Carved out by high-velocity explosives, a 130-foot
section of the Hoan Bridge executed a near-perfect
dive onto Jones Island Thursday, complete with a back
flip that limited damage to a nearby structure.
Interested spectators, from the governor to sewerage
district and transportation officials, gave the
demolition high marks for minimizing damage to the
nerve center of the Jones Island sewage treatment
plant and adjacent bridge supports. Even a 90-foot
segment of the Hoan, which would have crushed the
plant's vital and historic gallery building, remained
cantilevered firmly in place, as hoped but not
necessarily expected.
The Hoan Bridge located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
buckled Dec 13, 2000 with traffic on it. No
injuries were reported, as the welds holding the steel
structure together broke with traffic on it.
Click
on title for many articles and video of the blast on this bridge failure from
the Milwaukee Journal Sentential.
Eight years since it was first
planned and three years behind schedule, the
superstructure of the Tomlinson Bridge
(Connecticut) is finally rising out of the
Quinnipiac River. Since Cianbro Construction of
Pittsfield, Maine, took over the $95 million job this
spring, the pace of construction has picked up. The
new bridge’s west tower is complete; the east tower
is under construction. Believed to be the second
largest lift-span bridge in the country, the twin
towers will reach 150 feet, and rise above the
adjacent Quinnipiac River bridge. Click on title for full article from
the New Haven Register. Look for more info on this
bridge in future bridge projects as it comes
available.
George
Washington Bridge Update
Commuters using the George
Washington Bridge will be happy to hear about a new
ramp planned from the Palisades Interstate Parkway to
the GWB's lower level. The ramp will allow
traffic from the Palisades Parkway to get on the lower
level without having to snake through the crowded
streets of Fort Lee, New Jersey. The 2,500 foot ramp
will cost $86.5 million to build. The Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey says the new ramp would
allow officials to regulate the traffic flow during
peak travel times. Click on title for full article from
WABC-TV.
State transportation
officials on Tuesday showed off designs for twin,
four-lane Cooper River bridges that could be built one
at a time, and Charleston officials accused them of
trying to sell half a bridge.
S.C. Transportation
Department officials say that there is only enough
money to build one four-lane bridge right now. Their
proposal, outlined at simultaneous public meetings in
Mount Pleasant and Charleston Tuesday evening, calls
for building the foundation for two side-by-side
four-lane bridges - but initially erecting only one of
the two spans. Click on title for article from Charleston. net. Click here
for BridgePros Project page.
A large section of the Hoan Bridge hung by a
veritable steel thread Wednesday night, after two of
three support girders cracked and dropped the
northbound lanes several feet, authorities said.
Investigators are focusing on the way steel was
welded together in the Hoan Bridge, and the quality of
that steel, as they try to figure out why two girders
gave way under the bridge, state transportation
officials said Thursday. The Hoan Bridge and
many other steel bridges built in the late 1960s and
early 1970s were designed with welding techniques that
were considered acceptable then, but have since been
discredited, said engineers both inside and outside
the state Department of Transportation.
The Hoan Bridge located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
buckled Dec 13, 2000 with traffic on it. No
injuries were reported, as the welds holding the steel
structure together broke with traffic on it.
Click
on title for many articles on this bridge failure from
the Milwaukee Journal Sentential.
For even more stories check out our more
bridge news section. Latest stories include
the "sky bridges" being built in Tennessee
and the $84 million dollar bridge project proposed in
Palm City, Florida.
The S.C. Department of Transportation doesn't have
enough money to build a new Cooper River bridge so
they're proposing a novel way out: build half a
bridge.
When the transportation department sends out
bridge design and construction bids next March, it
will ask three competing teams to propose the cost for
two four-lane bridges built side by side.
But since the department may
not have enough money to pay for both bridges, it will
also ask the bidders to say how much it will cost to
design and build one four-lane bridge.Click
on title for article from Charleston. net. Click here
for BridgePros Project page.
