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FIRST USE OF IMPROVED PILE DETAIL CONSTRUCTED
FOR EVANS CRARY BRIDGE
A new pile detail is being used for the first time on the Evans Crary
Bridge in Stuart, Florida. The new detail increases the bending capacity
at the top of voided piles by inserting a ten foot long steel pipe into
the void at the top of the pile. The pipe is permanently positioned by
grouting it into place which makes the top of the pile a solid concrete
section and dramatically increases its stiffness. The pipe is used instead
of large rebars that must be cast into the pile at the prestress plant
with great difficulty and which make cutting off piles after driving much
more time consuming and expensive. Henry Bollmann, of the FDOT State
Structures Design Office, proposed and developed the concept and a full
scale model was successfully tested at the FDOT Structures Research Center
prior to allowing the detail to be used in the field. According to the
Project Engineer on the Evans Crary Project, the pipe installation process
has been going well. For more information about this new detail, contact
the FDOT State Structures Design Office in Tallahassee, at 850-414-4260
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