Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Chruch Street Truss

Today I did the fracture critical inspection of the Church Street bridge in Cumberland RI which intersects the Providence & Worcester Railroad. Two years ago I also conducted the inspection but last time we only used a fiberglass ladder and this year we used a rail mounted elliot.
The inspection took a three man crew and was delayed while we waited for a P&W flagmen to arrive on site. While waiting we were able to complete the top cord and diagonals and take typical photos of the bridge.
After a couple hours the flagman was finally able to find the site and we were able to gain access to the tracks. The 60 foot rail mounted Elliot was able to get on the tracks in just a few minutes while we held traffic near the Ann & Hope Outlet store. 
Before we could start the inspection of the lower cord we had to wait for a light engine to be moved to providence. After the engine passed we were able to inspect the truss and confirm the condition that were noted in the last inspection. 
We found section loss to the lower cord but the state added repair plates to allow the bridge not to be posted.