Indiana Highway RV Torture Test
I apologize to any Indianans that might take offense to the following. In my experience, year in and year out, over decades, Indiana has the worst highway to bridge transitions in America. Worse t...
Forum Discussion
All bridges have expansion joints. These allow for contraction and expansion of the bridge with weather changes. But they must also allow for changes in the bridge loading as vehicles drive on/off the bridge. But with the movement they all wear out and need to be replaced.
In recent years Washington DOT has had a number of major expansion joint replacement projects. Doing so on a busy interstate requires a lot of planning. To minimize disruptions they tend to do the work on weekends and nights.
Here's a description of a recent project replacing 41 joints on a section of I5 north of Seattle. That's in just a couple of miles. The expected life of the new joints is 25 years.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/unionsteamboatebeybridgerpr/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/albums/72157651361592146
Expansion joints are problem with any bridge, but more so on heavily traveled interstates with all those overpasses.
Photos of a large expansion joint replacement on I90 bridge
I don't know about Indiana, but here in Washington we have this little thing called competitive bidding. I also suspect that major projects that require Federal Highway dollars are subject to Federal review, both for design and execution. If there is buddy rigging, it is more likely to occur in small jurisdictions, towns and counties, than at the state level.
Even new expansion joints can fail
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28715151
In January a cold snap caused a new cable stayed bridge in Ontario to contract and broke bolts holding the expansion joint together. That end of the bridge lifted several feet. The temporary fix was to load that end with tons of concrete barrier blocks. A longer term fix uses a tie down rods. Evaluation of the bolts is on going. As is the construction of the rest of the bridge.
In recent years Washington DOT has had a number of major expansion joint replacement projects. Doing so on a busy interstate requires a lot of planning. To minimize disruptions they tend to do the work on weekends and nights.
Here's a description of a recent project replacing 41 joints on a section of I5 north of Seattle. That's in just a couple of miles. The expected life of the new joints is 25 years.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/unionsteamboatebeybridgerpr/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/albums/72157651361592146
Expansion joints are problem with any bridge, but more so on heavily traveled interstates with all those overpasses.
Photos of a large expansion joint replacement on I90 bridge
I don't know about Indiana, but here in Washington we have this little thing called competitive bidding. I also suspect that major projects that require Federal Highway dollars are subject to Federal review, both for design and execution. If there is buddy rigging, it is more likely to occur in small jurisdictions, towns and counties, than at the state level.
Even new expansion joints can fail
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28715151
In January a cold snap caused a new cable stayed bridge in Ontario to contract and broke bolts holding the expansion joint together. That end of the bridge lifted several feet. The temporary fix was to load that end with tons of concrete barrier blocks. A longer term fix uses a tie down rods. Evaluation of the bolts is on going. As is the construction of the rest of the bridge.
