Posted on 12/21/2020 7:25:06 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
HOUSTON — Harris County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to change the engineer of record on the Sam Houston Tollway Ship Channel Bridge after a review found one portion that had not yet been built contained a potential design flaw.
The Harris County Toll Road Authority hired an independent consultant, COWI North America, Inc., to review the design of the bridge. HCTRA deputy director John Tyler told KHOU 11 in January that COWI found the possible weakness in December 2019.
The design comes from FIGG Bridge Engineers, Inc., the same company behind a Florida pedestrian bridge that collapsed in 2018, killing six people.
“My outmost priority is the safety of our residents," Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia wrote in a statement. "Had I not made this decision shortly after taking office, Harris County could’ve had a dangerous bridge with tens of thousands of vehicles traveling on it every day. Taking FIGG off this project was not a decision we took lightly, however it needed to be done. Potential delays in completion of the bridge should be minimal, but that’s a small price to pay to keep people safe for decades to come.”
KHOU has reached out to FIGG but we have not received a response. We will update the article when we get their statement.
The portion of the design in question is the curved portions of the pylon legs.
In January, HCTRA deputy director John Tyler told KHOU 11 the issue was the pylons were not stiff enough to support the "bridge deck," the surface cars drive on.
"The pylon itself is a serious element within the bridge structure. It just needs to be done right," Tyler said in an interview with KHOU 11 in January.
HCTRA paused construction on the bridge in January.
(Excerpt) Read more at khou.com ...
Isn’t this the outfit run by feminist “engineers “.
[pictures]
I think the straight-cable bridge designs are ugly compared to the classic catenary-cable design. Guess the former is cheaper.
The design comes from FIGG Bridge Engineers, Inc., the same company behind a Florida pedestrian bridge that collapsed in 2018, killing six people.
There is a problem right there. You got the bribe money?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.