Jury Probes Concrete Dumping of Florida Bridge Project

A federal grand jury has issued multiple subpoenas after an investigation turned up evidence that Odebrecht-Metric, the joint venture contractor that built the $95 million toll Santa Rosa Bay Bridge, has dumped concrete and steel into the bay.  There is worry this construction debris could alter the chemical composition of the water. Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, Odebrecht-Metric and Figg Engineering have all been issued subpoenas but the main focus of the investigation remains on the contractor.  Click on Title for full article. 

MORE BRIDGE NEWS

Check out all the latest stories in the More Bridge News section of the site.  Stories you can follow include: A interview with the architect of the Charles River Bridge, The move to replace the Sikorsky and Lincoln River Bridges, The San Francisco Bay Bridge along with other miscellaneous stories relating to bridges.  Click on Title to go there now.

17th Street Bridge Accident Delays Opening

The string of problems continue for the 17th Street Bridge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  This week during the final testing of the bridge the brakes of the draw spanned failed causing the 1200 ton bridge span to crash down.  This caused more damage to this bridge and will delay the opening of this bridge. Click on Title for full article.  We are following this project here in the current projects section.

Woodrow Wilson Bridge Update

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a district court ruling that extensive environmental tests had to be completed before construction could begin.  The ruling opens the way to begin construction one year from now, at the end of 2000. This $1.9 billion project has $1.3 billion in financing so far.  There is pressure on congress to come up with the last $600 million dollars to bring this job to fruition.   Click on Title for full article.  We are following this project here in the future projects section.

New Grandfather Mountain Swinging Bridge Completed

With 50 mph winds and below freezing temperatures, conditions were chilly atop Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina during the brief dedication ceremony for the new "Mile High Swinging Bridge" on Tuesday, Dec. 14. Click on Title for more info.  We will be adding a new section on pedestrian bridges soon including this famous one.

Big Mac Named Top Project of the Century

Michigan Lieutenant Governor Dick Posthumus announced today that the Mackinac Bridge was selected the state's number one Civil Engineering Project of the 20th Century by the Michigan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Click on Title for full article or go to Mackinac Bridge Project Page.

Bridge Wins Award - May not be Built

In a news story we brought to you on November 1st, 1999 (scroll down to view)  it was announced that an exhibit of Seven Landmark Bridges of the 21st Century was opening in Boston.  One of these Bridges is the Clearwater Memorial Causeway bridge in Clearwater, Florida. (BridgePros  will be adding a project page to follow the progress of this project in the future projects page) The preliminary design has won the award, the only problem remains is for the design to actually get approved by the City Commission  who are balking at the price tag of this landmark bridge. Click on Title for full article. 

Bridge Collapse in China Reaches a Verdict

The collapse of the Rainbow bridge in China led to 40 deaths and 14 injuries.  After a court trial, one official was sentenced to death while nine others were given prison terms.    Click on Title for full article. 

San Mateo-Hayward Bridge has begun Construction

This 198 million dollar project got off the ground Monday in the Bay area in California. This project includes widening the bridge and adding a new span.  BridgePros is keeping track of this project in the current projects section of this site.    Click on Title for project page and December 1st article below for more information.

New Steel Arch Bridge Coming to New York

A new steel arch bridge will begin construction in the summer of 2001.  The bridge will span the Genesee River (I-490) in Rochester New York.  This signature bridge for Rochester should be completed in 2005.  BridgePros will be following the progress of this job in our Bridge Projects section.    Click on Title for full article

I-4 bridge part of plan to jump start road construction in Florida

The I-4 bridge across Saint John's river in Florida may get rebuilt next year instead of 2003.  This $137 million bridge project needed to replace the bridge over the St. Johns River and widen Interstate 4 from Lake Monroe to Saxon Boulevard may be funded by extra cash from past projects or by borrowing the money.   Click on Title for full article

Bridge Work in a Blink

New technology now allows to completely re-deck a bridge in a day instead of the normal 30-40 days for a 45 foot span.  This was accomplished by using 5-inch-thick honeycombed panels of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) that had been pre-made and just a small crane to lift the 8- by 32-foot panels onto the prepared steel girders that span the creek.  Click on Title for full article

Balfour Beatty Wins 2 Large US Contracts

Balfour Beatty won a $113 million contract to widen the San Mateo-Hayward bridge in California  to six lanes from four and won a project to build 3-1/2 miles of roadway and nine bridges for the North Texas Toll way Authority valued at $43 million. Click on Title for full article

