T110: Preliminary design is the first step in designing an economical precast, prestressed concrete bridge. This first course in the series on design, presents the preliminary plan, superstructure, substructure, and foundation considerations, and member selection criteria with design aids and examples.
 
After completing this course, the student will be able to:

• Identify general considerations for bridge type selection
• Evaluate alternatives that best illustrate typical challenges faced by engineers, presented by the bridge site and other factors
• Interpret preliminary design tools to formulate possible design solutions

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PCI eLearning Courses T100: Courses on Design and Fabrication of Precast, Prestressed Concrete Bridge Beams

These courses grew from the need for readily accessible, authoritative educational resources. PCI, with assistance provided by the Federal Highway Administration and in collaboration with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, enlisted a large team of educational course developers, all with practical experience in the design of bridges, many have conducted university research, and most have National Cooperative Highway Research Program development experience. These courses were written by authors who are experts in design. Teams of subject matter experts reviewed and critiqued each course. The courses were then balloted and approved by the PCI Committee on Bridges and the PCI Technical Activities Council. The courses provide the overarching theory, the concise design steps, and information about various issues that will be encountered during design and fabrication of precast, prestressed concrete flexural bridge members.

On the PCI eLearning portal, course participants are able to download reference materials in pdf format to build a library of cited and relevant publications.

At random locations in each course, short quizzes will appear to be sure concepts are being understood. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Professional Development Hours (PDHs) are available for compliance with state requirements for registered professional engineers. The credits are accepted in every state. After successful completion of the course, a simple application is all that is required. There is no cost.