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Redesign Plans

Page history last edited by nguy0737@... 15 years, 11 months ago

 This page belongs to Hoang Uyen.

 

 

Redesign Plans

 

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, a couple of minutes past 6:00 p.m., the unthinkable happened.  Bridge 9340, the 35W Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed.  Nevertheless, as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and many others have said, "We will rebuild."  Redesign plans for the 35W Bridge have been chosen, and the building of the new 35W Bridge is currently underway.

 

 

Governor Tim Pawlenty 

by flickr user marcn

 

 

The New I-35W Bridge Design

 

With the building of the new 35W Bridge, many are asking what it will look like.  Will it look like the old bridge or be totally different?  Will it be more safe and sturdy?  Many more questions have been asked pertaining to the new bridge.  There are many features of the new bridge including a 100-year life span, hence spanning until 2108.  There will be a total of ten lanes of traffic, five lanes in each direction.  This is an increase of lanes from the former bridge, which had two lanes less.  The previous bridge was 113 feet wide.  The new bridge will be 129 feet wide.  The previous bridge had no shoulder lanes.  The new bridge will include 13 foot wide right shoulders and 14 foot wide left shoulders.  Looking ahead in the far future, the new 35W Bridge will be ready to accomodate future transportation needs like Light Rail Transportation.  The new 35W Bridge was designed to be aesthetically pleasing and fit in with its environment.  The design-build project is to be completed in a total of 437 days.  (Mn/DOT 1-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge site, 2008, p. 1) [1]

 

 

Bridge Rebuild Timeline

 

The design-build project is to be completed in 437 days and set to open by December 24, 2008.  "[The former] bridge carried more than 140,000 vehicles a day and the loss of the bridge is costing $400,000 per day in lost revenue, increased commuter expenses and burden on surrounding roads." (Mn/DOT 1-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge site, 2008, p. 1) [2]  Therefore, Mn/DOT has chosen to accelerate the delivery of the 35W Bridge project using the design-build procurement process.  "Design-build brings designers and contractors together early in the project development process. Quality design-build projects differ from traditional design-bid-build projects in that they allow for the overlapping of design and construction. That means construction can begin after only a portion of the final detailed design has been completed. By using the design-build method for the I-35W bridge replacement project, Mn/DOT be able to deliver the project sooner than later." (Mn/DOT Interstate 35W Bridge - Rebuild Plans site, 2008, p. 1) [3]

 

There are some benefits of the design-build process, which include [4]:

  • Shortened completion time by overlapping design and construction
  • Construction can begin before all design details are final
  • Greater innovation and flexibility in selecting design, materials and construction methods
  • Reduced claims due to design errors because construction happens under same contract
  • Accelerated response time and dispute resolution through a team effort
  • Single contact point for quality, cost and schedule from design through construction
  • Shortened project delivery time which can reduce user costs 

 

Mn/DOT has awarded six Best-Value design-build projects since 2001, which include [5]:

  • Highway 212 in the west Twin Cities Metro, $238 million
  • ROC 52 in Rochester, $232 million
  • I-494 in the west Twin Cities Metro, $135 million
  • Highway 52 in Oronoco, $37 million
  • Highway 10/32 in Hawley, $8.6 million
  • District 4 Signs, $1.0 million

 

"Based on the success of Mn/DOT’s current and past design-build projects, Mn/DOT is confident that using design-build on the I-35W project will result in a quality project being constructed in record time." (Mn/DOT Interstate 35W Bridge - Rebuild Plans site, 2008, p. 1) [6]

 

 

Design Selection

 

There are many design components to a bridge, including color and lighting.  As mentioned previously, the new 35W Bridge was designed to be aesthetically pleasing and fit in with its environment.  Detailed features of the new bridge include [7]: 

 

  • Bridge pier
  • Retaining walls
  • Gateway Monuments
  • Railing
  • Bridge color
  • Bridge lighting

 

Taking a closer look at the aesthetic design selection and features, a synopsis includes: "The pier shape is reflective curves with the dominant curve shaping along the length of the bridge, tapering from 30' to 11' to 30'. (11' depth at the center of the main span over the river). This pier shape is about the form and tying a continuous curve directly into the superstructure, while framing the river. The proportions reflect strength and elegance in their unique design. Two main piers features observation platforms curved along the river's edge. The superstructure concrete box girder is a closed shape with inclined walls and smooth surfaces of continuous flat planes. The appearance underneath is a sweeping form with the shape and concrete material creating a visually clean and quiet space below the bridge. . . .  The use of local stone to face the retaining walls was clearly preferred. . . . [Gateway monuments] entranceways of the bridge. . . . Fully open railings were selected. . . .  preferred a white color for the new bridge. . . . the Visual Quality Advisory Team for the project to make a final decision on lighting"  (Mn/DOT I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge - Visualization site, 2008, p. 1) [8]

 

How the selections came to be: "Residents, business and community members, representatives from the parks, preservation and arts communities, as well as various elected and appointed officials from local, state and federal governments voted at a community workshop on various aspects of the bridge design including pier shape, lighting and color." (Mn/DOT Interstate 35W Bridge - Rebuild design choices site, 2008, p. 1) [9]   

 

 

Redesign Team 

 

