PING.
Posted on 01/22/2020 8:33:30 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
HOUSTON – Following 20 months of construction of the new Ship Channel Bridge along the Beltway 8, the county has issued a pause.
Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said the decision was made following the discovery of a design flaw with part of the bridge.
“I want to make sure that we are doing everything on behalf of public safety to ensure that everything is well,” Garcia said. “This was obviously concerning and alarming for me."
John Tyler, the deputy director of engineering with the Harris County Toll Road Authority and in charge of the project, said the flaw was discovered in the pylons used to widen the port.
“In the main pylons, the wall thickness below the driving service of the bridge needs to be stiffened,” Tyler said.
The discovery of the flaw was made by COWI, an independent consulting firm hired by the county in 2019, to oversee the construction project following the deadly collapse of a pedestrian bridge in 2018.
Figg bridge engineers who designed the bridge in Miami, are the same designers of the Ship Channel Bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled Figg’s design was chiefly responsible for the collapse. The findings caused TxDot to suspend a bridge project designed by Figg.
(Excerpt) Read more at click2houston.com ...
So...diversity chosen engineering firm?
PING.
Wonderful. /s
I think I read about this bridge earlier. I think a sub-contractor working on the arch’s said they didn’t want to proceed because of THEIR concern with the design. Maybe the “independent consulting firm” hired last year was simply verifying the legitimacy of the subcontractor’s concerns,
Apparently they just don’t give a Figg.
That might actually be the new I-74 bridge in progress between Bettendorf, Iowa and Moline, Illinois.
You are absolutely right. I recall that now that your post jogged my memory. Thanks.
Actually it is a big Woman owned engineering firm focused on bridges as art. The Florida collapse of the big pedestrian bridge was theirs as well.
Diversity is our strength.
Yeah. Right.
Diversity is our strength! Affirmative action will make everything great!
Why do we have so many bridge designs anyway? There is no need for anything but standard modular designs in most instances. That is what the Bailey Bridge is based on and it works for just about any application. Only the foundations and piers are changed.
The chicoms do standard and whip out bridges with reliable regularity.
I used to work for the company that designed the ship channel bridge. They typically do excellent work. I’m not sure how this flaw was overlooked.
The ancient Romans had one design for bridges, aqueducts and large load bearing walls and it worked great. Many are still standing after generations of war, natural disasters and neglect.
And they were/are aesthetically pleasing.
This “bridges as art” crap is going to get people killed.
Probably Chinese steel also :-(
Yup, looked great, functioned great, endured. What more does there need to be. The uniformity of design not only makes things easier it also makes them look better and lends to a sense of solidity of the empire.
Some people aren’t satisfied with great function and appearance. They have to add their own vision of “beauty” to things. Usually detrimental to the function and durability of the structure. Just can’t leave well enough alone, constantly reinventing the wheel.
Give me simple elegance that endures and I’m happy. No need for overly expensive “art” on my roads.
Using your argument, why do we have so many different designs for automobiles? Surely one type of sedan and one truck style is adequate for all? Let's take it one step further: Why are homes different? Let's have just one design that can be expanded, just like the Soviets! The all female design team that built the failed bridge did nearly everything right, with two errors that cost several folks their lives: They forgot that aesthetics are SECONDARY to function, and they hired incompetents to install the bridge.
Absolutely no safe and sane construction company in the free world with competent installers would have tried to perform a lift over an active city street. Especially something that heavy! When we do a lift where I work, the street is closed, even if it's only a small rooftop HVAC unit of under 2 ton on a 30 ton crane.
Bridges are often the height of engineering prowess, and as such NEED to be pleasing to the eye as well as perform mobility functions. Bailey bridges are a fantastic thing when in a hurry to construct CHEAPLY with NO regard to aesthetics.
Would you rather look at this"
Or this?
Have a nice day.
Incidentally, the over 2 mile long suspension bridge photo I posted just above cost just over 1 billion euro, and was completed on time and budget. The state approved design for the replacement Bay bridge destroyed in the Northridge quake cost more than $5 billion (3 billion over budget), and was delayed over a year.
Some things standardized/state sanctioned design works for. Others, not so much...
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