In this paper, we investigate the role of transverse isotropy on the creep behavior of bedded salt. We conducted a series of triaxial creep tests on prismatic specimens subjected to confining pressures ( $\sigma _{3}$ ) of up to 24 MPa and a constant octahedral shear stress ( $\tau _{\mathrm{o}}$ ) of 9 MPa. The specimens were oriented with their bedding planes at various angles ( $\beta $ ) to the major principal axis to simulate transverse isotropic conditions. Our findings reveal that both instantaneous and creep deformations are most significant when $\beta = 0^{\circ }$ , decreasing progressively to a minimum at $\beta = 90^{\circ }$ across all confining pressures. The discrepancy in deformations between these intrinsic angles narrows with increasing $\sigma _{3}$ . Creep deformations for intermediate angles ( $0^{\circ} < \beta < 90^{\circ }$ ) follow the elliptical equations. Utilizing the Burgers creep model, we observed that the instantaneous, viscoelastic moduli, and viscoplastic coefficients escalate with $\beta $ . The degree of anisotropy declines sharply as confining pressures increase, reaching an isotropic state under $\tau _{\mathrm{o}} = 9\text{ MPa}$ and $\sigma _{3}$ around 40 MPa, beyond which transient creep ceases, indicating a transition to Maxwell-material behavior. Employing linear viscoelastic theory, we derived an equation for time-dependent deformation under varying octahedral shear stresses. This enables the formulation of governing equations for Burgers-model parameters, considering bedding plane orientations, loading durations, and the interactions between shear and confining stresses.
