Wakota Bridge Monitoring Program

Principal Investigator:

Arturo Schultz, Professor, Civil Engineering

Project Summary:

The goal of this project is to describe the instrumentation and monitoring plan for Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Bridge 82855, which carries the eastbound lanes of trunk highway 494 over the Mississippi River, as well as the Union Pacific Railroad (milepoint 347.56) and Verderosa Avenue. Researchers intend to supplement the instrumentation and monitoring plan with (1) the instruments installed in Piers 2 and 4 of the Wakota Bridge as part of Task 6 of ongoing MnDOT Contract 89261, Work Order 97 (Bridge Health Monitoring and Inspection - A Survey of Methods), and (2) the strain gauges that are to be installed in Spans 3 and 4 of the superstructure as part of Task 10 (which has been added to MnDOT contract 89261 by amendment). The overall goal of the program is to study the effects of temperature variations on the forces in the structure of Bridge 82855, and to use these field observations to verify and possibly modify current procedures in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Load and Resistance Factor Design Bridge Specifications. This proposal addresses the data acquisition equipment, the remaining instrumentation of the superstructure (convergence meters), and the monitoring program used to collect and analyze data.

Sponsor:

Project Details: