Historic Bridges

Maintenance Schedule/Costs for the Stillwater Lift Bridge

Amy Squitieri — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:42:34 GMT

Recommended maintenance activities and schedule, as well as agency costs, for the rehabilitation of the Stillwater Historic Lift Bridge in its conversion to pedestrian/bicycle use.

Fastener and Concrete Rehabilitation Recommendations for the Stillwater Lift Bridge

Amy Squitieri — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:40:17 GMT

Recommendations on rehabilitation to the Stillwater Historic Lift Bridge’s fasteners and historic concrete. The concrete is part of a historic concourse associated with the bridge, as well as spans 1 and 2. This section also addresses the replacement and use of rivets in key visible locations instead of bolts.

Renderings for the Stillwater Lift Bridge

Amy Squitieri — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:36:38 GMT

Renderings of different aspects of rehabilitation of the Stillwater Historic Lift Bridge. Renderings show crosswalks, markings, bollards, and other future recommendations for rehabilitation to the bridge in its conversion to pedestrian/bicycle use.

Stillwater Historic Lift Bridge Case Study

Amy Squitieri — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:33:47 GMT

The Stillwater Lift Bridge Management Plan for conversion of the historic bridge to pedestrian/bicycle use. Because the Stillwater Lift Bridge is listed in the National Register, a management plan was created that identified actions needed to preserve the structural and historical integrity of the bridge for continued safe use.

Information from Robert Scoggin, Arkansas State Highway Historic Bridge Program Web Site

Terry Klein — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:25:37 GMT

Here is the link to the Historic Bridge Program on the new AHTD website. If you hover over the buttons on the navigation bar you will see dropdowns to get to more information, be sure to look at the stuff under Historic Bridges and Historic Documents.

http://www.arkansashighways.com/evironmental/cultural_resources/historic_bridge_program.aspx

Robert W. Scoggin
Historic Resources Coordinator
Environmental Division
Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department
10324 Interstate 30
P.O. Box 2261
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203
Office: 501-569-2077/Fax: 501-569-2009
robert.scoggin@arkansashighways.com

See hot riveting on You Tube

Amy Squitieri — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:36:36 GMT

Here is a video on riveting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAArP6swIuY

Re: HBP/Federal Funding for Parallel Pedestrian Bridge in lieu of Widening Historic Bridge

Pat Sparks — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:31:57 GMT

The Austin pedestrian bridge, which is a very nice feature of the Town Lake trail system, was a very expensive alternative to widening the existing bridge. In my opinion (though no one asked for it!), the existing bridge could have been sensitively widened. The reason it was not was because of the narrow views of both the engineers and the preservationists.

The increased cost of the separate alternative pedestrian bridge isn't necessarily a bad thing; it just needs to be seen in the context of the added amenity of creating an improved experience for the users (as in Austin, a recreational use), and in creating a signature element for the community.

In the case of the LA bridge, it would be good to know what the design requirements are for the pedestrian access.

There are many successful cases of adding parallel vehicular bridges.

Reading further in the brief:

I am appalled that 79.88 does not equal 80 in the mindset of the engineers or the policy makers. There are so many subject influences on the rating that the use of more than two significant figures is ridiculous. I mean RIDICULOUS.

Patrick Sparks

Sparks Engineering, Inc.

(512) 310-7727

www.sparksengineering.com

Re: HBP/Federal Funding for Parallel Pedestrian Bridge in lieu of Widening Historic Bridge

Terry Klein — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:00:38 GMT

Here is a post from Abba Lichtenstein.

Terry Klein

"Many years ago a historic Jim Marsh bridge in Wichita Kansas ( the Mack Bridge ) was saved by the construction of a parallel modern two lane bridge along it. Then the existing two lane structure was repaired and strengthened. In the process the owner saved a cool $ 1,000,000 which in those days was a lot of money. The project also got a Federal Award.
Thanks "

Abba

Historic Bridges CoP State-of-the-Practice Report

Terry Klein — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:11:42 GMT

Treatment of Historic Bridge on Low-Volume Local Road

Amy Squitieri — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:49:46 GMT

Treatment of Historic Bridge on Low-Volume Local Road (Indiana Design Manual Section 72-7.0)

The purpose of this Section is to define standards to be used to determine if a historic bridge on a low-volume local road can be rehabilitated for continued vehicular use. A low-volume road is defined as having a design year ADT of less than or equal to 400.

