EARTHQUAKE PERFORMANCE OF A BRIDGE DECK AND ABUTMENT.

During the 24 April 1984 Morgan Hill Earthquake (M equals 6. 1), 15 channels of acceleration records were obtained at the site of the I-280-680/US 101 interchange 12 km west of the epicenter. These records include free field measurements as well as the acceleration response at one of the supporting column bases, and at three locations in one of the spans of the three-span continuous post-tensioned box-girder deck. The purpose of this paper is to review the performance of this bridge deck and its abutment through the study of these records. The objective in extensively instrumenting a bridge deck or any structure is to obtain relevant response data to study its behaviour during strong motion events and ultimately extrapolate conclusions for improved design.