Bridge News January 2021
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
State Aid Bridge News January 2021 (Carrolton Township Bridge 23536, Heron Rd. over the South Branch of the Root River, Fillmore County, Minnesota, a winner of the 2019 MnDOT - AGC Bridge Construction Awards.) Bridge Inspection General In the 2020 MnDOT Bridge Inspection Seminars, the afternoon session for Program Adminis- Contents: trators focused on a SIMS tutorial and a Bridge Inspection Program Administrator Checklist (PDF). Another thorough resource to supplement the PA checklist is the Bridge and Structure • Bridge Inspection General (pg. 1-2) Inspection Program Manual (BSIPM) (PDF). Also, at the PA session a presentation on “Stuff • Fatigue Study Update (pg. 2-3) You Should Now” as a PA was delivered. We would encourage all designated PA’s to revisit • Bridge Maintenance (pg. 3-4) this presentation and other available PA materials and resources before each new inspection season to assure your local bridge inspection program remains fully compliant from year to • Bridge Hydraulic News (pg. 4-5) year. But always remember MnDOT staff in the Bridge Inventory Management Unit and • MCEA County Engineers Bridge Committee Bridge Inspection Unit, along with State Aid Bridge and your DSAE are available to advise and Update (pg. 5-6) to help you through situations that can obstruct or distract your efforts to fulfill the NBIS • Local BRIM Update (pg. 6) regulations. And, our friendly FHWA Bridge Engineer, Tim Anderson is your key resource with related NBIS matters and other FHWA Bridge programs. Tim’s contact information can be • 2020 Featured Local Bridge Projects (pg. 7) found on the FHWA Minnesota Division Staff Directory webpage. Tim works closely with the • Local Historic Bridge Update, Kern Bridge Bridge Office and State Aid to assure there’s a path to keep the local bridge program growing (pg. 8 ) while meeting federal regulations. • Major Local Bridge Projects Update (pg. 9) We’re also very excited to add additional local bridge inspection resources to bolster the • Local Timber Bridge Update (pg. 10) needed support for local bridge owners. We have placed an article under “Routine Local Bridge Safety Inspection Assistance Update” in this State Aid Bridge News, detailing the who, • Quality Plan Process (pg. 10-11) what, and when on these new SA Regional Team Leader positions. In the 2021 Bridge Inspec- • Pile Corrosion Update (pg. 11-12) tion Seminars, these positions will likely be discussed and further disclosed. Other important • Bridge Standards Update (pg. 12-13) topics in the virtual 2021 seminars will include: fatigue detail screening and inspection, and we have placed an article on “Fatigue Study Update” in this newsletter as well. The seminar • Routine Local Bridge Safety Inspection Assistance Update (pg. 13-14) will also cover pile and pier cap inspection, with a heavy focus on CIP and Steel pile corro- sion. Because steel pile corrosion is a hot topic in the local bridge world, we have also placed • Local Standard Bridge Plans Update (pg. 14) an article entitled “Pile Corrosion Update” in this newsletter too. We are developing and • Rural Bridge Project (pg. 15) instituting additional pile corrosion protection policies for the LRFD Bridge Design Manual and other MnDOT resource manuals. • Local Bridge Replacement Program (pg. 15-16) Please reference MnDOT’s Bridge Inspection webpage for your training and certification • Bridge Cost Update (pg. 16) needs. The 2021 Bridge Safety Inspection Refresher Training Live Online registration infor- mation can be accessed at https://mnscu.rschooltoday.com/public/getclass/ • Load Rating and Permitting Update (pg. 17-18) category_id/896/program_id/49/subcategory_id/3622. Note, under the Bridge Inspection General topic, we typically discuss opportunities for train- ing, PA and TL responsibilities, and other related hot topics to understand and overcome. However, we thought it was timely to give you a recent representative example of great teamwork on Wilkin County Bridge 84508 involving Brian Noetzelman, Wilkin County Engi- neer, the MnDOT Bridge Office Fracture Critical (FC) Bridge Inspection Staff, the Steel Fabri- cation Methods Engineer, the State Bridge Construction Engineer, SA Bridge, and MnDOT D4. (continue on page 2) 1 ...continued, Bridge Inspection General Back in late October 2020, during the pin and hanger assembly inspection for Bridge 84508, we discovered multiple fatigue induced cracks at sever- al steel girder-diaphragm connection locations. The inspection photos were further evaluated by the Bridge Office, and it became apparent these connections exhibited classic fatigue prone details and steel cracking. To safeguard against future fatigue crack propagations into the main steel girders, a remedial repair plan