Blue Water Bridge Opens as a Parking Lot

The twin Blue Water bridges are open but it has done nothing to solve the traffic backups. The plaza on the US side was never expanded leaving the new bridges as a big parking lot in effect.   Click on Title for full article

New Type of Bridge Being Developed

Invented in Nebraska in 1996 the Inverted Tee Girder (IT-Girder) Bridge has now been imported to Iowa. The IT-Girder is useful when there are vertical clearance restrictions and the length is longer than a typical flat slab bridge. This type of bridge is sure to catch on as there are many benefits over conventional  designs. Click on Title for more info

The Blue Water Bridge To Open Just In Time To Meet The Needs of The Canadian Economy  (PR Newswire)

On November 13, 1999, at 8:30 a.m. in Point Edward, Canada, the Blue Water Bridge Authority will officially open the largest infrastructure crossing project in North America. The gateway opening comes just in time to meet the needs of the Canadian economy.  Click on title for full article. (Editors note: BridgePros will soon be adding a page for the two blue water bridges including photos, videos and more!.)

Delaware Bridge Wins Award

The $2 million VanBuren Street Project earned the Grand Conceptor Award, Delaware's top honor for engineering excellence, from the Consulting Engineers Council of Delaware. Engineers from KCI and the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) devised an innovative approach for incorporating a new five-span, prestressed concrete structure inside the aging bridge's seven-span arch facade. Built in 1903, the bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and DelDOT wished to restore rather than to replace the structure. The restoration allowed engineers to increase the bridge's load-carrying capacity, while retaining the structure's historic character and unique ornamental features. KCI Project Manager Douglas W. Andrew, PE, and DelDOT's Project Manager, Stephen D. Richter, PE, accepted the award. This project was also a finalist in the 33rd Annual Awards Competition.  Click on title for full article. (Editors note: BridgePros will soon be adding a category for bridges that win awards.)

Another Florida City in Turmoil

Sarasota, Florida can add its name to the many cities in Florida that are in turmoil over replacing low-level drawbridges with high level replacements. Like Saint Augustine the locals are fighting with each other and the Florida DOT is in the cross fire.  Click on title for full article.

Landmark American Bridge Exhibit to Open

The Boston Architectural Center in Boston, MA, is hosting an exhibition on 'Landmark American Bridges of the 21st century' curated by US architect Miguel Rosales. The show opens on November 12th. We also have a brochure we can mail to you. Click on title for more info.

New York's Bridges are in Trouble

A recent study by the University of North Carolina shows that over 30% of the bridges in New York are in bad shape and need major repair.  It is estimated that over twenty six billion dollars will be need to fix both the bridges and the roads that are in poor condition.

Contractor's Efficiency a Win-Win for All

A major interchange in New Jersey is expected to be completed in a little over a year. This 120 million dollar project was originally scheduled for 4.5 years. The New Jersey DOT, after extensive review, came up with a schedule that could be done in 30 months.  They would give the contractor 3.5 million dollars to finish in 30 months.  The contractor bid the job at cost confident it could reach the bonus.  It's efficiency was so good that they realized four months into the job  if they did not slow down they would finish early and drive up their costs.  The contractor then approached the NJDOT about getting another bonus and the DOT agreed to give them another 3.5 million to trim more than another year of the project.  This project is being heralded as great cooperation between government and private industry with the traveling public being the biggest winners. Click on title for full ENR story.

City of bridges becomes focus of artist's work

Bridges throughout time have always been great sources of art. In Jacksonville, Florida  Ellen Diamond a local painter continues a long tradition by painting the historic bridges in the area. Click on title above for story.

10 Great Places to Cross the River

When on vacation why not stop and visit some of the beautiful bridges in the area.  Judith Dupre Author of Bridges (available in our bookstore, BridgePros review to come soon) lists 10 bridges worth the stop.  Click on title above for story.

Philadelphia Bridges to be lit

In a trend that is continuing around the country the Schuylkill River bridges will be lighting the way into the next century. BridgePros has learned that starting December 31st, the bridges will be lighted permanently to beautify the entryways into Philadelphia and define the bridges as special places. The lighting ceremony is being incorporated into the big 24-hour Millennium Philadelphia Celebration.

