1234 2Nd Quarter Consultant 2010:November-December 2005.Qxd

For an electronic version of the “Consultant” log on to www.wsnelson.com 4 Page 2nd Quarter, 2010

A check was presented to Children’s Hospital New Orleans during the volleyball tourna- ment and telethon held in June at Coconut Beach

Representatives from Children’s Hospital joined employees at the Bar-B-Q in recognition of the Company’s long time support of Volume 53 2nd Quarter 2010 Children’s Hospital. A Tale of Three Bridges By: Charles W. Nelson, P.E.

hen travelling east out of Employees raised money for New Orleans to get to Children’s Hospital New Orleans WMississippi, a driver has by having lunchtime Bar-B-Q’s three options: U.S. Hwy 11 across the and Bake Sales during the month 'Five Mile Bridge', Interstate 10 across the of May. 'Twin Span', or U. S. Hwy 90 across the Chef Menteur bridge. This article discuss- es a bit of the history of those three bridges - not just the chronological history, but also the SURVIVAL history. The 'Five Mile Bridge' on Hwy 11 was the brainchild of Louisiana businessmen who recognized the opportunity to put to work the old adage that 'time is money'. For someone wanting to travel by car to Mississippi from Louisiana in the 1920's, it meant an indirect route around Lake Pontchartrain, along its shoreline to Hammond, then east through St. Tammany Fig 1. Watson-Williams, or Hwy 11 Bridge Parish to Mississippi. This invited a business venture to shorten the route, charge a Reinforced concrete longitudinal girders erating drawings with pen and India ink on fee for the savings in time realized, and span from pile cap to pile cap, and support linen cloth. Construction equipment at the allow motorists of the day to choose a 10” reinforced concrete slab overlain by time would have included wooden barges between time and money. The realization a 1 ½” rock asphalt surface. Ford, Bacon and steam powered cranes and pile drivers. of that economic model resulted in a pri- and Davis were the design engineers, and Chronologically speaking, the next vate bridge longer than any in the world at Elliot and Harmon Engineering Company bridge to discuss is the U. S. Hwy 90 its time. It was called the Watson- were consultants. Figure 1 seems to indi- bridge at Chef Menteur Pass. It, and its Williams Bridge by its owners. cate that the 35’ x 33’ roadway sections companion bridge at the Rigolets, at the

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED SERVICE RETURN The bridge was built by the Raymond were pre-cast, but this is not known defin- eastern end of the eight mile Chef Menteur NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130 LA ORLEANS, NEW Concrete Pile Company as a 4.78 mile itively. Island, were built between 1921 and 1928

1200 ST. CHARLES AVENUE CHARLES ST. 1200 long, 33 foot wide structure and opened on Two double leaf bascule bridges were under a campaign promise completed by Feb. 18, 1928 at a cost of $6,000,000. The installed, one spanning 106’ about 2500’ then Gov. Huey Long to have 'free bridges'

construction system included 2’ x 2’ and 2’ from the South shore, and one spanning in the state of Louisiana. This promise

Permit No. 650 No. Permit x 2’6” reinforced concrete piles having an 150’ located about 6000’ from the North stuck hard, as research shows that of the

New Orleans, La. Orleans, New average length of 73.7 ft and average pen- shore. Toll booths were located on the 15,150 bridges in the watery state of

A D PAI etration of 60.5 ft below Mean Gulf Level western end of the bridge, and the toll was Louisiana, only three have tolls - the

U.S. POSTAGE U.S. (MGL). Pile bents had four piles each, $1.25 per vehicle plus $.10 per passenger. Crescent City Connection across the PRSRT STD PRSRT and were spaced at 35’ centers, supporting This bridge was designed by engineers Mississippi at New Orleans, the Sunshine reinforced concrete pile caps. (Figure 1) using slide rules and log tables, likely gen- Bridge across the Mississippi in St. Page 2 2nd Quarter, 2010 2nd Quarter, 2010 Page 3