The turnkey competition to 'twin' the Jindo
Grand Bridge in South Korea has been won by Hyundai,
the Korean contractor, assisted by High-Point Rendel,
the international business management and technology
consultant.
The two companies were originally involved together in
building the first Jindo Bridge which, when completed
in 1984, had the longest cable stay span outside
Europe. Click on title
for more information. Click here
for even more
bridge news stories.
Georgia Department of Transportation announced
Friday it will go with a steel girder design (17th
Street Bridge) in keeping with dozens of other bridges
spanning metro Atlanta's interstates. The selection
eliminates the more attractive cable-stayed and arched
designs favored by local leaders. The structure
won't make the bold artistic statement many Midtown
leaders hoped for. Instead, the structure was the
cheapest to build and easiest to maintain. Still, DOT
promises the new bridge will be the best looking steel
girder bridge you've ever seen. The $100 million
project has drawn considerable attention because it
will be the first span heading into downtown as
motorists come south on interstates 75 and 85 into the
Downtown Connector. Also, it will be the last seen as
drivers leave the city headed north. Click on title for full story from
Atlanta Journal Constitution. Click here
for even more
bridge news stories.
The book/movie title "Bridges of
Madison County" will soon take on a more literal
meaning as Alabama launches a $250 million
bridge-replacement plan.
Click on title for full story from Montgomery Correspondent. Click here
for even more
bridge news stories.
OLYMPIA,
WA – Crooked River
Bridge, designed by T.Y. Lin International and located
in Terrebone, Oregon, emerged victorious over 33
competitors to win the coveted Golden State Award in
the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of
California (CELSOC) 2001 Engineering Excellence Awards
competition. Four years in the making from design
through construction, Crooked River Bridge opened to
traffic on September 16, 2000. Spanning a dramatic
basalt gorge 300 feet above the Crooked River, this is
the first major cast-in-place segmental concrete arch
bridge in the United States and “one of ODOT’s
marquee projects of the decade,” according to Mark
Hirota, PE, state bridge engineer for the Oregon
Department of Transportation.The bridge, which is located about 10 miles
north of Redmond on Highway 97, is 535 feet long and
79 feet wide.Click on title to go to the project page to learn even more about this
stunning bridge designed by T.Y. Lin International.
Leading international engineering and
consulting firm seeks President/CEO. For more
information on this job and more, check out our
Employment Listings. Click here
for even more
bridge news stories.
Three of the men plunged into the
53-degree river. Four hung by their harnesses for up
to 45 minutes. Three managed to stay on the scaffold
and climb back onto the Ambassador bridge in
Detroit, Michigan. Click on title
for full story from the Detroit News.
The bridge, which runs over a sea bay, was
constructed after seven years of construction at a
cost of about 600 billion won. The cable-stayed
bridge is 7,310 meters long, making it the
ninth-longest bridge in the world. The Sohae Grand
Bridge will be part of the West Coast Highway
connecting Inchon and Mokpo, which will be completed
by the end of next year. Click on title
for full story from Korea Herald. More Bridge
News Stories is up and running again. Click here
for even more stories.
The Washington Supreme Court today
overturned the state's contract with a private firm
that would have used tolls to pay for a second bridge
over the congested Tacoma Narrows. Click on title
for full story from Seattle (WA)
Post-Intelligencer. For the court decision click
here.
Weeks construction was awarded the dredging
contract and begun work. Because much of the
river at the Wilson Bridge is only a few feet deep,
removing soil from the river bottom is needed to
create a channel for construction equipment to safely
access locations where the future bridge's foundations
will be built. The first dredging phase will begin
this month and end in February 2001. Subsequent
dredging will take place during the same calendar
window in succeeding years.
Approximately 300,000 cubic yards of river bottom soil
will be removed this fall/winter. Overall, an
estimated 550,000 cubic yards will be dredged during
the course of the entire project. Dredged river soil
will be barged to a reclamation site on the James
River east of Richmond, Virginia.
