I -40 Hernando Desoto Bridge at Memphis shutdown

[MikeTheActuary]

TDOTs making a few changes at the I-55/Crump Ave cloverleaf, preparing for the long haul it seems:

https://wreg.com/news/i-55-ramp-lanes-closed-at-crump-avenue-interchange-this-weekend/

[CtrlAltDel]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

[US71]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

Fixing the bridge may take months. Replacing it could take years.

[CtrlAltDel]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

Fixing the bridge may take months. Replacing it could take years.

I'm sorry. I meant replacing the beam not replacing the bridge.

[bwana39]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

The plates so I understand are just to stabilize / strengthen this bridge so they can get materials and equipment on the bridge build faleswork to remove and replace the entire 900' beam. Depending on what the find, they may replace the one on the other side of this span and possibly even the ones on the other arch.

[edwaleni]

The eastbound Buckman Bridge (I-295) in Jacksonville, Florida had a finger joint fail last week, boy did that bring in the agencies from all over.

You could tell they had the Hernando deSoto on their minds when they shut down the traffic and caused chaos west of the St John's river.

They did a temp repair with steel plating and some patching and reopened it in a few hours, but the attention it got from all of the engineering firms, DOT district engineers and inspection crews had to set a new record.

[bwana39]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

The plates so I understand are just to stabilize / strengthen this bridge so they can get materials and equipment on the bridge build faleswork to remove and replace the entire 900' beam. Depending on what the find, they may replace the one on the other side of this span and possibly even the ones on the other arch.

It appears they ARE NOT going to replace the whole beam. Looks like they are going to replace a short portion and reinforce is with extra plate.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/05/27/memphis-bridge-crack-closure-reopening-schedule-june/7475556002/

By the way they had a jumper shut down the I-55 bridge today for a while. It is back open but.....
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/local/police-activity-shuts-down-traffic-i-55-bridge/QU6JPFEIVBE6VMWALPG5SIZO6M/

[CtrlAltDel]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

The plates so I understand are just to stabilize / strengthen this bridge so they can get materials and equipment on the bridge build faleswork to remove and replace the entire 900' beam. Depending on what the find, they may replace the one on the other side of this span and possibly even the ones on the other arch.

It appears they ARE NOT going to replace the whole beam. Looks like they are boing to replace a short portion and reinforce is with extra plate.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/05/27/memphis-bridge-crack-closure-reopening-schedule-june/7475556002/

Interesting. I guess that makes the most sense given the desire to get the bridge back up and running this month.

[abqtraveler]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

The plates so I understand are just to stabilize / strengthen this bridge so they can get materials and equipment on the bridge build faleswork to remove and replace the entire 900' beam. Depending on what the find, they may replace the one on the other side of this span and possibly even the ones on the other arch.

It appears they ARE NOT going to replace the whole beam. Looks like they are boing to replace a short portion and reinforce is with extra plate.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/05/27/memphis-bridge-crack-closure-reopening-schedule-june/7475556002/

Interesting. I guess that makes the most sense given the desire to get the bridge back up and running this month.

What I read is the section they are replacing will be around 37 feet long, not 900 feet.

[kalvado]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

The plates so I understand are just to stabilize / strengthen this bridge so they can get materials and equipment on the bridge build faleswork to remove and replace the entire 900' beam. Depending on what the find, they may replace the one on the other side of this span and possibly even the ones on the other arch.

It appears they ARE NOT going to replace the whole beam. Looks like they are boing to replace a short portion and reinforce is with extra plate.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/05/27/memphis-bridge-crack-closure-reopening-schedule-june/7475556002/

Interesting. I guess that makes the most sense given the desire to get the bridge back up and running this month.

What I read is the section they are replacing will be around 37 feet long, not 900 feet.

Would be interesting to see what they found around the crack. Report from similar event PA-NJ turnpike bridge I saw basically says "oh, shit happens, who knows what was it?". If there is no smoking gun about entire beam being bad, partial replacement is an obvious step.
I assume that  since the crack happened too close to the joint for a patch to fit nicely, they will replace portion between joint to some point past the crack, far enough to fit all the connections.
I wish I could peak at lab testing results...

[bwana39]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

The plates so I understand are just to stabilize / strengthen this bridge so they can get materials and equipment on the bridge build faleswork to remove and replace the entire 900' beam. Depending on what the find, they may replace the one on the other side of this span and possibly even the ones on the other arch.

It appears they ARE NOT going to replace the whole beam. Looks like they are boing to replace a short portion and reinforce is with extra plate.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/05/27/memphis-bridge-crack-closure-reopening-schedule-june/7475556002/

Interesting. I guess that makes the most sense given the desire to get the bridge back up and running this month.

What I read is the section they are replacing will be around 37 feet long, not 900 feet.

The original releases said the entire beam. I said (above) that they were only going to replace a short piece.  I had not seen the length of the proposed (shorter) repair beam segment.

