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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations

Report
This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-11-029
Date: February 2011

China Earthquake Reconnaissance Report: Performance of Transportation Structures During the May 12, 2008, M7.9 Wenchuan Earthquake

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The U.S. transportation structures team for the May 12, 2008, Wenchuan Earthquake reconnaissance was coordinated and lead by the FHWA. Visits to various earthquake-affected areas were made possible by the Ministry of Communication of China and the Sichuan Province Highway Planning, Survey, Design, and Research Institute. The support of the following people and agencies is greatly appreciated:

  • Federal Highway Administration:
    • Office of International Programs: Mr. Ian Saunder and Mr. Steve Kern.
    • Office of Infrastructure Research & Development: Mr. Gary Henderson, Mr. John McCraken, and Mr. Ian Friedland;
  • U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Financial support to complete the site visits and the final report was provided in part by EERI, CTIS, GEER, and the MAE Center. Local transportation was provided by the Sichuan Province Highway Planning, Survey, Design, and Research Institute.

Thanks are also due to Mr. Weilin Zhuang, chief engineer of the Sichuan Province Highway Planning, Survey, Design, and Research Institute, for his hospitality in welcoming the team at the front line of postearthquake reconstruction. Without his support, the U.S. team could not have gone into secure areas for detailed inspection that offered critical findings.

The authors also gratefully acknowledge extensive help provided by Mr. Wei Zhou, RIOH president; Jinquan Zhang, RIOH vice president; Zhifeng Yang, RIOH Science and Education Department director; and Xuelei Zhu, director of Science and Education Department of the Communications Department of Sichuan Province.

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