"Mn/DOT is working with the Flatiron-Manson Joint Venture and FIGG Bridge Engineers to build the new I-35W Bridge." (Mn/DOT Interstate 35W Bridge - Rebuild Plans site, 2008, p. 1) [10]

 

Flatiron 

"Flatiron Construction Corp. is a family of companies specializing in transportation and heavy civil construction projects both on a national scale and in local districts in North America.  Our experience encompasses major bridge and highway projects, toll roads, light and heavy rail transit, tunnels, and other infrastructure projects.  Flatiron is consistently ranked among the top bridge and highway builders in North America." (Flatiron Construction Corp. - About Us site, 2008, p. 1) [11]

 

Manson

"Peter Manson, an enterprising Swedish immigrant, put together a floating pile driver just after the turn of the century.  By 1905 he was engaged full-time with the pile driving and waterfront construction scene around Puget Sound.  Through good times and bad, Manson Constructions formed an enviable reputation for good, honest, hard work which was completed in a timely manner. . . . The leadership of the company has been family oriented for 100 years, beginning with Peter Manson, then his son, Harry Manson, then Elmer Edwards, followed by Peter Haug, Glenn Edwards and now ably directed by Chairman E. P. Paup, and President Eric Haug." (Manson Construction - History site, 2008, p. 1) [12] 

 

FIGG

"For almost 30 years, FIGG has designed world-class bridges for our customers that advanced the science of engineering and the art of design.  Focusing on unique solutions, we created distinctive landmarks that express the spirit of the communities and environments they serve, while saving money for our customers and setting enduring records for engineering achievement. . . . FIGG is solely dedicated to bridges. . . . The FIGG Team's passion for creating bridges as art has provided our customers with over 260 design awards."  (Figg Engineering Group - Company Information Firm History site, 2008, p. 1) [13]

 

Other projects of the three companies include: Flatiron's Washington Bypass, John James Audubon Bridge, and1-10 Bridges over Escambia Bay (Flatiron Construction Corp. - Projects site, 2008, p. 1) [14]; Manson's Berths 32/33 Wharf Rehabilitation, Pierce County Terminal, and Berth 22 Wharf (Manson Construction Projects site, 2008, p. 1) [15]; FIGG's Biloxi I-110, JFK Light Rail System, and Broadway Bridge (FIGG Engineering Group - Bridge Gallery site, 2008, p. 1) [16]  

 

 

Fun Facts

48,700 cubic yards of ready-mix concrete will be used to build the new bridge

That's eight miles of a two-lane concrete road!
There will be approximately 15,800,000 pounds of steel reinforcing bars in the new bridge.
This is equivalent to the weight of 2,106 full grown male elephants!

(Mn/DOT I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge - Fun Facts site, 2008, p. 1) [17]

 

 

Resources:

  1.  http://projects.dot.state.mn.us/35wbridge/index.html  Features of the new bridge

  2.  http://projects.dot.state.mn.us/35wbridge/index.html  Why are we building this bridge so fast?

  3.  http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/rebuild/designbuild.html  Design-build

  4.  http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/rebuild/designbuild.html  Some of the benefits of the design-build process

  5.  http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/rebuild/designbuild.html  Best-Value design-build projects...and their value

  6.  http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/rebuild/designbuild.html  Based on the success

  7.  http://projects.dot.state.mn.us/35wbridge/visual.html  Detailed features of the new bridge

  8.  http://projects.dot.state.mn.us/35wbridge/visual.html  Visualization

  9.  http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/rebuild/designchoices.html  How was the design selected?  

10.  http://www.dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/rebuild/designbuild.html  Four contracting teams

11.  http://www.flatironcorp.com/about.html  About Us

12.  http://www.mansonconstruction.com/manson_marine_constuction_history.html Manson History

13.  http://www.figgbridge.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IRMAProjectSite.woa/wa/view?site=Figg%20Engineering%20Group§ion=Company%20Information# Company Information Firm History 

14.  http://www.flatironcorp.com/projects-bridges.html Projects

15.  http://www.mansonconstruction.com/manson_projects.html Projects

16.  http://www.figgbridge.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IRMAProjectSite.woa/wa/view?site=Figg%20Engineering%20Group§ion=Bridge%20Gallery  Bridge Gallery 

17.  http://projects.dot.state.mn.us/35wbridge/funFacts.html  Fun Facts

 

 

Comments (2)

brow1769@... said

at 10:06 pm on Apr 20, 2008

Hi Hoang!

Your page is very well written - there were no major typos, etc. There were a few places where I think your writing could be more succinct to reflect the technical writing aspect of this course - I'm not really sure though how we are supposed to go about this. Perhaps your style is just fine - it reads well, but I don't really know if that is how we are writing up our information. An example would be in the first paragraph when you are writing about the collapse. Just something to consider - I can talk with you more about this if you want more input or the other specific examples from later in the page... ;)

brow1769@... said

at 10:08 pm on Apr 20, 2008

Sorry, by "not sure how we are supposed to go about this" I meant that I'm not sure what type of "voice" we are really supposed to be using here. I tried to be very succinct and "technical" and my editor wanted more elaboration on sentences, so it can go both ways and I plan to talk to krista about it.

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