Extensive testing and consultation with environmental
agencies have demonstrated the river-bottom soil to be
safe.
Two bridges proposed near
Prince Rupert, British Columbia, could cut two hours
off a round-trip ferry ride from Ketchikan Alaska to
the Canadian road system.
Planning and developing the bridges and roads would
take three years, with a 22-month required
environmental assessment. Construction would take
another two years. Estimated project's cost is $80
million. Click on title for
article from Anchorage Daily News . Go to More
Bridge News for even more stories on bridges in the
news.
While an exact cost estimate
has not been compiled yet, state (Missouri) officials
at the workshop said the bridge should cost about $600
million. Architects said its exact design will be
known next spring. The bridge will span a 2,000 foot
wide stretch of the Mississippi River, be at least 140
feet wide, have four lanes in each direction and be
1.18 miles long including approach roadways.. Click on title for
article from Belleville News-Democrat .
Maryland is adopting a wary,
wait-and-see approach to a proposal for a second
Potomac River crossing, and will not add to the $2.4
million that Congress and the state of Virginia have
pledged recently to study the merits of the idea
.Click on title for
article from Sun Spot.net. For more info on this
project check out http://www.mdsecondcrossing.org.
That is the home page of Marylanders for
a Second Smart Crossing Inc. Their mission is To
promote open discussion and study on the needs and
benefits of a second Potomac River crossing between
Montgomery County and Virginia. Check them
out today and lend your support!
After a hiatus of almost 10 years, construction
workers are completing the missing link of the
Foothills Parkway one bridge at a time. These bridges
are being built with top down technology.
Click on title for
article from Knox News .com.
Proving that the squeaky
wheel does indeed get the grease, the state has begun
a $2 million study to find out how to best add a bike
lane across the entire Bay Bridge. Click on title for
article from SF Gate.
The State of California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will conduct
an information session for construction contracts for
the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge East Span Seismic
Safety Project. The bridge construction will be
divided into multiple contracts. The unofficial
estimate for the total project is more than $1.5
billion. Separate bid packages will be issued for each
contract. It is anticipated that the first bid package
will be awarded during the calendar year 2001. Click on title for
more info.
BACK ONLINE
The editor (Shane Rixom) of
Bridge News is back from a vacation. New Bridge
stories and a review of a book on Vermont covered
bridges coming this week. I would also like to
say thanks to everyone that sends me news - keep it
up! If you know of any bridge news let us know -
here at bridgepros.
We are looking for more input from DOT's, Bridge
Designers and Contractors.
The proposed expansion of the
Interstate 74 bridge over the Mississippi River took a
significant step forward Tuesday with an agreement to
include $5.6 million in funding for engineering and
design work in a federal transportation appropriations
bill. Click on title for full story from
qctimes.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll project won a
combination of $270 million in federal low-interest
loans, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater
will announce today. "The bottom line here
is that this financing will help to build this bridge
in the most cost-effective way," U.S. Rep. Norm
Dicks (D-Belfair) said Monday in an interview from
Washington, D.C .
Click on title for
full article from Tribnet.com.For
more info on this project and more check out our Bridge
Projects Section.
Winner
- Design Group led by Halcrow Group Limited First Runner-up
- Design Group led by Scott
Wilson - Leonhardt Andrä J.V. Second Runner-up
- Design Group led by T.Y. Lin
International Honourable Mention
- Design Group led by HNTB Corporation Honourable Mention
- Design Group led by ConsultingKORTES
Ltd
Click on
links above for pictures of each design.
For ENR article click here.
Click on title to learn more about the Stonecutters
Bridge. BridgePros will be following this
project closely.
