Started By
Message

re: Paging OT Engineers…Dragline Hits Bridge and Bends Metal Girder

Posted on 11/5/23 at 7:21 pm to
Posted by OGhunter777
Member since Mar 2012
790 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 7:21 pm to
Nah not a good case to take.
Posted by lsubuddy
houma, la
Member since Jul 2014
4320 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 8:00 pm to
Just months ago it was hit in the same area
Posted by Jim Rockford
Member since May 2011
98381 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 8:20 pm to
quote:

What's the computer game where you build bridges with the least amount of pieces and see if a heavy truck can drive over it?


"You have died of blunt force trauma."
Posted by Hu_Flung_Pu
Central, LA
Member since Jan 2013
22218 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 8:37 pm to
It's fine. Ends are in tact. Will just be monitored for overloads. They are overbuilt.
Posted by soccerfüt
Location: A Series of Tubes
Member since May 2013
65943 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 8:56 pm to
quote:

Also, genius driving the boat also struck a medical building’s awning on the Intracoastal when backing up.
Y’all might be kinfolk, you don’t “drive” a boat dummy.
Posted by rexorotten
Missouri
Member since Oct 2013
3935 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 9:21 pm to
Posted by Capt ST
Hotel California
Member since Aug 2011
12885 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 9:41 pm to
quote:

Just months ago it was hit in the same area


I don’t understand how this happens. You know the route, your load height and bridge clearances, pretty simple to figure out if it’s a go or no go.
Posted by Tarps99
Lafourche Parish
Member since Apr 2017
7570 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 9:47 pm to
quote:

OP - Where did you get that photo from?


I took the photo Saturday morning.

I did cross the bridge tonight. DOTD did leave some road closed signs on the shoulder on the top to deter someone from stopping on the shoulder up there.

quote:

Just months ago it was hit in the same area


Well a quick Google street view, just showed me that the bend has been there since at least May of 2022. The previous street view jumps to 2019 when it was not bent. A google search then turned up that it was hit in March of 2022 and DOTD closed one lane for 2 days and the reopened the lane 2 days later. So the damage is nearly 2 years old. I wonder if DOTD will fix it or just collect a check.




This post was edited on 11/5/23 at 10:02 pm
Posted by XenScott
Pensacola
Member since Oct 2016
3173 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 10:32 pm to
quote:

Still way safer than the Lake Charles bridge


That, and the old sunshine skyway when they were building the new one adjacent are/were scary. The old skyway was handling 2 way traffic on the surviving side. I don’t as a kid and we were down there for a week and had to cross it coming and going every day.
Posted by urinetrouble
Member since Oct 2007
20510 posts
Posted on 11/5/23 at 10:34 pm to
It’s probably the final result of whatever heat straightening fix they did in 2022.
Posted by Kadjin
edge of the basin
Member since Oct 2013
1251 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 6:35 am to
quote:

Additionally, the Houma tunnel is reported to be under water


At least that’s what my daddy told me 5000 times in the 89s
Posted by Armymann50
Playing with my
Member since Sep 2011
17197 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 6:58 am to
quote:

genius driving the boat


should pay for the repairs
Posted by CHEDBALLZ
South Central LA
Member since Dec 2009
21962 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 7:04 am to
There was another movie called A Gathering of Old Men that had a scene were they jumped that bridge with a dump truck.

Fun fact, until the parades moved to the Westside of Houma, the Houma Parades use to cross that bridge to get to the Westside.
Posted by DakIsNoLB
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2015
594 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 11:27 am to
15-year bridge engineer with a master's in structural engineering here.

All structures are designed for redundancy. This bridge has 5 beams, so it won't come down if that bent beam were to fail. Redundancy is required by code, so that's not an overdesign.

All structures are designed with resistance and load factors. Resistance factors reduce calculated capacity; load factors reduce calculated loads. Main loads are dead load (weight of the structure) and live loads. Dead and live are factored up 25% and 75%, respectively.

That beam is seeing compression at the top; tension at the bottom. While it doesn't look great, the tension condition at the bottom is what you want. Steel beams buckle in compression; not tension.

If I were assessing the safe load carrying capacity, I would use a reduced resistance factor (by code) and account for any damage/loss of section. It wouldn't not surprise me for it to come back as safe for traffic.

Yes, concrete is a completely different animal. As soon as it is cracked/fractured, it's done.
Posted by member12
Bob's Country Bunker
Member since May 2008
32123 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 11:29 am to
quote:

After initially closing the bridge for inspection, LaDOTD came back and said it was safe to drive over.


If that picture is the bridge in question...damn. That's pretty bent.
This post was edited on 11/6/23 at 11:30 am
Posted by Tarps99
Lafourche Parish
Member since Apr 2017
7570 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 12:09 pm to
quote:

If that picture is the bridge in question...damn. That's pretty bent.


And if you saw my updated post last night, come to find out it has been bent since 2022.

A engineer commented this morning about the bridge having redundancies since there are 5 beams.

I wonder if instead of using metal beams, they had used concrete beams, if it would it have still been safe. If memory serves me right, one of the I-10 bridges at the I-49 interchange was hit hard and caused some traffic nightmares. I don’t remember if it was a complete closure or if it was lane closures after the assessment. I know DOTD had to work over time fixing that one.
Posted by Hu_Flung_Pu
Central, LA
Member since Jan 2013
22218 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 12:15 pm to
quote:

beams, they had used concrete beams, if it would it have still been safe


No. Tension strands would likely be severed. Traffic would be likely one side with other side closed.
This post was edited on 11/6/23 at 12:17 pm
Posted by duckdude
Member since Apr 2016
392 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 12:18 pm to
Are those girders 36ksi and does the before mentioned "heat it and bend back" reduce the strength?

I ask just in general terms, I know there are things that could be done to strengthen after bending but I'm curious if the heat treatment in of itself would weaken the beam from it's original design strength.
Posted by DakIsNoLB
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2015
594 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 12:35 pm to
quote:

No. Tension strands would likely be severed. Traffic would be likely one side with other side closed.



Depends on the extent of the damage to both the concrete and the reinforcement/strands. If only a few get cut, it can still hold up. Still, damaged concrete worries me more than damaged steel. You can see the extent of the damage to steel, and you have options for heat-straightening, welding, and bolting type fixes. Concrete, not so much.
Posted by DakIsNoLB
Baton Rouge
Member since Sep 2015
594 posts
Posted on 11/6/23 at 12:36 pm to
quote:

I wonder if instead of using metal beams, they had used concrete beams, if it would it have still been safe. If memory serves me right, one of the I-10 bridges at the I-49 interchange was hit hard and caused some traffic nightmares. I don’t remember if it was a complete closure or if it was lane closures after the assessment. I know DOTD had to work over time fixing that one.


Concrete damage is much more difficult to fix.
first pageprev pagePage 3 of 4Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitterInstagram