The collapse of falsework on the route 198 overpass on the baltimore-washington parkway was determined to be caused by shoring towerfailures, and led to the federal highway administration recommending the revision of specifications and guidelines relating to falsework. This article reviews several recent falsework failures, and describes a multidisciplinary falsework research task force. The priorityactivities of the task force are as follows: survey specifications on bridge temporary works; establish standard specifications; develop a design manual; develop recommendations related to certification program on suppliers' products; and develop a construction manual. The end products of the fhwa program will be a synthesis of all codesand specifications dealing with the subject, a standard specification, and a design manual.
Abstract