I-43 Fox River bridge in Green Bay, WI - repairs and restoration

[mgk920]

http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/leo-frigo-bridge-closed-report-of-dip-in-the-road

More on this as it becomes available.



We drove over this on Saturday.

Mike

[SEWIGuy]

Why are they routing the detour through the city?  Is the construction on US-41 too extensive to simply use US-41 to WI-172?

[mgk920]

From the looks of this, it will not be reopening for a while.  One of the support piers away from its tied-arch span settled (footing undermine?) and along with that pier, that part of the bridge will have to be cut out and replaced.  Look for this rebuild project to be a roadgeek meet feature next spring.

As for detouring I-43 traffic through the city, my guess is yes on not using US(I)-41.  There are a lot of complex lane shifts on US(I)-41 right now in the part just south of I-43.  Also, traffic on I-43 is not as heavy as it is on US(I)-41 and the city streets are able to handle it.

We'll see in a couple of weeks though, with the scheduled Lions@Packers game and the majority of that game's tickets being held by Milwaukeeans.  I-43 is a popular 'go around' route for those fans.

Mike

[Big John]

Yep, we drove on the bridge and did not see any problems on it and they just did extensive rehab on it.  But the failure had nothing to do with the rehab.  Got second-hand info that the footings did not reach bedrock when the bridge was built.

Another facebook photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151682870911295&set=a.205697631294.132544.70657021294&type=1&theater

(posted in bridges forum too)

[Big John]

 And WisDOT shut off the cameras from 511wi.gov that pointed to the bridge.

[Milwaukee, WY]

Not at all the same cause, but this situation is very reminiscent of the partial collapse of the Hoan bridge in Milwaukee many years ago.

[ShawnP]

Not a bridge inspector but aren't their tools to determine if the footings go into the bedrock after they were built? If not why wasn't the Wisconsin Department of Transportation inspecting it as it was built?

[Revive 755]

^ In theory, how deep the footings go should be noted on the red lined plans from when the bridge was built, and the depth of bedrock should be known from soil borings done before the bridge was built.  If the pier was resting on a spread footing (versus using piles or drilled shafts), it may have been designed to stop short of bedrock, especially if the local soil is rather strong.

[Right on Red]

Didn't something like this happen to 23 over 41 in Fond du Lac a few years ago?

[triplemultiplex]

Woah, dude!

A pier sunk 3 feet?  That ain't good!

Based on what I know about the geology of the area, I actually wouldn't expect most of the piers on this bridge to reach bedrock.  I-43 spans the Fox River over a former estuary which itself sits over old lake beds.  That means alternating layers of silt, sand, gravel and clay.  It is likely a couple hundred feet to bedrock.  Perhaps after a few decades of gradual settling through sand and gravel, the footing for this pier finally slipped into that clay layer?

It has me concerned that the entire span is in need of deeper pilings.  Not sure what the retrofit for that would be.  I have to assume the footings for the arch segment are much deeper than the approach spans (where this failure occurred).  So perhaps the more expensive portion will be okay.

Pretty rotten timing though.  With the soon-to-be I-41 expansion in full swing, the primary alternative for thru traffic is a little whack right now.  Sucks for game days this season.

Superficially, especially from the prospective of the driver, this is similar to the problem the Hoan Bridge experienced in Milwaukee back in 2000.  In that case, though, it was a cracked girder that caused the roadway (NB only) to sag.  Similar location though; immediately adjacent to the main span.  Unlike the Hoan, however, routine bridge inspections wouldn't pick up on something like this.

Even the bridges that aren't supposed to be in danger of falling down are in danger of falling down!
/sarcasm

[on_wisconsin]

Here is the photo linked to above:

Green Bay Press-Gazette Facebook site

[on_wisconsin]

.

[DevalDragon]

Too many Packers fans eating Cheese Curds I guess.

[Fox 11 News]

The Thursday afternoon news conference update:
http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/new-details-expected-in-leo-frigo-investigation

Raw of the news conference itself:
http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/online-extra-leo-frigo-bridge-update

[mgk920]

A little something - Big Rig Steve posted video of a drive over this bridge back in July of 2012, shot while he was on his way to deliver a load in Marinette, WI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fesg5hVyKc

The failure occurred at about 12:30 in that clip, right before the arch span.

Mike

[JREwing78]

Just to make things more interesting:

Petroleum pipeline lies 12 feet from sunken pier
http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/petroleum-pipeline-lies-12-feet-from-sunken-pier


Also....

Combating detour traffic woes
http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/combating-detour-traffic-woes

[ShawnP]

Exclusive Video of the last car across the bridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlBy85zxdo

[DaBigE]

Just to make things more interesting:

Petroleum pipeline lies 12 feet from sunken pier
http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/petroleum-pipeline-lies-12-feet-from-sunken-pier

The same pipeline company had a big leak/environmental disaster in the Jackson Marsh area in Washington County about a year ago. I can't help but wonder if a leaky pipe contributed to the bridge pier sinking?

[Fox 11 News]

We're expecting a news conference update Thursday, and a media tour of the work being done.

[Big John]

We're expecting a news conference update Thursday, and a media tour of the work being done.

http://www.us41wisconsin.gov/flex/AlertLeoFrigoDayNewsConferencenumber3.1296

Note on the bottom line that in order to take media tour, you have to get under Leo Frigo's widow. - "Media should gather in the parking lot underneath the Leo Frigo Bride on the north side of North Quincy Street."   

[SEWIGuy]

We're expecting a news conference update Thursday, and a media tour of the work being done.

http://www.us41wisconsin.gov/flex/AlertLeoFrigoDayNewsConferencenumber3.1296

Note on the bottom line that in order to take media tour, you have to get under Leo Frigo's widow. - "Media should gather in the parking lot underneath the Leo Frigo Bride on the north side of North Quincy Street."   

Leo was a pretty old guy.  I'm not sure that's something I would be interested in.

[Big John]

http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/dot-corrosion-caused-dip-in-leo-frigo-bridge

WisDOT dug around that pier and found buckling of the footings and said there was corrosion of the footings at that pier, caused by bad soil infill and movement of the groundwater table.

Also found similar footing corrosion in 3 surrounding piers, where the soil was similar.

[SEWIGuy]

So is the thought that they will replace the piers in question, and rebuild the deck over those piers?

[mgk920]

So is the thought that they will replace the piers in question, and rebuild the deck over those piers?

Either that or drive new pilings that would not be susceptible to such corrosion next to the existing piers and retrofit new foundations around them.

This could get expensive as other piers are inspected.

Mike

[mgk920]

A few notes in today's wires.

-The failed pier has settled some more over the past couple of days, about 10-15 mm/0.5 in, possibly due to loss of lateral support from crews digging around it.
-Temporary structures will be installed to help support the failed pier, this should be completed within a week or so.
-The FHWA has approved federal funding for repairs, now estimated to cost about $50M.

http://www.fox11online.com/news/local/green-bay/further-sinking-detected-in-leo-frigo-bridge

Mike