A Total of 27 submissions had been received in the
stage 1 competition and the distribution of the
different bridge types submitted is as follows:
22-Cable Stayed 2-Suspension and 1 Hybrid. After evaluation by the
Technical Evaluation Committee and the Aesthetic
Committee (Hong Kong Highways Department), 5 proposals
have been selected to enter stage 2 of the Design
Competition. The results were kept under wrapped
until September 15th. This bridge should become
the longest cable-stayed bridge in the
world when completed. Construction will begin in 2003
and finish in 2007.
On Friday, three of some of the
world's largest transportation firms submitted bids
for the design and construction of a new eight-lane
bridge that will span Charleston Harbor, joining the
peninsula and Mount Pleasant. These three firms
are:
Modern Continental
Constructors, a combination of Modern Continental
South Inc. and DUMEZ-GTM USA.
Palmetto Bridge Constructors,
a joint venture between SKANSKA USA and HBG
Constructors Inc.
Cooper River Bridge
Constructors, a team comprising Traylor Brothers Inc.,
Fluor Daniel Infrastructure, Massman Construction Co.,
and Figg Bridge Engineers Inc. Click
on title for article from charleston.net. Click here
for BridgePros Project page.BridgePros
has more info available on this project. Please
send us a email if you are interested.
September 11, 2000
Extreme
Bridges
BridgePros is teaming up to help writers for a
production that will be shown on Discovery Channel
International. The show that will air next year
is "Extreme Structures". It will deal
with extreme structures including bridges. We
need as much information as we can get on the most
extreme bridge building dreams, proposals, concepts
any legitimate, responsible designer or engineer has
ever created or seen. We need as much information as
possible on the feasibility -- given advanced
materials -- of such bridges. If you have an
ideas - leads - information - please email us today at
support@bridgepros.com.
The show will be created using computer generated
graphics to show the possibility of some future
"extreme" bridges. We are also looking
for any information on extreme tunnels and
buildings. Please lend us your expertise.
Thanks!
September 7, 2000
Wilson
Bridge - What labor to use?
Virginia and Maryland officials are disagreeing over
whether to use a unionized labor force on the Wilson
Bridge replacement project. Maryland is considering an
agreement with labor leaders that would prohibit
strikes during the six years of scheduled
construction. Virginia is worried that using only
unionized workers could lead to millions of dollars in
cost overruns.
Botswana President Festus Mogae has said that plans
are at an advanced stage for the construction of a
bridge across the Zambezi River at the Kazungula
border town with Zambia. Click on title for
full article from AllAfrica.com. BridgePros will be
following this project as it proceeds.
Construction crews aboard barges will begin driving
piles for the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge (San
Fransico) next month -- even though the critical study
that will determine whether the fragile span should be
replaced has not been completed. Click on title for
full article from the SF Gate. BridgePros will be
following this project closely. Click here
for project page.
Awarded for
lifetime achievement in bridge engineering. Major
achievements of the recipient may include design,
construction, research or educational endeavors.
This year Gene Figg Jr., P.E. won the award. Click
on title for past winners or here
for article from Roads and Bridges magazine.
Awarded for a single recent
outstanding achievement in bridge engineering. The
project deserving of the George S. Richardson medal
must have significant improvement or advancement of
bridge technology. It may be unique, complex and
provide a new use of materials. The winner this year
is the Storrow Drive Bridge designed by HNTB. Click
on title for past winners or here
for article from Roads and Bridges magazine.
Awarded for a single recent
outstanding achievement in bridge engineering. The
project must exhibit one or more aspects of
significant improvement or advancement in bridge
technology through technical or material innovation,
achievement of high aesthetic merit, harmony with the
environment or successful community participation in
planning and design. The winner this year is the
Golden
Gate Bridge. Click on title for
past winners.
State transportation officials have narrowed to three
a list of teams that will compete to design and
construct the new John Ringling Causeway bridge. This
bridge was named as one of the landmark bridges of the
21st centrury. Click on title for
full article from the newscoast. BridgePros will be
following this project closely. Check back often!
This
asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in Bangkok with a 300m
main span has begun deck construction. This unique
bridge with one single inverted y pylon is one
of the largest in the world. Click on title for
more information on this project. BridgePros will be
following this project closely. Check back often!