A historic-bridge owner must first consider rehabilitating the bridge in accordance with this Section. The rehabilitation alternatives must include the option of a one-way pair that involves rehabilitating the existing bridge and constructing a new parallel bridge. If the bridge cannot be rehabilitated in accordance with one or more of the design criteria described in Section III below, the owner may request a Level One design exception(s).

HBP/Federal Funding for Parallel Pedestrian Bridge in lieu of Widening Historic Bridge

Amy Squitieri — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:45:52 GMT

(Note this is being posted on behalf of the LA Conservancy)

Request: In conjunction with Section 106 consultation for the seismic retrofit of the Riverside Drive Bridge over the LA River, the Los Angeles Conservancy is seeking examples of bridge improvement projects that (1) involve consruction of a new parallel pedestrian bridge next to an existing historic bridge, and (2) are funded through the Highway Bridge Program (HBP) or using other federal funds (i.e. transportation enhancement funding). We are also looking for projects where minimum sufficiency rating requirements under HBP funding guidelines have been relaxed to enable retention of a historic bridge pursuant to 4(f) or Section 106.

Background: In order to meet HBP funding guidelines, the city's Bureau of Engineering has proposed a design that would widen the historic Riverside Drive Bridge on both sides and thereby remove nearly all existing historic fabric. The historic bridge is not wide enough to meet current design standards for lane width and shoulder. At the request of the Conservancy and the city's Office of Historic Resources, the Bureau of Engineering has developed an alternative that would provide bike/pedestrian access on a new parallel span, enabling lanes on the historic bridge to be widened within the existing bridge deck for vehicular traffic and thereby maintaining the eligibility of the historic bridge. However, under this option the existing bridge would achieve a sufficiency rating of 79.88 after the seismic retrofit, barely falling short of the minimum rating of 80 needed to qualify for HBP funds.

With help from Carol Legard at ACHP and Adrienne Vaughan Campbell of the Texas Historical Commission, we have identified the Towne Lake Pedestrian Bridge in Austin, TX as one example. This project involved construction of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge alongside the historic Lamar Street Bridge, albeit using federal transportation enhancement funding and not HBP funding. Adrienne recommended that I query this group to identify other possible examples. If you have any relevant examples, please respond to this post or contact me directly at mbuhler@laconservancy.org or 213-430-4203.

Thanks for your help!

Mike Buhler

Director of Advocacy

Los Angeles Conservancy

523 West Sixth Street, Suite 826

Los Angeles, CA 90014

www.laconservancy.org

mbuhler@laconservancy.org

(213) 430-4203

(213) 623-3909 (f)

More Arch Bridge Pictures

RobertScoggin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:13:04 GMT

Re: Historic Concrete Arch Bridges

RobertScoggin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:23:22 GMT

Joe, I have added some more pictures of the weep holes on the bottom of the bridge. For the most part the kicked out walls are typical and the road surface is asphalt.

Bob

Re: Historic Concrete Arch Bridges

Joe Pullaro — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:05:35 GMT

Hi Robert:

I see the spandrel wall kicked out in the photo that was taken near the crown. Is this typical for the entire bridge? I would expect a greater displacement near the piers as the fill is much greater in these areas. Also I could not ascertain if there are signs of leakage on the underside of arch. Again I would expect evidence of staining due to water infiltration. Also do you know what the road surface is? Is it asphalt or concrete and is there surface drainge?

Joe

Re: Citations for articles on coatings and graffiti on historic concrete

John Hinman — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:04:51 GMT

[quote user="Amy Squitieri"]

Here are citations. These are great sources for dealing with coatings and graffiti on concrete bridges:

Connolly, James D., Paul E. Gaudette and Deborah Slaton. "Concrete: To Coat or Not to Coat," The Construction Specifier (March 2000): 72.

Connolly, James D., Leonard L. Phelps and Deborah Slaton. "Sealers and Coatings for Masonry and Concrete: The Essentials," Journal of Architectural Coatings (January 2006): 34-41.

Freedland, Joshua and Deborah Slaton. "The Writing on the Wall," The Construction Specifier (May 2006): 122.

Gaudette, Paul E. and Deborah Slaton. "Making the Call on the Concrete Wall," Journal of Architectural Coatings (June/July 2008): 32-37.