German Autobahn built by Hitler, which pass east of the Lake, the storm's counter- Eisenhower may have realized was a key clockwise rotating winds pushed this six were strung through the holes by divers; In Memoriam to not only military movement, but also foot surcharge of water to the south for at the span was lifted out of the water by THE CONSULTANT® commerce. The I-10 Twin Span was built least 24 hours, reaching 11 feet at New crane, and placed on a transport barge for WALDEMAR S. NELSON AND COMPANY using lessons learned from the earlier Lake Orleans. Above this storm surge rode transport to shore for demolition. The Incorporated 'Goldhofer' trailers were also used to re-set Engineers and Architects Pontchartrain Causeway, which is worthy wind-driven waves which by physical 1200 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130 spans pirated from the northernmost Telephone: (504) 523-5281 Fax:(504) 523-4587 of its own discussion. Spans were 65 ft. principal can grow to about 38% of the www.wsnelson.com bridge of the twin span. 2 Northpoint Dr., Ste. 300 long, and pre-cast roadway panels were water depth on which they ride before Houston, TX 77060-3235 placed between these, as is the practice for breaking. The Hwy 90 bridge at Chef Menteur Telephone: (281) 999-1989 Fax:(281) 999-6757 many elevated roadways across Louisiana. When this onslaught hit the Hwy 11 had its own unique history of Katrina- Waldemar S. Nelson, P.E. (1916-2005) related damage. This bridge has a deck Charles W. Nelson, P.E. President and Chairman Designers of the time no doubt had early bridge (the northern-most and oldest of the Kenneth H. Nelson, P.E. Secretary elevation of +/-15 ft, and would not have James B. Lane, P.E. Treasurer computer programs to assist with the struc- three), little happened. The lower eleva- Thomas G. Ehrlicher, P.E. Executive Vice President Virginia N. Dodge Assistant Secretary tural designs, and a bevy of 'board drafter- tion and solid construction of the two-lane been totally submerged during Hurricane Wayne J. Hingle, P.E. Sr. Vice President Robert J. Leaber, Jr., P.E. Sr. Vice President Katrina. Due to the restrictions of Chef Arthur J. Smith, III, P.E. Sr. Vice President s' to depict their designs for delivery to the bridge served it well during this test. Peter M. Smith, P.E. Sr. Vice President Menteur pass, it would not have been sub- David R. Stewart, P.E. Sr. Vice President constructors selected to build the bridges. Minor damage to guardrails on the bridge Thomas W. Wells, P.E. Sr. Vice President jected to the same severity of wave action Michael D. Harbison,P.E. Vice President One design element apparently not consid- were likely caused by floating debris, boats Barton W. Harris, P.E. Vice President as the Interstate 10 bridge, although it is in Stephen O. Johns, P.E. Vice President ered by its designers must have been a most likely, which would have been blown Lyle F. Kuhlmann, P.E. Vice President Joseph R.Lawton, III P.E.,PMP Vice President question thought to be unlikely: what hap- into, on and over the bridge. This damage much deeper water. The physical effect A. Pierre Olivier, P.E. Vice President Stephen M. Pumilla, P.E Vice President governing this is limited 'fetch', or travel Clifton A..Snow, Jr.P.E. Vice President pens if it gets hit by a hurricane which puts was quickly cleared, and the Hwy 11 Louis W. Conner, P.E. Assistant Vice President distance for wind to build a wave in water R. Kent Davis, P.E Assistant Vice President it underwater? bridge became a primary access route from Anthony D. Hoffman, P.E. Assistant Vice President of a given depth. The 1930's era Chef Leanne M. Methe, P.E. Assistant Vice President The survival history of these three eastern New Orleans to Slidell for months Jack H. Neelis, II, P.E. Assistant Vice President Donald J. Guidry, P.E. Robert C. Olivier, A.I.A Assistant Vice President bridges is the topic of the remainder of this after the storm. Menteur bridge survived well during Stephen E. Prados, P.E. Assistant Vice President Fig. 3 - I-10 Twin Spans August 19, 1944 - May 20, 2010 R. Bradford Rogers, PE. Assistant Vice President article. Their test came during Hurricane The Interstate 10 bridges did not fare Katrina. Structural damage was minimal, William E. Rushing Jr. P.E. Assistant Vice President Looking East Wayne D. Talley, P.E. Assistant Vice President Katrina, which attacked Louisiana in late so well. At 10 ft above normal lake level, but mechanical and electrical systems Ronald J. Villere, PMP Assistant Vice President It is with deep regret that we share the August of 2005 from the east, traveling they were submerged when Katrina repairs were months in coming, due to other priorities in the rebuilding effort and news of the passing of Don Guidry, a long Charles Parish, and the Lake Pontchartrain across the Gulf of Mexico for 5 days whipped the Lake to its frenzy. Waves run- realignments were needed to adjust spans the fact that 90 percent of the buildings on time and valued member of our firm, fol- Causeway. before making landfall. The eye of the ning hard south from the day's long thrust which were offset between 2 " and 20'. Chef Menteur Island, which the bridge lowing his valiant battle with cancer. A The ‘Chef’ bridge at Hwy 90 has two storm hit Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, about of the hurricane winds would have piled 10 Thirty-eight spans were removed and services, were destroyed. devoted husband, father and grandfather, approaches of reinforced concrete on con- 60 miles east of New Orleans. The storm foot plus waves on top of the storm still replaced, mostly