Covered Bridge Capital of the World

One of Indiana's biggest festivals has begun. Parke County's Covered Bridge Festival got underway in the western part of the state this morning. West-Central Indiana has the largest concentration of covered bridges in the world. There are 32 of them still standing. The festival's organizers are expecting two-Million visitors. The event will last through October 17th. Click on above link to go the Parke County Covered Bridge Home Page.

Michigan to Spend 1.4 Billion

Governor John Engler announced today that 2000 will be another record-setting year for road and bridge improvements in Michigan, as $1.379 billion will be invested to repair and rebuild 1,400 miles of road and rehabilitate 265 bridges on the state highway system. Full story click on link above.

Balfour Beatty Wins South Carolina Bridge Job

Today Balfour Beatty was selected as preferred bidder for a $65 million dollar design and build project.  The contract call for the design and construction of a widening and bridge construction on route SC170 in South Carolina.  If you have any more info on the project or any others please send the info to support@bridgepros.com. 

Natcher Bridge

The William H. Natcher bridge spanning the Ohio river in Indiana is halfway finished and well ahead of schedule due to the region's dry spell. For more information on this $55.5 million dollar cable-stayed bridge click on the link above. Full ENR Story

Bandra Worli Sea Link Project

Sverdrup-HNTB team has completed over 50% of the design of a fast track job in India. The 5.6 km bridge will include a 600-meter cable-stayed segmental span supported by a single tower. The bridge will take 30 months to construct and cost is estimated at $120 million dollars.  Bids for this project based on the 50% design are due September 27 with construction set by the end of the year..  The Worli Bandra Sea Link project would provide an additional link between the island and the suburbs of the city and would help in reducing the congestion on Mahim Causeway and Mahim Dadar area, which presently is a bottleneck.

Louisville-Southern Indiana Bridge Project

The Ohio River Bridges Project, Environmental Impact Statement and      Preliminary Design, is the largest bi-state transportation project   
ever undertaken by Indiana and Kentucky. The work includes an        
assessment of potential bridge alignments, redesign of connecting    
interstate highways on both sides of the river, including the Kennedy
Interchange in Louisville, and preliminary bridges design. This fall,
six to 10 potential bridge and highway alignments will be selected   
for more extensive environmental study and further analysis.  Click title link for more info.

Bonneville Bridges To Open - (SALT LAKE CITY) 

The Bonneville Shoreline Trail bridge complex will host its grand opening celebration tomorrow. The Million-and-a-half-dollar bridge system over Parley's Canyon will provide hikers and bikers a safe way to cross Interstate-80.

A fighter for historic bridges

Historic bridges are a passion for Dr. Abba G. Lichtenstein, so much so that he has spent his professional life working for their salvation and rehabilitation.      Click on link above for story.  (Roads and Bridges)

Confederation Bridge

Standing up to the forces of nature, Confederation Bridge wins 1999 George S. Richardson Medal for single, recent outstanding achievement in bridge construction. For full story click here. (Roads and Bridges) For more information click on title link.

Oresund Bridge

The 16 km long Oresund link between Sweden and Denmark is now complete. At 6 am on August 14, 1999 the final section of the Oresund bridge was placed in position by the floating crane, "Svanen". Six hours later, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark met on the bridge to mark the fact that Denmark and Sweden are linked once more - 7,000 years after the Ice Age when they were landlocked.

Saturday's topping-out ceremony marks the culmination of 46 months' construction work which started in October 1995 with the dredging for the peninsula at Kastrup, the tunnel trench and the artificial island of Peberholm. In December 1996, the first segment for the immersed tunnel was cast at Copenhagen North Harbour and in July 1997, "Svanen" placed the first bridge pier in position at the abutment at Lernacken, south of Malmø.  Click title link for more info.

26 Mile Bridge May Be Built

Uruguay congress has approved a treaty that will provide for a bridge to built between Colonia, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The bridge should cost around 1 billion dollars. Argentina's congress must still approve the project.  This could take up to a year. If this project goes through it would become the longest bridge in the world.

Toledo Says No To Steel Truss Bridge

Toledo votes no to steel truss bridge but the other three alternatives for this project cable stayed, concrete box girder, and suspension bridges are in a dead heat.  For continuing coverage of this project stay tuned to the future projects page on this site.

    Steel Bridge Forum to Focus on Innovation

Forum titled "Innovative Ideas that improve the Performance and Life Cycle costs of Bridges." to take place this fall. For more information contact DSnyder@steel.org 

Longest post-tensioned tendons successfully installed.

The world's longest floating span bridge now has the longest tendons ever post-tensioned over 3600 feet long.