Steel Beam Bridge

The other week on March 29th I was down in Providence inspecting a three simple span mutli beam bridge (Br. No. 060701) which carries Route 6 East and West. The second span carries route 67.9 feet over Killingly Street and has a structure length of 125 feet.

The bridge has 18 beams which are labeled A to R, which makes for a fun time when starting from the South and figuring out which beam you are at.

While finishing up the East side of Span 2 the bucket I was using started to leak hydraulic fluid and the bucket began to slowly twist upside down, luckily I was only 10 feet off the ground. We were able fix the problem quickly (just a new nut vibrated itself loose and needed to be tightened) and get back to inspecting.

The bridge has been struck several times in the past and all the beams have gouges and scrapes along the underside of the bottom flanges and cover plates. One of the beams has a bulge in the web and a small web crack. One of the beams was also twisted at the pier. 

Masonry Stone Arch

Last week on the 30th I inspected a stone masonry arch in Providence RI. The Arch is located near Roger Williams Zoo and spans over Polo Lake. The arch was in 1889 and spans 30 feet over the lake.

Being so old it is no surprise at the amount of efflorescence, stalactites and incrustation build up. The inspection was a special member since the bridge is posted for 15 tons and was easily inspected with our boat.