A Total of 27 submissions have been received in the
stage 1 competition and the distribution of the
different bridge types submitted is as follows:
22-Cable Stayed 2-Suspension and 1 Hybrid. After evaluation by the
Technical Evaluation Committee and the Aesthetic
Committee (Hong Kong Highways Department), 5 proposals
have been selected to enter stage 2 of the Design
Competition. The results will be kept under wrapped
until September 15th. This bridge should become
the longest cable-stayed bridge in the
world when completed. Construction will begin in 2003
and finish in 2007. Click on title for
more information on this project. BridgePros will be
following this project closely. Check back often!
August 7, 2000
U.S.
Grand Jury Indicts Freyssinet Executive for Conspiring
to Rig Bridge Bids
In its ongoing investigation into alleged bid-rigging
schemes on U.S. cable-stayed bridge construction
projects, the Justice Dept. announced that an
executive of the French construction firm, Freyssinet
International et Cie was indicted Aug. 3 for
conspiring to rig bids and award certain contracts. Click on title for full
article from ENR.
August 6, 2000
Wilson
Bridge Update
The National Capital Planning Commission has approved
some steps that will allow construction of the Wilson
Bridge replacement to begin this fall. The panel
okayed the preliminary site, building plans and phase
one for dredging the Potomac River. The project will
cost about two-Billion dollars, with most of the money
coming from the federal government. The project is not
yet fully funded, but Congress has passed a bill
allowing construction to begin before that happens. For more info visit BridgePros
Project Page. The Grace Memorial bridge is
going out for bids. It will be design build.
Full update later this week.
July 29, 2000
Wilson
Bridge Update
Congress (US) appears to be moving closer to agreement
on a plan to pay to replace the Wilson Bridge.
According to today's Washington Post the federal
government would agree to contribute more money for
the project if Maryland and Virginia also increase
their stake. After discussing the plan this week,
Governors Parris Glendenning and Jim Gilmore say it
just might work. The proposed twin-span, 12-lane,
multi-Billion dollar Potomac River crossing will be
the most expensive public works project ever in the
Washington area. For more info visit BridgePros
Project Page. Update coming soon on the new
Grace Memorial Bridge in South Carolina.
Check out our new links
subsection Bridge
Failures. If you have any links to add to
BridgePros drop us an email at support@bridgepros.com.
We also are looking for volunteers to track down
information on current bridge projects. We also
are looking to expand sections and add new ones here
at BridgePros, so if you have an interest in covered
bridges, bridge designers or anything bridge related
and you want help us here at BridgePros email
us today.
This year, as it celebrates the
100th anniversary of its founding, the company is
enjoying a quiet resurgence.
Click on title for full
article from thePost-Gazette.
The "land bridge" --
the first ever built in the United States -- is the
latest example of efforts by state and federal
transportation departments to protect wildlife along
highways and link fragmented natural areas.
Click on title for full
article from thePalm Beach Post.
July 21, 2000
Lott
finds $9 million for bridge
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., has
resurrected a $9 million appropriation to finance
preparation work needed to replace the U.S. 82 bridge
between Greenville, Miss., and Lake Village.
Click on title for full
article from theArkansas Democrat Gazette.
Reminder stories with no links no longer exist.
In an era when space-age materials are as ubiquitous
as the cell phone and laptop computer, a new-old
building technique is spanning the gap between
nostalgia and the modern-day demand for high
performance. Timber bridges are making a comeback.
Click on title for full
article from theChristian Science Monitor.
Pedestrian rhythm is the likely culprit in causing the
Alexandra Bridge (Canada) to sway from side to side
following the Canada Day fireworks display near
Parliament Hill, according to experts. Click on title for full
article from theOttawa Citizen. Click here for even More
Bridge News including a story on the old railroad
bridges in the Florida Keys.
