Ten Top Projects for 1988
The other Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement nominees make up an impressive collection of projects. They are notable for innovative management techniques, state-of-the-art engineering...
Seismic Damage and Retrofit of Bridges in California
Since 1971, the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) has retrofitted about 1300 bridges to improve their seismic resistance. CALTRANS has investigated 13 earthquakes since...
Tied Arch Substitute
When the Minnesota DOT decided to build a new bridge to replace St. Paul's historic High Bridge over the Mississippi, a citizen's advisory group insisted that...
The Williamsburg: Rehab After All
Whether to repair or replace the Williamsburg Bridge has been seriously debated in New York City for years. Recently, a blue ribbon panel of technical advisors appointed by the Mayor conducted...
What really happened at L'Ambiance Plaza
Even though the National Bureau of Standards has issued its report on the probable cause of failure in the collapse of the L'Ambiance Plaza. there is room for doubt as to...
Brighter Future for Stay Cables
Corrosion problems on cable stayed bridges can be prevented, according to several engineers who responsed to Cables in Trouble, a Civil Engineering article that appeared in the April 1988...
Weathering Steel: Industry's Stepchild
Improper location and poor detailing are two reasons why some weathering steel bridges are not living up to their early promise. That was the consensus reached during a July 1988 forum...
Recycling Bridges
Faced with the statistics showing that more than half of our bridges have fallen into a state of disrepair, bridge engineers have coined a phrase from the lexicon of conservationists to...
Computer Assisted Mistakes
The proliferation of computer usage by design engineers will continue to generate change in practice. It will affect the process and production of design. It will affect the relationships...
Program to Reduce Deicing Chemical Usage
Over the years (since about 1948), the dependency on deicing chemicals has been increased to provide 'bare pavement' for safe and efficient winter transportation....
AASHTO Design Concepts
The AASHO Road Test of 1958-60 grew out of a need to quantify the effects of increasingly heavier axle and gross loads and varying wheel load configurations on the performance of this...
What Will Happen to Local Rural Roads and Bridges
Much of the local rural road and bridge system was not designed for the heavy trucks and farm equipment that are currently using the system. The system will continue to deteriorate unless...
Building Bridges the Old Way
Cast-in-place concrete bridges built on falsework, particularly post-tensioned box girders, are California's dominant structure type. Factors which have led to the popularity...
Earthquake Response of La Villita Dam
Due to the recent industrial and housing developments at the port of Lazaro Cardenas, located 13 km (8 miles) downstream of La Villita Dam, at the mouth of the Balsas River, the hazard...
Analyses of Foundation Failures
During the earthquake of September 19th, 1985, many buildings tilted and underwent settlements, sometimes of very large magnitudes. This paper describes and analyzes these settlements....
Soil-Structure Interaction in Mexico City During the 1985 Earthquakes
The effects of the flexibility of the soil and the foundation on the seismic response of structures, by opposition to clear foundation failures, cannot be easily identified from a simple...
Implications of Structural Characteristics on Failure
Performance of buildings with two common structural types, many of which suffered heavy structural damage or collapse, are analyzed. Conclusions are drawn that no structural type is inadequate,...
Effects on Infrastructure
Effects on the transportation and communications infrastructure due to the earthquakes of September 19 and 20 are described and analyzed. It can be concluded that these effects were actually...
Stopping Seepage
The Navajo Dam in New Mexico has major seepage problems. The Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the Dam, conducted studies, verified by outside consultants, concluding that the combination...
Bridge Design By 1-2-3
MULTBEAM, a Lotus 1-2-3 template, can be used to analyze simple-span, multigirder steel highway bridge superstructures. Since it was developed for in house use by Sverdrup Corp., this...
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