Kazakhstan has approved a unified departmental standard titled “Bridge Structures. Transition Zone Between a Bridge and an Embankment”, which establishes uniform requirements for the design, construction, repair, and operation of the transition zone between bridges and approach embankments—areas most prone to settlement and pavement deformation.

The document was developed by the Kazakhstan Highway Research Institute (KazdorNII) and covers the entire lifecycle of bridge structures, from engineering surveys and selection of structural solutions to repair and subsequent maintenance on public roads.

The standard regulates requirements for transition slabs and sleepers, their bearing details, crushed-stone layers, drainage backfills, as well as the protection of embankment cones and slopes. Its provisions apply to new construction, reconstruction, major and medium repairs of bridge structures.

The requirements extend to bridges operated in all climatic zones of the country, including areas with design seismicity of up to 9 points, as well as sites with complex engineering and geological conditions, weak, water-saturated, and collapsible soils.

Special attention is given to diagnostics. The standard includes a methodology for inspecting and assessing the technical condition of transition joints, enabling early detection of defects and well-grounded design and repair decisions. It also sets requirements for engineering-geological and hydrological survey materials, which directly affect the stability of transition zones.

The document provides approaches for strengthening the foundation and embankment body, including the use of geosynthetics and modern soil reinforcement technologies, as well as measures to protect against scour, erosion, and landslide processes.

Practical implementation of the standard is supported by digital tools. Bridge inspections involve the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and three-dimensional modeling, allowing the creation of digital models of transition joints and improving the accuracy of technical condition assessments.

The work is carried out in coordination with the Committee of Automobile Roads of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan and is aimed at increasing the reliability of bridge structures, reducing operating costs, and improving road safety on Kazakhstan’s highways.

The document is available on the website of the Unified State Fund of Normative Technical Documents at: https://new-shop.ksm.kz/egfntd/ntdgo/kad/