using less damaged spans For those interested in the history and he leaves behind his wife, Kathy; two crete piles, and two fixed riveted steel pushed Gulf of Mexico waters into the water level. Some theorize that these from the northern bridge. The easy survival of these three bridges, there are daughters, Leslie and Amy; and his son, Baltimore truss spans and one swing span. passes at the Rigolets and Chef Menteur waves caused uplift on the precast spans realignments (less than 5') were done by several lessons to be learned. First, the Rob, a member of our Mechanical The trusses sit on cylindrical concrete cais- until Lake Pontchartrain was filled to stretching between pile bents. A combina- jacking the span up, inserting Teflon slide oldest of the three bridges survived best. Department; as well as two brothers and sons which were cast in place inside steel about 6 feet above sea level. Then, in its tion of buoyant uplift and dynamic 'slam- plates under the girders, and sliding the Second, the newest suffered the greatest sisters. Don will be sadly missed by all of forms. (Fig. 2) They are 28’ in diameter, ming' of wave forces are hypothe- span back into position using hydraulic damage. Its inaccessibility caused mil- us at the company, and we extend our with 7’ walls and a 14’ center void. A ‘cut- sized as contributing to the damage jacks (Figure 4). The more difficult lions of dollars of losses, both in the heartfelt condolences to all the Guidry ting shoe’ 12’ long at the lower end of the of the Twin Span. A recent look at realignments used 'Goldhofer' hydraulic rebuilding and the disruption to commerce family. caisson allowed it to penetrate the bottom aerial photos of the post-Katrina trailers mounted on a barge to lift the for several years. And thirdly, the value of of the pass under its own weight, to depths damage encourages another theory: spans, allowing repositioning. For damaged infrastructure was brought into focus from 80’ to 140’ below MGL. The bridge wind-driven waves from the north aged spans needing removal, an excavator for our community post-Katrina. The is 979’7” long and carries a 20’ roadway. breaking on the northern span would with a hydraulic breaker punched holes in NELSON Design Helps Hwy 11 bridge carried all New It was designed by the Bridge Engineering have travelled south, exerting enor- the 285 ton unit. Cables 3.5" in diameter Combat BP Leak Department of the Louisiana Highway mous lateral load on the southern Orleans/Mississippi traf- Commission and built by Frederick Snare spans - acting on both the north and fic after Katrina, and Corporation. Interestingly, when opened, the south guard rails, which were today carries 23,000 Watching BP webcasts of sever- the free Chef Bridge put the Watson- solid concrete walls three feet high. while the Interstate car- al attempts at controlling the flow of oil Williams toll bridge out of business and it This may explain the reason that on ries 43,000 vehicles per from their MC 252 discovery shows that was sold to the State of Louisiana for the South (eastbound) span, roadway day. Such situations a key tool at attacking the problem has $940,000. panels were displaced to the south by must exist throughout been the Q 4000 multi-service vessel. The last of the Tale of Three Bridges several feet, due to the force of the the United States, where NELSON was retained in August of 1999 is arguably a tale of TWO more bridges. water. (Fig. 3) The South span suf- older facilities often to provide professional engineering and About a mile south of the Five Mile fered greater overall damage as become the stepchildren project management services for the Bridge is the U.S. Interstate 10 bridge, numerous roadway panels were of our infrastructure. mechanical and hull systems designed for recently rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. knocked completely loose from their Planners and engineers this unique vessel. Its excellent station- The original 'Twin Span' bridge was built supporting bents. alike are well served by keeping ability, large deck space and high during the nation's Interstate Highway and Despite the damage to the twin determining which of deck load capacity have been well suited Defense Program initiated by President span bridges, emergency repairs by our past infrastructure for water depths up to 10,000 feet. Eisenhower upon his election to lead the Boh Brothers Construction Company investments can be General details of the vessel appear in our Fig. 2 Chef Menteur Bridge extended at reasonable Consultant issue for November/ nation following World War II. The pro- restored traffic on the southern span Fig. 4: Jacking Spans Back In Place gram was to emulate the efficiency of the Pier No. 1 Details in an amazing 28 days. 172 span cost for continued service. December of 1999, available at (Photo Courtesy of Boh Bros.) www.wsnelson.com. Page 2 2nd Quarter, 2010 2nd Quarter, 2010 Page 3

A check was presented to Children’s Hospital New Orleans during the volleyball tourna- ment and telethon held in June at Coconut Beach

construction system included 2’ x 2’ and 2’ from the South shore, and one spanning in the state of Louisiana. This promise

Permit No. 650 No. Permit x 2’6” reinforced concrete piles having an 150’ located about 6000’ from the North stuck hard, as research shows that of the

New Orleans, La. Orleans, New average length of 73.7 ft and average pen- shore. Toll booths were located on the 15,150 bridges in the watery state of

A D PAI etration of 60.5 ft below Mean Gulf Level western end of the bridge, and the toll was Louisiana, only three have tolls - the