Floor System Evaluation of a Riveted Steel Arch Bridge
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Volume 13, Issue 2
Abstract
The Omega Bridge is a riveted, steel arch bridge built in the early 1950s to cross the Los Alamos Canyon and connect the town of Los Alamos, New Mexico to technical areas of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The alternate route from the bridge runs through the canyon on a steep grade, which is not a suitable option, particularly for emergency vehicles such as fire trucks. In the early 1990s, the bridge was rehabilitated due to the poor condition of the deck and increased traffic demands, which resulted in several changes to the original structure. This paper discusses the load rating of the bridge as affected by the rehabilitation according to the AASHTO load factor rating method. Attention is given to the evaluation of the floor system components including the stringers, floor beams, and spandrel beams. It is shown that the Omega Bridge is in satisfactory structural condition, no load posting is necessary, and the bridge is safe for the passing of emergency response vehicles.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the Utilities and Infrastructure Division (NWIS-UI) of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The writers would like to thank Mr. David A. Padilla (Facilities Operations Director, NWIS-UI) for the financial assistance to conduct this investigation as well as for his valuable comments regarding the previous inspection and rehabilitation work done on the Omega Bridge. Unclassified release of the study reported herein was granted by the LANL under Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDLA-UR-06-8439.
References
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American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). (2000). Manual for condition evaluation of bridges, 2nd Ed. with 2003 interim revisions, Washington, D.C.
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). (2002). Standard specifications for highway bridges, 17th Ed., Washington, D.C.
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). (2003). Manual for condition evaluation and load and resistance factor rating (LRFR) of highway bridges, Washington, D.C.
Jáuregui, D. V., Tuyen, N., and White, K. R. (2005). “Capacity rating of the Los Alamos Canyon arch bridge.” Rep. Prepared for Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M.
Merrick & Company. (1989). “Feasibility study: Los Alamos Canyon Bridge deck replacement.” Rep. Prepared for Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M.
Minervino, C., Sivakumar, B., Moses, F., Mertz, D., and Edberg, W. (2004). “New AASHTO guide manual for load and resistance factor rating of highway bridges.” J. Bridge Eng., 9(1), 43–54.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Volume 13 • Issue 2 • May 2008
Pages: 67 - 77
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 5, 2006
Accepted: May 25, 2007
Published online: May 1, 2008
Published in print: May 2008
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