level line should be painted distinctly by a

a) For bridges upto 60 metres in length, on the downstream

Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 2 of 161

4. The direction of flow should be distinctly marked in white on an

5. Plaques showing particulars of foundations should be fixed over

6. Name boards at important bridges should be fixed at either

7. Plaques containing Bridge numbers and indicating direction of

8. At all canal crossing, the full supply level should be marked

9. Danger level should be distinctly marked in red.

5.1 Precaution during progress of works

During the execution of works, unless otherwise specified the

Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 3 of 161

Existing roads or water courses shall not be blocked, cut through,

5.3 Provision of access to premises

During progress of work in any street or thorough fare, the Contractor

5.4 Safety of Public

The contractor shall be responsible to take all precautions at its own

5.5 Operational safety

The work to be executed is in proximity of the running railway track.

Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 4 of 161

The rates entered in the accepted Schedule of Rates of the Contract

5.7 Land for Construction

The Employer/the concerned Zonal Railway will acquire and provide

5.8 Resources Report

Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 5 of 161

All measurements shall be made in the metric system. Different items

All measurements and computations unless otherwise indicated, shall

i. Length, breadth, Height, - 10 mm.

In according dimensions of work, the sequence of length, breadth and

Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 6 of 161

(b)- EXCAVATION, BACKING, BACKFILL & WEEPHOLES

1.1 Site Clearance.

1.2 General Requirements

The Contractor shall furnish all labour, equipment and materials

1.3 Drainage in the vicinity of excavations

1.4 Excavations shall include the removal of the materials required to

1.7 Suitability for bearing of the bottom of excavation shall be determined

Volume I – Part A - Bridges Page 7 of 161

1.9 If the contractor is directed by the Engineer to excavate to a lower level

1.10 The contractor shall be responsible for assumption and conclusions

1.11 All excavation for installation of underground facilities such as piping,

1.12 Excavations for foundations where specified shall be carried at least

1.13 Where excavation requires bracing, sheeting, or shoring etc. the