Railroad Routine Bridge Inspection

The past few weeks I've been busy working long nights for bridge and tunnel inspections. Our inspections were located in Revere, South Boston and Brookline and each had its own unique access requirements.

The Revere bridge spans over the Blue Line and was inspected using ladders since it was a short span consisting of prestressed concrete butted box beams in good condition. Using ladders allowed us more time for inspection since we did not have to wait for a hi-rail lift truck to be put on and driven to the bridge. We were able to get on track around 1am and finished just before they needed power back.

The South Boston bridge spans over the Red Line and MBCR commuter rail tracks and was inspected with ladders even though it was a larger span consisting of prestressed concrete butted box beams in good condition. We decided to use ladders since we could inspect the commuter rail portion starting at 10pm and finish before the MBTA would allow us access to the Red Line around 2am. There was also a small portion over a dirt road with no traffic at 1am. Working in all three sections could not be accomplished using a hi-rail lift since the truck would require traveling further south to be able to get onto the tracks.

The Brookline bridge spans over the Green Line near the Beaconsfield Station and was inspected with a 40 foot hi-lift since the bridge was wide and consisted of 57 rolled steel beams. We were able to get on right near the bridge just after 1am and finished the wide bridge just before power was needed back.

Pedestrian Overpass

This past week I completed the inspection for the India Point pedestrian overpass in Providence RI. The bridge allows foot traffic to cross over I-195, Ramp EI and India Street. The bridge give access from the Eastern half of Providence to cross I-195 to a small park on the water.

The bridge was built in 2008 and has a total structure length of 250.9 feet with a maximum span of 91.2 feet (over I-195). The maximum span consists of concrete butted box beams.

The top of the bridge consists of stone pavers, vegetated garden lighting and seating. During the inspection we noticed that the bridge had an unusual amount of water draining at one corner of the bridge. My only assumption would be from the irrigation for the gardens. Hopefully this does not continue to leak and cause damage to the structure. 

Cast In Place Concrete Box Beams

Happy Cinco de Mayo, a couple weeks ago I inspected a cast in place concrete box beam bridge which spans over Oxford Street in Providence RI.

This was my first time inspecting a cast in place concrete box beam bridge and figuring out what beam you are at was a small task but was made easier with exposed rebar chair feet.

The bridge was widened a couple times and now has three new prestressed butted box beams at the North and two along the median.