Bridge and abutment therefor

Claim 2

In a bridge having deck means spanning a distance between spaced-apart abutment means, an improved abutment means providing vertical support to an end of the deck means, comprising: anterior wall means having an exterior surface, a top edge, generally vertical spaced-apart side edges, and being assembled from a plurality of facing elements; a pair of side wall means, each side wall means disposed adjacent a corresponding side edge of the anterior wall means, having an exterior surface, and being assembled from a plurality of facing elements; a plurality of elongate reinforcing members, at least one of said members being attached to each facing element, said members extending away from the exterior surface associated with the corresponding facing element, the elongate reinforcing members being arranged to define a plurality of generally horizontal layers that are spaced apart vertically from each other; particulate material disposed between the side wall means and adjacent the anterior wall means and forming a contiguous aggregate filling the spaces between said layers and between laterally spaced members in said layers, the contiguous aggregate extending vertically above the top edge of the anterior wall means and having an upper surface; and beam seat means for supporting an end of the deck means, said beam seat means being superimposed on the upper surface of the contiguous aggregate and spaced from said wall means, whereby the wall means support only their own weight and the particulate material bears the weight of the end of the deck means.

Claim 3

The bridge of claim 1 including a plurality of corner blocks disposed in a vertical column overlapping a side edge of the anterior wall means and an adjacent portion of a side wall means, each corner block having a reinforcing member attached thereto and disposed in one of the horizontal lattices.

Claim 4

The bridge of claim 1 wherein the pair of side wall means are generally parallel and at least a portion of the elongate reinforcing members that are attached to one of said side wall means are also attached to the other of said side wall means to define a plurality of substantially continuous members extending between said side wall means.

Claim 5

The bridge of claim 3 wherein each layer of reinforcing members includes a lattice of overlapping reinforcing members disposed adjacent a corner of the abutment means.

Claim 6

The bridge of claim 3 including a plurality of corner blocks disposed in a vertical column overlapping a side edge of the anterior wall means and an adjacent portion of a side wall means, each corner block having a reinforcing member attached thereto and disposed in one of the horizontal lattices.

Claim 7

The bridge of claim 1 wherein each facing element is fabricated from concrete and each interior facing element includes means adaptable for connection with six adjacent facing elements.

Claim 8

The bridge of claim 1 wherein the beam seat means comprises a monolithic concrete member.

Claim 9

The bridge of claim 1 wherein the particulate material comprises naturally occurring material such as stone, sand, earth and the like.

Claim 10

A bridge for spanning a distance between spaced apart locations on a surface with an elevated structure, comprising: deck means for spanning the distance; and abutment means provided at each spaced apart location, operable to support a corresponding end of the deck means, at least one of said abutment means including, anterior wall means having an exterior surface, a top edge, generally vertical spaced apart side edges, and being assembled from a plurality of facing elements, a pair of side wall means, each side wall means disposed adjacent a corresponding side edge of the anterior wall means, having an exterior surface, and being assembled from a plurality of facing elements, a plurality of elongate reinforcing members, at least one of said members being attached to each facing element, said members extending away from the exterior surface associated with the corresponding facing element, the elongate reinforcing members being arranged to define a plurality of generally horizontal layers that are spaced apart vertically from each other; particulate material disposed between the side wall means and adjacent the anterior wall means and forming a contiguous aggregate filling the spaces between said layers and between laterally spaced members in said layers, the contiguous aggregate extending vertically above the top edge of the anterior wall means and having an upper surface; and beam seat means on which an end of the deck means rests, said beam seat being supported by the upper surface of the contiguous aggregate in vertically spaced relation to the top edge of the anterior wall means.

Claim 11

A bridge for spanning a distance between spaced apart locations on a surface with an elevated structure, comprising: deck means for spanning the distance; and abutment means provided at each spaced apart location, operable to support a corresponding end of the deck means, at least one of said abutment means including, anterior wall means having an exterior surface, a top edge, generally vertical spaced apart side edges, and being assembled from a plurality of facing elements, a pair of side wall means, each side wall means disposed adjacent a corresponding side edge of the anterior wall means, having an exterior surface, and being assembled from a plurality of facing elements, a plurality of elongate reinforcing members, at least one of said members being attached to each facing element, said members extending away from the exterior surface associated with the corresponding facing element, the elongate reinforcing members being arranged to define a plurality of generally horizontal layers that are spaced apart vertically from each other; particulate material disposed between the side wall means and adjacent the anterior wall means and forming a contiguous aggregate filling the spaces between said layers and between laterally spaced members in said layers, the contiguous aggregate extending vertically above the top edge of the anterior wall means and having an upper surface; and beam seat means on which an end of the deck means rests, said beam seat being supported by the upper surface of the contiguous aggregate in vertically spaced relation to the top edge of the anterior wall means.

Claim 12

The bridge of claim 9 wherein each side edge of the anterior wall means is provided with an overlapping column of corner blocks, each corner block having a reinforcing member attached thereto and disposed in one of the horizontal lattices.

Claim 13

The bridge of claim 9 wherein the pair of side wall means are generally parallel and at least a portion of the elongate reinforcing members that are attached to one of said side wall means are also attached to the other of said side wall means to define a plurality of substantially continuous members extending between said side wall means.

Claim 14

The bridge of claim 9 wherein each facing element is fabricated from concrete, the anterior wall wall means and each side wall means include peripheral facing elements and interior facing elements, and each interior facing element includes means adaptable for connection with six adjacent facing elements.

Claim 15

An abutment for supporting an end of a structure such as a bridge in vertical spaced relationship to a surface comprising: a generally vertical column of internally stabilized particulate material having at least three external walls, each wall including a plurality of reinforcing members each being imbedded in particulate material, and a plurality of facing elements, each facing element having at least one reinforcing member attached thereto; and beam seat means having a cross-sectional configuration with a generally horizontal portion, a generally vertical portion and a generally horizontal shoulder, being monolithically precast from concrete, being substantially coextensive with the abutment, and being supported by the column of internally stabilized particulate material.

Claim 16

An abutment for supporting an end of a structure such as a bridge in vertical spaced relationship to a surface comprising: a generally vertical column of internally stabilized particulate material having at least three external walls, each wall including a plurality of reinforcing members each being imbedded in particulate material, and a plurality of facing elements, each facing element having at least one reinforcing member attached thereto; and beam seat means having a cross-sectional configuration with a generally horizontal portion, a generally vertical portion and a generally horizontal shoulder, being monolithically precast from concrete, being substantially coextensive with the abutment, and being supported by the column of internally stabilized particulate material.

Claim 17

The abutment of claim 13 wherein the column of particulate material extends above the horizontal portion of the beam seat means such that the vertical portion of the beam seat means functions in part as a retaining wall.

Claim 18

The abutment of claim 13 wherein a column of corner blocks is disposed at the intersection between two walls.

Claim 19

The abutment of claim 15 wherein each corner block includes a dowel pin extending from one end and a dowel-receiving aperture in the second end, the dowel-receiving aperture being operable to receive a dowel pin of an adjacent block thereby aligning each corner block with an adjacent corner block.