Structures Congress 2018
Preservation of a Historical Timber Bridge in California
Publication: Structures Congress 2018: Bridges, Transportation Structures, and Nonbuilding Structures
ABSTRACT
The Albion River Bridge consists of a timber deck, a steel truss superstructure, approach timber trusses, four-legged R/C piers for the steel trusses, timber-braced towers to support the approach timber trusses, and R/C pile caps with R/C or timber piles. The 2013 condition ratings of the deck, superstructure, and substructure are “good,” i.e., 7 out of 9 based on the FHWA National Bridge Inspection Standards, which makes the bridge “structurally not deficient.” However, the latest (2015) Structure Inventory and Appraisal Report by Caltrans has incorrectly assigned a rating of 3 out of 9 to the substructure, and declared the bridge “structurally deficient.” This paper discusses the studies conducted by the author to preserve the bridge. The efforts by the author and the Albion community have resulted in the listing of the bridge, in May of 2017, on the National Register of Historic Places of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author performed this study as a consulting project for Mr. John Danhakl, a property owner in Albion. His support is sincerely appreciated. The opinions expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of California, Berkeley, where he is a professor, nor those of the individuals and agencies cited therein.
REFERENCES
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Caltrans (California Department of Transportation). (2016). “Bridge Inspection Records Information System (BIRIS) for Albion River Bridge,” California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA, 74pp.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). (1995). Recording and Coding Guide for the Structure Inventory and Appraisal of the Nation’s Bridges, Report No. FHWA-PD-96-001, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington D.C., 124pp.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). (2017). “Recommended Framework for a Bridge Inspection QC/QA Program,” <https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbis/nbisframework.cfm>
NBI (National Bridge Inventory). (2016). “National Bridge Inventory”, Website of the FHWA, Federal Highway Administration, <http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi.cfm> (Aug. 14, 2016)
NBIS, 2004. “National Bridge Inspection Standards Regulation”, Federal Registrar, Vol. 69, No. 239, Dec 14, 2004. <https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2004-12-14/pdf/04-27355.pdf> (Aug. 13, 2016)
Pogash, C. (2015). “Aging Bridge in California Needs All the Support It Can Get,” New York Times, <https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/us/aging-bridge-in-california-needs-all-the-support-it-can-get.html?_r=0>(Oct. 19, 2017)
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Structures Congress 2018: Bridges, Transportation Structures, and Nonbuilding Structures
Pages: 176 - 185
Editor: James Gregory Soules, CB&I
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8133-2
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Apr 17, 2018
Published in print: Apr 17, 2018
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