[kalvado]

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2021/05/20/stupp-bridge-co-sheds-light-efforts-repair-i-bridge/

Stupp Bridge Co. sheds light on efforts to repair I-40 bridge

It seems, then, that the repair to the bridge will consist of a number of plates attached to the beam in one way or another. That will be considerably easier than replacing it somehow.

The plates so I understand are just to stabilize / strengthen this bridge so they can get materials and equipment on the bridge build faleswork to remove and replace the entire 900' beam. Depending on what the find, they may replace the one on the other side of this span and possibly even the ones on the other arch.

It appears they ARE NOT going to replace the whole beam. Looks like they are boing to replace a short portion and reinforce is with extra plate.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/05/27/memphis-bridge-crack-closure-reopening-schedule-june/7475556002/

Interesting. I guess that makes the most sense given the desire to get the bridge back up and running this month.

What I read is the section they are replacing will be around 37 feet long, not 900 feet.

The original releases said the entire beam. I said (above) that they were only going to replace a short piece.  I had not seen the length of the proposed (shorter) repair beam segment.

37 feet are mentioned in some articles, e.g.
https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2021/05/18/interstate-40-bridge-memphis-closure-heres-what-know-hernando-de-soto/5126946001/

[edwaleni]

Computer models that describe why the fracture appeared at that spot are shown in this video:

https://www.commercialappeal.com/videos/news/2021/05/14/bridge-animation-hernando-de-soto-bridge/5092588001/

i was having a hard time visualizing why the fracture appeared in that particular spot, the video explains it perfectly.

It also means that the DOT's should probably xray the duplicate beams on each side and see if there are microfractures forming due to the stress.

Also I wonder how much stress was redistributed to other locations after the fracture completed.

[kalvado]

Computer models that describe why the fracture appeared at that spot are shown in this video:

https://www.commercialappeal.com/videos/news/2021/05/14/bridge-animation-hernando-de-soto-bridge/5092588001/

i was having a hard time visualizing why the fracture appeared in that particular spot, the video explains it perfectly.

It also means that the DOT's should probably xray the duplicate beams on each side and see if there are microfractures forming due to the stress.

Also I wonder how much stress was redistributed to other locations after the fracture completed.

Not sure if anything is actually explained. They show entire beam as being stressed during the life of the bridge - but do we expect any component of the bridge not to be loaded? Did the beam get loaded beyond design limits? Nothing really makes that particular location to stand out as overloaded compared to other points.
Last, but not the least - loads they show should stretch beam bottom most. In reality, top of the beam is split open while the bottom is still intact - indicating top of the beam being stretched.

[bwana39]

Computer models that describe why the fracture appeared at that spot are shown in this video:

https://www.commercialappeal.com/videos/news/2021/05/14/bridge-animation-hernando-de-soto-bridge/5092588001/

i was having a hard time visualizing why the fracture appeared in that particular spot, the video explains it perfectly.

It also means that the DOT's should probably xray the duplicate beams on each side and see if there are microfractures forming due to the stress.

Also I wonder how much stress was redistributed to other locations after the fracture completed.

Not sure if anything is actually explained. They show entire beam as being stressed during the life of the bridge - but do we expect any component of the bridge not to be loaded? Did the beam get loaded beyond design limits? Nothing really makes that particular location to stand out as overloaded compared to other points.
Last, but not the least - loads they show should stretch beam bottom most. In reality, top of the beam is split open while the bottom is still intact - indicating top of the beam being stretched.

Sounds like one (or more) of the cables / rods was either more / less taught or more / less elastic than the others.  It could be a load issue or one-time damage.  The differing lengths could cause the less elastic (shorter) suspenders to have a different load due to the elasticity per length unit being fixed, but the  total elasticity being different due to the length.

[Avalanchez71]

What would be a projected failure timeframe had this fracture not been noticed?

[kalvado]

Computer models that describe why the fracture appeared at that spot are shown in this video:

https://www.commercialappeal.com/videos/news/2021/05/14/bridge-animation-hernando-de-soto-bridge/5092588001/

i was having a hard time visualizing why the fracture appeared in that particular spot, the video explains it perfectly.

It also means that the DOT's should probably xray the duplicate beams on each side and see if there are microfractures forming due to the stress.

Also I wonder how much stress was redistributed to other locations after the fracture completed.

Not sure if anything is actually explained. They show entire beam as being stressed during the life of the bridge - but do we expect any component of the bridge not to be loaded? Did the beam get loaded beyond design limits? Nothing really makes that particular location to stand out as overloaded compared to other points.
Last, but not the least - loads they show should stretch beam bottom most. In reality, top of the beam is split open while the bottom is still intact - indicating top of the beam being stretched.

Sounds like one (or more) of the cables / rods was either more / less taught or more / less elastic than the others.  It could be a load issue or one-time damage.  The differing lengths could cause the less elastic (shorter) suspenders to have a different load due to the elasticity per length unit being fixed, but the  total elasticity being different due to the length.