was crafted and communicated with Brian Noetzelman, MnDOT D4, and the Bridge Office. This plan includes MnDOT D4 assistance with the repairs (e.g. drilling crack arrestor holes), and a future inspection plan to revisit these locations and other fatigue prone de- tail areas more often. The more frequent inspection effort will be supported by the FC Bridge Inspection staff with snooper and snooper operator needs under the Master Partnership Agreement with Wilkin County. To keep Wilkin County’s Team Leader well involved in the inspection process, they will be working along side MnDOT in the snooper bucket. The main point here, it takes good teamwork and collaboration with multiple part- ners involved to overcome the many challenges we all face with local bridge inspection work. We’re also very fortunate to have excellent and well- trained local bridge consultant support in the local bridge inspection arena. Wilkin County Bridge (Bridge 84508) CSAH 33 over the Red River of the North near the City of Wolverton. Constructed in 1974, the bridge consists of three spans with six rolled steel girders and twelve pin & hanger assemblies. During the scheduled 2020 MnDOT pin and hanger assembly inspection, fatigue cracks were discovered in several steel girder diaphragm connections. MnDOT D4, Wilkin County, and the Bridge Office developed a structural repair plan to arrest cracks and soften the connection details. Fatigue Study Update We are happy to report the Local Bridge Fatigue Detail Study has been completed by Collins Engineers Inc. In our 2019 State Aid Bridge News (PDF) we placed an article on the fatigue study, see pages 12-13. To briefly recap the purpose of the study, in coordination with the County Engineers Bridge Com- mittee, we wanted to have Minnesota’s steel local bridges inventoried for fatigue prone details. We agreed that susceptible locally owned bridges should be inventoried for fatigue prone details and tracked for potential steel cracking. We have posted a short PowerPoint presentation on the Fatigue Detail Study and the Final Study Report on the State Aid Bridge Resources webpage. We look forward to presenting the PowerPoint live someday at future State Aid district meetings. Until then, you can hear all about steel fatigue details from Peter Wilson, MnDOT’s Fracture Critical Team Leader Specialist, at the virtual 2021 Bridge Safety Inspection Re- fresher Training Sessions in February and March 2021. Registration and information can be found at https://mnscu.rschooltoday.com/public/ getclass/category_id/896/program_id/49/ subcategory_id/3622. (continue on page 3) Chapter B – Bridge Inspection Field Manual 2 ...continued, Fatigue Study Update Regarding the Local Bridge Fatigue Detail Study Final Report, here are a few tidbits about the report findings. We have approximately 1,400 local bridges on the inventory that have steel beam or truss superstructures. Recognizing a majority of these bridges will have steel fatigue prone details with no potential issues or with a low frequency of crack occurrence and a low consequence of cracking, the study incorporated a screening process to narrow down the bridge list. The screening process included factors, such as ADT to account for consequence and likeli- hood of fatigue. Also, the year built was considered in the screening process. We know around 1986 the AASHTO bridge design specifications incorporated practical procedures to more accurately reflect the actual fatigue conditions in steel bridges. The screening process resulted in approximately 150 local bridges to be evaluated and ranked for steel fatigue details. Collins Engineers Inc. developed fatigue detail reporting forms for each bridge listed in the Final Study Report. The forms identify the fatigue details present on the bridge, the fatigue prone detail rank in order from 1 to 4, with 1 representing the least potential for performance problems or failure, and 4 rep- resenting the most. The forms also include the total fatigue bridge rank which is the summation of the individual fatigue detail ranks. It’s most useful for the purpose of identifying those bridges with multiple problematic fatigue details. Please note, the data on the fatigue detail reporting forms has been uploaded into the SIMS (Structure Information Management Sys- tem) SIA (Structural Inventory and Appraisal) One Column (steel fatigue data) form. Also, the BIMU (Bridge Inventory Management Unit) will add a Steel Cracking (element #882) to the bridge inspection report for the 2021 inspection year. This added element will need to be properly evaluated and coded per the MnDOT Bridge Inspection Field Manual and the Bridge and Structure Inspection Program Manual (BSIPM) (PDF) . Lastly, even though we performed a statewide local bridge fatigue detail study, there could potentially