Monday, December 30, 2013

Pony Truss Special Member Inspection




A few weeks ago I was down in Burrillville RI inspecting a pony truss. The special member inspection consisted of the superstructure and deck since the bridge is load posted for 10 tons.


Two girders were added in 2008 to support the floorbeam and deck system with threaded hangers, the remaining pony truss is ornamental but is still inspected. In addition to the girders the state also added stop signs at each end to help reduce the impact on the structure.



The structure carries RI 98 over the Nipmuc River spanning 74.1 feet and has a width out-to-out of 24.6 feet.

We inspected the majority of the underside with a boat and just used paddles since there was little to no flow present. The west truss  diagonals, verticals and top chord were easily and safely inspected since there is a sidewalk running along the full length. The east truss was inspected by free climbing (100% tied off even though its only 5 feet over the water).


While inspecting we noticed numerous overweight trucks passing over the structure, I usually try to take a photo of the truck and write down the trucks plate number and any other information.


No comments: