More Problems with Canadian Bridges

• Jan 28, 2007

• #1

dik

Structural

Apr 13, 2001

25,783

Falling Gardiner chunk misses car

January 28, 2007
Tamara Cherry
Staff Reporter

A piece of the Gardiner Expressway about the size of a basketball broke off last night, narrowly missing a car stopped on York St. below.

No one was injured when the concrete fell from beneath the overpass, shattering on the median where the westbound Gardiner meets northbound York St. around 11:40 p.m., Acting Staff Sgt. Craig Lewers said.

from the Toronto Star

 

• Jan 28, 2007

• #2

JStephen

Mechanical

Aug 25, 2004

8,623

Meanwhile, the city of Fort Worth, Texas, is planning three new bridges...and the architect is from Canada.

 

• Jan 28, 2007

• #3

Qshake

Structural

Jul 12, 2000

2,672

Doesn't matter where the architect is from as they produce creative sketches and flamboyant ideas. Engineers are responsible for making structures stand up. And apparently that is not the case in Canada at least in these localized incidents.

Regards,
Qshake

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• Jan 28, 2007

• Thread starter
• #4

dik

Structural

Apr 13, 2001

25,783

Qshake... not necessarily bad engineering... maintenance is required in particular where large amounts of de-icing chemicals are used and infrastructure maintenance has been 'put on a back burner' for too long. We have the same opinion about architects, though...

Dik

 

• Jan 28, 2007

• #5

Qshake

Structural

Jul 12, 2000

2,672

Duly noted, dik. Maintenance is a very critical item and is often ignored in favor of the out-of-sight-out-of-mind mentality.

Though for most clients or bridge owners an engineer is usually responsible for the overall program but not the actual work.



Regards,
Qshake

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• Jan 28, 2007

• Thread starter
• #6

dik

Structural

Apr 13, 2001

25,783

I've not done a bridge, have done a couple of small repairs to them. With parkades, I have a standard maintenance manual that I give to the owner. I also have a pre-design package stipulating loads, exits, layout, etc. for a sign-off...

Dik

 

• Jan 29, 2007

• #7

HgTX

Civil/Environmental

Aug 3, 2004

3,722

JStephen said:

Meanwhile, the city of Fort Worth, Texas, is planning three new bridges...and the architect is from Canada.

Click to expand...

Do you have any details on those projects?

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

• Feb 10, 2007

• #8

BigH

Geotechnical

Dec 1, 2002

6,012

JStephen: The architect might be from Canada; the Structural engineer, too, might be from Canada, but it is most likely that the contractor will be from the States (Texas, perhaps) as well as the concrete and steel. So, unless there are negligence issues, it is the workmanship and proper construction that would be the cause of concern for me!

 

• Feb 10, 2007

• #9

JStephen

Mechanical

Aug 25, 2004

8,623

Hopefully, you all recognize that my comment on the bridges is in jest.

And, yes, they really are working on some new bridges, in the planning stages now. See this site for some conceptual views:

http://www.trinityrivervision.org/ConceptualGraphics.asp

There is also a 15MB presentation on the bridges on this site, but I couldn't get it to open right.

The Trinity River isn't that big, so bridges across it aren't usually big news- these are different mainly because they are not the plain ol' bridges like we normally see around here.

 

• Feb 10, 2007

• #10

kenvlach

Materials

Apr 12, 2000

2,514

Is the water shown reflecting the conceptual bridges usually so nice and blue? I've only been in & out of DFW, but recollect water looking less-than-thirst-quenching.

 

• Feb 10, 2007

• #11

JStephen

Mechanical

Aug 25, 2004

8,623

I think that's Artistic License.

The architect for this project also has some info on his website, but it's fairly vague.

http://www.bingthomarchitects.com,

look for "Projects", then "Urban design", then "Trinity Point Planning Project"

 

• Feb 21, 2007

• #12

cage

Structural

Nov 10, 1999

19

Do I detect some canadian-engineer criticism above. Having reviewed many designs by both US and Canadian engineers I have found sub-standard designs originating from both countries. In Toronto and Montreal the major problem is poor maintenance of reinforced concrete structures deteriorating from de-icing salt.

 

• Feb 22, 2007

• #13

cooperDBM

Structural

Aug 29, 2005

229

The real problem here is that because of the Montreal collapse any significant piece of concrete falling from a bridge in Canada makes the news. Bits of concrete fall from bridges everywhere all the time, usually because of poor maintenance. They're generally cleaned up by road crews quickly and don't make the news. Canada's climate aggravates the problem, as it would in the northern US and marine areas. Lack of funding for infrastructure maintenance is pretty universal, as is bridge engineering knowledge. We'd all be better off if flying chucks of concrete made the news more often, everywhere.

Writing form Ottawa, Ontario, if it matters.