The project entailed the construction of twin 8,foot, six-lane bridges four traveling lanes and two full-width shoulder lanes over the Intercoastal Canal between the Texas mainland and Galveston Island. Each bridge consists of a three-span cast-in-place twin cell segmental main span bridge feet in total length over the navigational channel.
Approaching the main span bridges are 35 spans feet each of Type VI girders to the south and an additional 24 spans feet each to the north. Approach foundations include drilled shafts from 36 to 78 inches in diameter up to feet deep, while each of the two main span piers are founded on inch-diameter steel pipe piles feet long.
The bridge contains more than , cubic yards of concrete, , pounds of post tensioning, and 32,, pounds of reinforcing steel. The bridge was advertised as the longest steel-span wagon-only bridge in the United States, although there was a railroad bridge over Lake Ponchatrain that was longer. The 3-day event celebrating the completion of the Galveston Wagon Bridge took place November , and featured parades, fireworks and wagon contests.
Many businesses even decorated for the celebration. News of the bridge eventually spread beyond Galveston, first with Scientific American featuring it in This group of civil engineers could not believe such a long bridge could be built at those costs. Other areas, such as Corpus Christi, also took note of the bridge as they also wanted bridges to connect to North Padre Island. The people of Galveston celebrated the bridge until the first time there was an accident on it, causing it to be closed for evaluation.
The draw bridge at the center was damaged in September and again in May When these damages happened, the bridge was closed for a week. Every time an accident happened on the bridge, the engineer would have to run out and evaluate the damage to it, which meant they would have to close it.
The Galveston Bay Wagon Bridge was destroyed by the hurricane its first encounter with severe weather , and again Galveston was left without a connection to the main land. Currently, the longest bridge over a waterway in Texas is the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge at 12, Although it was destroyed, the Galveston Bay Wagon Bridge bridge showed people that it was possible to build a bridge that would attract tourism to the area. Today, bays like Lavaca, Nueces and Galveston Bay now have bridges that provide a safe crossing for the public.
Skip to main content Skip to footer. Exact matches only. Search in title. Search in content. Search in excerpt.
ASCE Texas Section supports and encourages the equitable opportunity for participation of all people within the civil engineering profession without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, or physical challenges. Connect With Us. Contact S. Become a member today!
0コメント