Fatigue Cracking�Problem for Welded Steel Bridges
A recent problem with welded steel bridges is fatigue cracking at welded details. Fatigue cracks begin in small flaws or discontinuities at welded connections and grow to a critical size...
Counteracting Chloride-Induced Damage to Bridge Decks with Latex and Plastic
Salt used to control ice causes deterioration of reinforced concrete bridge decks, but recent developments, though still somewhat expensive, can prevent deterioration of existing decks....
New River Gorge Bridge: World's Longest Steel Arch
For 45 years, the Bayonne Bridge had reigned as the world's longest steel arch bridge. No longer. The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia has a steel arch spanning 1700...
Second Hampton Bridge-Tunnel Complete
The second Hampton Roads bridge-tunnel, which cost $96,000,000, opened to traffic on June 3, 1976. It is a two-lane facility carrying traffic across 3.5 miles of water between Hampton...
Building New Bridges from Old
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Co. needed a new 150-ft (64-m) two-span railroad bridge. Minimum time and low cost were the demands. In response, the designers used steel girders...
Reinforced Concrete Research Council: Why So Successful�
At 30 years old the first-formed of ASCE's 14 research councils, the Reinforced Concrete Research Council is also one of the most successful. Some 40 RCRC research projects...
Subway Structures Good, Other Elements Need Rehab
Capital spending priorities of New York City's Transit Authority have shifted, as it postponed indefinitely the construction of all but one new line�the line from 63rd St....
Bridges and Highways � Serious Deterioration Being Attacked Aggressively
Due to years of starvation of maintenance and reconstruction budgets, New York City's backlog of road and bridge reconstruction needs is huge. The city has 5,300 miles of...
Civil Engineers are People
Historians have failed to recognize the giants among history's engineers as among our civilization's great men. Instead, great generals, politicians and artists...
New River Gorge Bridge: World's Longest Steel Arch
The world's longest steel arch bridge, spanning the New River Gorge Bridge in the south central area of West Virginia, is scheduled to be completed in Sept. 1977. The main...
Bridge Erection by Launching is Fast, Safe, and Efficient
The construction of long prestressed concrete bridges without using formal falsework or self-supporting launching falsework is described. Using the so-called incremental launching method...
Concrete Bridge-Tunnel Has No Deck
Engineers solve the problem of how to economically span a single track railroad without interrupting train traffic. Highway fill was placed over post-tensioned precast concrete arch sections...
The Querverschub of the 2,000-ft Oberkassel Bridge
In 1976 West German bridge engineers undertook the moving of the largest structure ever moved in one piece and in such a short period of time. The Oberkassel Bridge connecting Dusseldorf...
The Field Engineer: Political and Legal Scapegoat�
The publicly-employed engineer can be in a vulnerable legal position. A case history is described in which a field engineer was indicted on criminal charges after a bridge collapse (during...
Pasco-Kenneewick Bridge�� The Longest Cable-Stayed Bridge in North America
This 2503-ft long structure, built in an earthquake zone, is only the second of its kind to be constructed in the U.S. It boasts a continuous concrete girder, supported from steel cables...
Railroads, Truss Bridges and the Rise of the Civil Engineer
The huge growth of the railroads during the nineteenth century was the direct result of herculean efforts on the part of civil engineers. Likewise, the development of the civil engineering...
James B. Eads and His St. Louis Bridge
Eads Bridge at St. Louis, a century old engineering achievement, was designed, promoted, and built by an intensely dedicated and self-educated man, James B. Eads. This structure was an...
Philadelphia Bridge Sparked Growth of Prestressed Concrete in the U.S.
Prestressing has been used for centuries. For instance, iron bands were heat-shrunk over built-up wooden wheels to increase their resistance to damage. In 1888, a man named Jackson from...
Nambe Falls Dam�First Mechanically Prestressed Concrete Dam in U.S.
An unusual combination of a curved earth embankment, a concrete gravity thrust block, and concrete thin arch prestressed with embedded vertical flat jacks has created Nambe Falls Dam,...
Why Do Bridges Fail�
From the study of 143 bridge failures that occurred throughout the world from 1847 to 1975, it is found that there are nine categories of failure. The most frequent of these is failure...
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