The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsored a large, multi-year project conducted by the Multidisciplinary Center
for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) titled “Seismic Vulnerability of New Highway Construction” (MCEER Project 112),
which was completed in 1998. MCEER coordinated the work of many researchers, who performed studies on the seismic design and
vulnerability analysis of highway bridges, tunnels, and retaining structures. Extensive research was conducted to provide
revisions and improvements to current design and detailing approaches and national design specifications for highway bridges.
The program included both analytical and experimental studies, and addressed seismic hazard exposure and ground motion input
for the U.S. highway system; foundation design and soil behavior; structural importance, analysis, and response; structural
design issues and details; and structural design criteria.
Keywords Seismic design specifications - bridges - seismic hazard exposure - ground motion input - structural response analysis - foundation design - soil behavior
Supported by: the Federal Highway Administration under contract number DTFH61-92-C-00112.