Railroad Bridge Inspection

Last week I inspected the Pontiac Branch Railroad bridge portion that intersects I-95 South and North located in Cranston. The bridge is currently not in service and is planned to carry a bike path at some point in the future.

The inspection took place at night since we had to shut down lanes of traffic and would not be safe during the day.

The bridge is part of our fracture critical inspection and consists of four simple span thru girders. 

When we arrived at the bridge we were surprised to find the streets pavement completely removed and graders out leveling the surface. With the with the assistance to the PM on site we were able to finish our inspection efficiently and not disturb the on going construction.

Culvert Inspection

Down in Cumberland RI while inspecting a culvert for an upcoming rating we found this little guy and by little I mean a 2.5" wide spider. We also saw a few chipmunks just downstream with cheeks full of food.

Out to lunch

After taking a few typical photos of an I-Way ramp, I headed over to Spikes Junkyard Hotdogs in Providence to grab lunch and saw a mounted police officer crossing the street.

I-Way Fracture Critical Inspection

This I-Way bridge was unlike most fracture critical bridges that I have inspected in the past. Most consist of either some type of truss or a through girder system but this bridge's superstructure has two steel box girders and a concrete deck. At one end of the bridge there is a curved section which required a deep concrete counter weight. Unfortunately for me I was given the task of crawling into the narrow corrugated pipe to check the bearing connection at the end.

Chicopee EAP

Today I started working on an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for a bridge design out in Chicopee MA. The EAP is plan to help assist the city if there is a failure in the storm barriers. The EAP tells the city who to contact and what routes they should use in this emergency.

Rigid Frame Rating

Started working on my second rigid frame rating, this frame is located in Brimfield MA just minutes away from my Charlton office. The two span frame sports a large amount of fill which will help distribute the live load. This bridge should rate out very high since it was probably design for constructability without fill present.

Rolled Steel Beam Rating

Started a new rating today for a rolled steel beam bridge in Providence RI. The bridge consists of twenty two rolled steel beams with cover plates and has two simple spans with a 7" composite concrete deck. Even though the bridge has a gap between I-95 Southbound and Northbound the structure is still considered one bridge.

The rating of the steel beams will be performed using the software BRASS for the LRFR method outlined in the 2008 AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation. The bridge deck will not be rated in accordance with Section 6A.1.8.1 of the 2008 AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation.

The dead load of the wearing surface, bridge railing and safety walk will be distributed equally to the beams. The dead load of the diaphragms will be based on their reactions to the respective beam and uniformly distributed along the entire length.

Rolled Steel Beam Bridge Inspection

Today I inspected a two simple span rolled steel beam bridge in Providence. The bridge had section loss to the beam ends and several areas of spalling concrete. 

The spalls to the deck were so severe that we had to hold traffic while we removed incipient spalls that could fall onto the traffic below.

The deteriorated expansion joint over the pier continues to cause trouble for the steel beams and pier cap below.

Ashton Viaduct

This week we have been inspecting the Ashton Viaduct in Cumberland/Lincoln, which intersects the Blackstone River. We inspected the bridge with a four man crew and two 62' under bridge inspection unit (UBIU) or snooper. The bridge has 13 spans which consist of 9 approach arches and 4 main arches.

Muti Beam Bridge Inspections

Today we inspected two muti beam bridges which carry I-95 North and South bound. Both bridges had several large spalls and hollow areas. There were a few areas of minor section loss and a couple holes in the web and web stiffeners.

Since we inspected the bridge two years ago we were able to insect the bridge more efficiently. We will also be conducting a rating for the bridge in the near future and were able to save drive time and confirm measurements for the rating.