I'm taking over a past dormant project that has a bridge where 3 of the 26 spans are continuous steel plate girders. Only layouts have been completed (and approved), but they show a plate girder section of 6' deep - that's the girder depth.
The spans are 200'-280'-200'.
I'm not very experienced with steel plate girder design.
Article 2.5.2.6.3 Optional Criteria for Span-to-Depth Ratios contains a Table 2.5.2.6.3-1. This table provides a minimum recommended steel girder depth of 0.027L.
0.027 * 280 = 7.56'
That's much greater than the current 6'.
So how worthwhile is the value in this table. That's a stark difference. Did the original producers of the layout just have no idea what they were doing?
Thanks in advance for any comments or helpful criticisms!