Slaton, Deborah. "Peeling Away the Years: Taking on the Job of Getting Old Coatings Off," Journal of Architectural Coatings (March/April 2007): 60-63.

Slaton, Deborah. "Coatings and Historic Structures: A Preservation Dichotomy," Journal of Architectural Coatings (October/November 2006): 24-31.

[/quote]

Thank you for posting these, Amy!

Citations for articles on coatings and graffiti on historic concrete

Amy Squitieri — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:35:23 GMT

Here are citations. These are great sources for dealing with coatings and graffiti on concrete bridges:

Connolly, James D., Paul E. Gaudette and Deborah Slaton. "Concrete: To Coat or Not to Coat," The Construction Specifier (March 2000): 72.

Connolly, James D., Leonard L. Phelps and Deborah Slaton. "Sealers and Coatings for Masonry and Concrete: The Essentials," Journal of Architectural Coatings (January 2006): 34-41.

Freedland, Joshua and Deborah Slaton. "The Writing on the Wall," The Construction Specifier (May 2006): 122.

Gaudette, Paul E. and Deborah Slaton. "Making the Call on the Concrete Wall," Journal of Architectural Coatings (June/July 2008): 32-37.

Slaton, Deborah. "Peeling Away the Years: Taking on the Job of Getting Old Coatings Off," Journal of Architectural Coatings (March/April 2007): 60-63.

Slaton, Deborah. "Coatings and Historic Structures: A Preservation Dichotomy," Journal of Architectural Coatings (October/November 2006): 24-31.

Re: Historic Concrete Arch Bridges

RobertScoggin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:07:45 GMT

Thank you to both John and Joe for your responses. I agree with both of you. Joe I have uploaded a few pictures of the bridge to the resource library. They are in pdf format and are named Arkansas Arch Bridge Photos. I am going to talk to the Heavy Bridge Engineer and see if we can make this project a full fledged rehab instead of just a repair job.

Re: Historic Concrete Arch Bridges

John Hinman — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:47:37 GMT

Regarding Joe's response to Bob's arch bridge issues, I agree with what Joe said. The basic mechanics of the spandrel walls is simple. A person might ask why it took so long to become evident.

Joe's suggestion for a fix is the most straight-forward and robust approach. There are some variations and options that might be considered, though. One of these is to preserve the existing spandrel walls. This may be easy or it may be difficult, depending on the degree of deterioration and the specific details of the walls, but it will preserve the appearance and the fabric of the bridge. Note the board forming, and the continuity of the forming from the spandrel walls to the sides of the arch. That will be difficult to reconstruct.

An approach to preserving the spandrel walls might include replacing the earth fill with cellular concrete. This can reduce or eliminate the soil pressure on the spandrel walls, which will probably not figure for lateral loads from soil plus moisture plus live loads. The cellular concrete can support the walls, instead of the other way around. (It's not really that simple, but that is the basic idea.) Arch repair and drainage, as Joe described, is still necessary.

Another approach is to maintain the existing spandrel walls and to build new spandrel walls at the interior. The original spandrel walls become almost a veneer.

These ideas don't necessarily reduce the project cost, but may preserve portions of the original bridge.

I'm not disagreeing with anything Joe said. My comments are simply observations of some options. Whether they are worth pursuing is a value decision the owner must make.

John Hinman

Re: Historic Concrete Arch Bridges

Joe Pullaro — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:34:11 GMT

Hi Robert:

If I understand your question you have a situation wherein the spandrel walls that retain the fill on top of the arch are moving. If this is the case we have seen this many times and it is due to poor draining fill over the arch. When these arches were built, positive rainage was not installed, but rather weep holes (if they were at all). Over the years water has infiltrated , the weep holes if built are not functioning , and the saturated fill is pushing the walls out. You know if you have a moisture problem by looking at the condition of the underside of arch.

As far as a fix is concerend, the best way (but the most painful, economically) is to remove the fill, repair the top of arch (that probably is deteriorated due to the saturated fill), install a waterproofing membrane over the arch, positive drainage, clean fill and rebuild the spandrel walls. We have looked at installing tie rods, but i don't believe you can put enough in to counteract the pressure of the fill and you really have not solved the problem that caused the movement in the first place.

I hope this helps. If you have some photos and can post them it would be helpful for all to see the situtation

Joe Pullaro

Arkansas Arch Bridge Photos

RobertScoggin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:22:48 GMT