Plausible, but I would love to see that defect explicitly confirmed.
Different spring constant of different length cables is there, but I would think that should result in a span moving into some U shape because of that, not load concentration.

[kalvado]

What would be a projected failure timeframe had this fracture not been noticed?

I don't think anyone really wants to discuss it. Looks like the crack was there for 5 years, and bridge still stays in one piece...

[webny99]

Got a screenshot yesterday afternoon of the backup to get on the I-55 bridge heading west. Had to add several waypoints to force Google to route along Crump Blvd, and it's no wonder why: 1 hour to go the 5 miles from I-40/I-69 to the bridge!




I-55 itself was almost as bad, this from about an hour earlier:

[Avalanchez71]

Got a screenshot yesterday afternoon of the backup to get on the I-55 bridge heading west. Had to add several waypoints to force Google to route along Crump Blvd, and it's no wonder why: 1 hour to go the 5 miles from I-40/I-69 to the bridge!




I-55 itself was almost as bad, this from about an hour earlier:

What time of day was this plotted?

[webny99]

Got a screenshot yesterday afternoon of the backup to get on the I-55 bridge heading west. Had to add several waypoints to force Google to route along Crump Blvd, and it's no wonder why: 1 hour to go the 5 miles from I-40/I-69 to the bridge!

[img]


I-55 itself was almost as bad, this from about an hour earlier:

[img]

What time of day was this plotted?

The first one was about 3:30 Central Time, and the second one was about an hour earlier, 2:30 Central Time, on June 2nd.

I think it was extra bad that day because of this:

By the way they had a jumper shut down the I-55 bridge today for a while. It is back open but.....
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/local/police-activity-shuts-down-traffic-i-55-bridge/QU6JPFEIVBE6VMWALPG5SIZO6M/

[Avalanchez71]

Got a screenshot yesterday afternoon of the backup to get on the I-55 bridge heading west. Had to add several waypoints to force Google to route along Crump Blvd, and it's no wonder why: 1 hour to go the 5 miles from I-40/I-69 to the bridge!

[img]


I-55 itself was almost as bad, this from about an hour earlier:

[img]

What time of day was this plotted?

The first one was about 3:30 Central Time, and the second one was about an hour earlier, 2:30 Central Time, on June 2nd.

I think it was extra bad that day because of this:

By the way they had a jumper shut down the I-55 bridge today for a while. It is back open but.....
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/local/police-activity-shuts-down-traffic-i-55-bridge/QU6JPFEIVBE6VMWALPG5SIZO6M/

The jumper should have used the DeSoto Bridge. They would have had the whole thing to themselves.

[US71]

Got a screenshot yesterday afternoon of the backup to get on the I-55 bridge heading west. Had to add several waypoints to force Google to route along Crump Blvd, and it's no wonder why: 1 hour to go the 5 miles from I-40/I-69 to the bridge!

[img]


I-55 itself was almost as bad, this from about an hour earlier:

[img]

What time of day was this plotted?

The first one was about 3:30 Central Time, and the second one was about an hour earlier, 2:30 Central Time, on June 2nd.

I think it was extra bad that day because of this:

By the way they had a jumper shut down the I-55 bridge today for a while. It is back open but.....
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/local/police-activity-shuts-down-traffic-i-55-bridge/QU6JPFEIVBE6VMWALPG5SIZO6M/

The jumper should have used the DeSoto Bridge. They would have had the whole thing to themselves.

Yeah, but many jumpers are wanting attention &/or someone to "save" them.

[Tomahawkin]

I Drove from Atlanta to Jonesboro AR going through 840 bypassing Nashvegas. And then took US 412 from Jackson to Dyersburg to Caruthersville, and then to Blytheville. on The Friday before Memorial day. The traffic was light on 412 and it only cost me about 40 minutes of time because I refuse to take that IH 55 Bridge over the Mississippi. It needs to be rebuilt. One medium sized earthquake in that area would F traffic up in the worse way. IMO 269 or 69 needs to be built over the Mississippi. This should be mandated even if there is a 50 cent toll... Both Tennesses and Arkansas, need to start tolling the out of state travelers who go through there en route to Texas and Florida, for state infrastructure reasons!

[US71]

I Drove from Atlanta to Jonesboro AR going through 840 bypassing Nashvegas. And then took US 412 from Jackson to Dyersburg to Caruthersville, and then to Blytheville. on The Friday before Memorial day. The traffic was light on 412 and it only cost me about 40 minutes of time because I refuse to take that IH 55 Bridge over the Mississippi. It needs to be rebuilt. One medium sized earthquake in that area would F traffic up in the worse way. IMO 269 or 69 needs to be built over the Mississippi. This should be mandated even if there is a 50 cent toll... Both Tennesses and Arkansas, need to start tolling the out of state travelers who go through there en route to Texas and Florida, for state infrastructure reasons!

That was discussed a few years ago, but it was put on the back burner, in part, because 55 would have to be shut down.