Distresses and countermeasures of the abutment displacsments on the soft clay ground

An abutment is an important member of a bridge structure; it supports the superstructure of bridge, transfers the dead loads and live loads to the foundation, and simultaneously connects the highway. Therefore, it must have sufficient strength, stiffness and stability. According to investigation on the bridge distresses caused by the abutment movements in the location bridge structures and experiences of our bridge engineering practices during high-grade highway construction in recent years, this paper introduced some more widespread bridge distresses and damages caused by abutment displacements on the soft clay foundations, analyzed some major reasons of influence on abutment displacements, and put forward many preventive countermeasures for design, construction, conservation and other aspects. These experiences may be a guide to construct the bridge on the soft clay ground.