   
|
|
| Project Name: | Bridge Replacement on a Local Road over Pothole Creek |
| Location: | 1 mile west of Welling, AB |
Previous Structure: 3 span, 3 x 8.5 m type PES girder bridge on a concrete substructure.
New Structure: 3 span, 8 m – 10 m – 8 m type SL precast girder bridge on a steel substructure.
The existing bridge had fire damage and exhibited multiple issues including cracked girders and rot in the piles and pile caps. It was nearing the end of its life span.
We discovered an unexpected issue during the bridge design, that is, high bedrock. Although the site was around 100 km away from the mountains where you would normally see this issue, the bottom of the streambed was essentially low quality bedrock. Since standard bridges are pre-designed with a minimum of 5 m pile length (below the streambed) the high bedrock invalidated the standard bridge design.
But a major bridge design costs significantly more, and we realized this was a good place to save the County some money. We designed a cast-in-place concrete pile substructure together with the standard type SL superstructure. Our experience in mountainous terrain gave us a unique insight to perform a design that was compatible with the site and the owner.
The cast-in-place concrete piles were drilled into the bedrock, the holes were cleaned, steel H-piles were inserted, and concrete poured. This solution was covered by Alberta Transportation specifications.
The new bridge structure is an excellent solution for the site. It was tendered well below budget, completed well before the deadline, and allows Cardston County to “forget about the bridge” for a few decades (at least). Alberta’s standard type SL bridges will last 75 years (comfortably) and take one less expenditure out of the County’s planning forecast.
At Roseke Engineering Ltd. we love to assist Counties in making their bridge programs more efficient, cheaper, and effective.
You shouldn’t have to spend alot of money so you can keep spending more. We are here to help you deliver your bridge program efficiently and cost effectively. Our bridge team specializes in County/M.D. bridges:
Bernie Roseke, P.Eng., PMP is the founder and president of Roseke Engineering Ltd. He has 20 years experience in the design of rural bridges, culverts, and drainage structures, primarily for Counties, M.D.’s and Alberta Transportation.
Levi Ober, P.L.(Eng.) is our bridge manager and responsible for delivering bridge projects on time and budget. He has 14 years experience in the assessment, design and construction supervision experience on County, M.D. and Alberta Transportation bridges. He has designed every type of standard bridge and bridge sized culvert, and he is a certified class B bridge inspector.
Riley Johnson, T.T. is our junior bridge technologist. He has assisted with design and performed construction supervision services on numerous bridge projects, and his enthusiasm for bridge work is very high.