Value Engineering and Cement-Bentonite Cutoff Wall Save Dam Project for Arizona Indian Tribe
Value engineering showed how it was possible to save $1 million in construction costs for the San Carlos River Dam, east of Phoenix, Ariz. The proposed dam site was moved to take advantage...
Seepage Cutoff Wall Installed Through Dam is Construction First
A new construction technique has been developed which provides a permanent solution to the foundation problems at Wolf Creek Dam. Muddy flows and sinkholes discovered in 1968 led to a...
Ontario Writes New Bridge Code
In 1976, Ontario's Ministry of Transportation and Communications decided to write its own bridge design code, breaking away from the AASHTO code, because: (1)It wanted a metric...
Concrete Microwave Tower is Award Winner
A microwave tower in Florida was built of cast-in-place concrete instead of steel, because: (1)Concrete was considered more esthetic than steel; and (2)concrete was more resistant than...
Intercity Bridge: First Major U.S. Cable-Stayed Bridge
The Intercity Bridge spans the Columbia River, connecting the cities of Pasco and Kennewick, Wash. It is the longest cable-stayed, concrete bridge in the U.S. (2,403-ft) and it has been...
Modern Engineering Saves Troubled Dam
A badly deteriorated and potentially unsafe dam has been recycled. The 135-ft-high, 300-ft-long LaPrele Dam is a concrete slab-and-buttress structure. Its sloping face slab has leaked...
Transportation Engineering Research Needs
In June 1979 a workshop on Civil Engineering Research Needs was convened by the National Science Foundation and ASCE. Of 10 subfields into which civil engineering was split, one was transportation...
World's First Iron Bridge
In 1779, using a new man-made material, skilled English workmen built a single-span bridge of cast iron over a steep river gorge about 140 miles northwest of London. The result was a 424-ton...
Repair and Strengthening of Old Steel Truss Bridges
During the early 1900's, numerous pin jointed steel bridge trusses were constructed throughout the United States. In the intervening years, these trusses were replaced by...
Current Trends in Design and Construction of Embankment Dams
This report is concerned primarily with the embankment itself although foundation and abutment treatment are considered essential elements of the embankment. It covers a broad range of...
Guide to Investigation of Structural Failures
This guide contains a broad range of instructions and suggestions regarding structural failures. Topics include failure causes by project type, failure causes by structural type, failure...
Project Planning Game for Foundation Excavation
Originally published in
Pittsburgh's Troubled Bridges: What to Do About Them�
The Pittsburgh area is troubled by old bridges that are badly deteriorated. The metropolitan area has more bridges�� 1,700�� than any other. And some 66 of them have weight limits posted....
Big Thompson Flood Damage was Severe, but Some Could Have Been Prevented
During the Big Thompson flood of 1976, damages resulted from impact by water and debris and from erosion and scour. Houses were lifted from their foundations and floated away; buildings...
Foundation Soil Preload Saves $164,000
Soils in the lower Mississippi valley are highly compressible and present a challenge to structural foundation designers. Rather than support power plant structures on piles, one design...
Dam Anchored to Foundation to Withstand Floods
Federal Power Commission Order No. 315 required a safety review of Conowingo Dam and Powerhouse by an independent board of consultants. As recommended by this board, a study was made of...
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...
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