I-195 Bridge Closure, R.I. 10

[Sym P. le]

"Critical failure" closes I-195 west on Washington Bridge in Providence, Rhode Island - CBS

Casey Jones - Youtube has already done a review - Why does it take three days to close a bridge?

The failed anchor rod is part of the center span. I don't know which pier is involved. There is an east and west span so it will be interesting to learn if deterioration is similar on the alternate span.

Google Street View

 

[FacEngrPE]

RI DOT information regarding the Washington Bridge closure
The consultant’s observation report dated 12/8/2023 is linked on the website, and attached below.

Why does it take three days to close a bridge?

Perhaps it took that long for the urgent message to find it's way through channels, and for the closure to be authorized.

 

[MTNClimber]

I don’t have experience inspecting bridge superstructures, but it seems like the corrosion at the failure plane would take longer than a couple of months, but maybe I’m missing something.

 

[dik]

That fracture looks too pristine for a shear fracture... but, I don't know what else could have caused it.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[JStephen]

I've seen local news items that the "Mile Long Bridge" in Texas has been closed due to a boater seeing a piece fall off the bridge. But haven't seen any details of what the actual failure consists of yet...

 

[TugboatEng]

Is the necking due to corrosion or is this a tensile failure?

 

[dik]

The totally flat failure surfaces indicates a brittle fracture... corrosion is too bad to speculate more. With 'necking' you often introduce a triaxial state that would produce a different failure surface.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[FacEngrPE]

The concrete damage indicates to me the flat surface MIGHT be iron corrosion products.
Coefficient of expansion of rusting of steel is between 3x and 4x. A more complete inspection is needed.

Ref Composition and expansion coefficient of rust based on X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis, Corrosion Science Volume 53, Issue 5, May 2011, Pages 1646-1658

 

[FacEngrPE]

Westbound I-195 in Rhode Island could be Torn Down; Casey Jones - Professional Engineer

Reports that RI DOT is considering admitting that the bridge will need to be refurbished or demolished and completely rebuilt.

 

[dik]

Something is odd about that failure.

What sort of 'screw up' would require demolition? and who is responsible? Do they have liability insurance? Is this a matter for the engineering association? Lots of little questions?

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[3DDave]

I like that guy kicking the RIDOT head where it counts for the claim of a magic overweight truck that caused all the steel to corrode.

 

[Murph 9000]

What sort of 'screw up' would require demolition?

Inadequate maintenance for a long time would do it, I guess. If you dig into the RIDOT public documents, those securing rods have wasted away significantly (down to something like two thirds of their original diameter). That didn't happen overnight, and is just one of many seriously degraded structural elements.

If they have let it go too far, it may be just more economical to demolish it. It also seems that they may be able to get an emergency handout from Uncle Sam if they declare it a total loss.

 

[dik]

...and no responsibility for the inadequate design?

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[Murph 9000]

Is the design inadequate? (I don't know.) Empirically, it seems to have been at least minimally adequate to have stood for many decades of steadily increasing traffic. Even if there are design elements which could have been better, it seems to me that the problem is primarily letting it deteriorate to the point where they now consider it to be dangerous.

 

[dik]

I would suggest that with the short life span that the design was inadequate. I've designed parking garages for nearly 50 years, and serviceabilty was always a top priority. Nearly always in corrosive environments. Yes, it's part of an engineer's expertise... not only knowing about it, but also being able to accommodate it.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[3DDave]

I imagine one of dik's parking garages still standing among the rubble of a ruined city one thousand years from now, a gleaming jewel surrounded by old-growth forests and visited as a pilgrimage site by followers of the church of Ford who keep the stories of the Aw-tah-mah-bil alive for the next generation.

 

[hokie66]

dik,

You may have missed that the bridge is 56 years old. Who are you going to hold responsible?

 

[dik]

You set up standards so this sort of problem doesn't occur. About 3 years back I was in Toronto and visited a parkade I'd done about 40 years earlier... it was still operational and in reasonably good shape... no concrete spalling from the beams and it had been 'recovered' twice.

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[dik]

a thousand might be pushing it a tad... maybe half that...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[MTNClimber]

I've been told that these tie-downs have been known to be an issue for years. Inspections performed by 3rd parties have noted this. The current rumor is that the DOT director has known this for that period of time and deferred the repairs due to concerns the repairs would have on traffic.... haha

Dik - 50 to 70-year service life of bridges is common around here for bridges built in that era. Now, they are shooting for 100 years for new construction. The real issue is deferred maintenance.