Abstract:To address issues such as severe aging, insufficient load rating, and missing original data of early highway bridges, the study focuses on the upgrading strategy for dangerous bridges with "severely damaged superstructures and relatively intact substructures," taking the reconstruction project of the Hunhe River Bridge on S237 in Hohhot as the background. Firstly, based on the inspection and evaluation results, an overall reconstruction plan has been determined, which involves "demolishing the dangerous old superstructure and abutments, repairing and utilizing the existing piers, extending one span at each end, constructing new lightweight abutments, and replacing the entire bridge with a superstructure with stronger bearing capacity and lighter self-weight." Secondly, a comprehensive comparison of different superstructure schemes reveals that the composite steel plate girder scheme reduces dead load by approximately 47% and total weight by approximately 24% compared to the prestressed hollow slab girder scheme. This effectively addresses the challenge posed by the increase in load standard from "Truck-20" to "Highway- I" on the substructure's bearing capacity. Finally, the key points of structural design, pier repair methods, and prefabricated construction processes are elaborated. The practical engineering results demonstrate that the overall reconstruction plan for the Hunhe River Bridge can safely and efficiently enhance the bridge's bearing capacity, fully utilize old bridge resources, achieve rapid transformation, and provide a reliable technical reference for similar projects.