Yesterday, in Tunbridge Vermont, a pair of Chianina-Holstein
oxen, put in the final lap of pulling the 50-ton
wooden covered bridge back over the First Branch of
the White River, 16 months after an ice jam destroyed
the 1883 original.
Click on title for full
article from theRutland Herald. Click here for even More
Bridge News.
A new Peace
Bridge should be built as quickly and efficiently as
possible if time constraints dim the prospects for a
symbolic "signature bridge," Senate
candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Buffalo on
Tuesday
Click on title for full
article from the Buffalo News. For more info on
this project come back often as we will be following
this project closely.
Call it
northern Nevada’s colossus of concrete. When built,
the Galena Creek Bridge will be the largest
concrete-arch bridge in the United States,
second-largest in the world.
Click on title for full
article from Reno Gazette-Journal. For more info on
this project come back often as we will be following
this project closely.
A $4
billion engineering feat fulfils a century-old dream
of joining Sweden and Denmark — and business is set
to boom. Click on title for full
article from Time.com Europe. For more info on
this project click here.
Check out more bridge news
including articles on the new $180 million dollar
bridge (I-4) over the St. Johns River in
Florida. In the near future look for a
review of SIX BRIDGES:The Legacy of Othmar H. Ammann,
by Darl Rastorfer. Ammann is one of the Greatest
American Bridge Designers. Stay Tuned!
Romania and Bulgaria signed an
accord on Monday to build a second bridge over the
Danube, boosting regional cooperation and trade
between southeastern and central Europe via a route
bypassing sanctions-bound Yugoslavia. Click
on title for full article from centraleurope.com
Check out more bridge news
including articles on the new bridge over the Thames
Rivers that wobbles as you go across it. Also
more news on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project.
Plans to replace the aging Wilson
Bridge ran into a speed bump last week when the cost
estimate was revised upward by another half-billion
dollars. Click on title for full
article from Digital City. For more information on
this project click here.
The Peace Bridge was built 73 years
ago to symbolize a century of peace between Canada and
the U.S. following the bloody War of 1812. But years
of planning to expand the concrete and steel structure
connecting Fort Erie, Ont., and Buffalo, N.Y. have
been marked by acrimonious debate.
Click on title for full
article from the Vancouver Sun.
May 14, 2000
Hong
Kong and Macau to be linked
An ambitious proposal to link Hong Kong and Macau
by bridge received top-level backing yesterday when
the chief executives of the two territories described
it as a worthwhile project. Click on title for full
article from South China Morning Post.
May 9, 2000
New Bridges to be
built
New Bridges to be built in Florida (I-4 over the
Saint John's River) and Connecticut (Rt. 34 over the
Housatonic River) . An update on the Tacoma
Narrows Bridge and the first bridge to cross the
Thames River in England is dedicated. These
stories and more can be found in the More
Bridge News section of BridgePros.
May 7, 2000
Skyway
Bridge disaster lives in memories
On a monsoon-like morning 20 years ago, a
wind-blown freighter rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
and a 1,400-foot chunk of concrete roadway crashed
into the waters of Tampa Bay, taking seven vehicles
and a bus with it. Click
on title for article from the TCPalm.com.
This new 4 lane $47 million bridge
over the Kennebec River officially opened
yesterday. The new bridge, built by Flatiron
Structures of Colorado, is 2,952 feet long, 68 feet
wide and offers 75 feet of navigational clearance.
Click
on title for article from the Press Herald. More stories in the more
bridge news section.
The signing of an agreement
designating the location of the proposed Great River
Bridge is a giant step forward for this project. This
$500-$700 million project has been on hold while
different groups argued over where to put the
bridge. The location has now been decided next
up is the environmental impact statement. Click
on title for more info. Come back often for more news
on this project.
The program involves driving
piles—long steel and concrete cylinders that support
a structure’s foundations—into the ground. A total
of nine piles will be tested. Click
on title for more info. Click here
for Project Page
