Repair & Rehabilitation of Historic Suspension Bridges Great & Small

Presented by Benjamin Z. Reeve P.E.; VSL Heavy Civil; Fort Worth, Texas

Suspension bridges of all sizes and uses are elegant accents across our transportation landscape. As longstanding engineering marvels, these ornate structures have a unique set of maintenance aspects. This discussion will be on the construction, monitoring/inspection, rehabilitation, and lessons learned on suspension bridges of all types and sizes. Recent rehabilitation projects discussed will include (original construction):

  •Ambassador Bridge (1929; 1850 ft main span)

  •Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge (1981; 450 ft span)

  •Jefferson Barracks Memorial Arch Bridge (1983, 1992; 909 ft span)

  •Waco Suspension Bridge (1870; 475 ft main span)

  •Missouri River Pipeline Suspension Bridge (1956; 1500 ft main span)

The discussion will involve suspended bridges spanning over 100 years of construction, touching on technologies used to monitor them through their service life, as well as rehabilitate the structures for increased demands while maintaining their historical significance. Monitoring and inspection technologies will include non-destructive (e.g. magnetic main flux method (MMFM)) and destructive (e.g. load capacity testing) test methods. Rehabilitation aspects to be discussed will include the replacement of the entire suspension system and will primarily focus on the suspender cables. While the basic structural design aspect of these bridges from throughout history is the same, there are particular similarities and differences between these suspension bridges of different sizes and transportation requirements that will be highlighted. VSL’s experience in suspended spans provides the background, pictures and methods for this discussion.

Benjamin Z. Reeve, P.E. Based in the Fort Worth, TX branch office as a Business Development Manager for bridge and post-tensioning projects, Mr. Reeve brings over 20 years of bridge construction and rehabilitation experience.  He has worked on over a dozen suspension bridge and stay cable new builds and rehabilitation projects as well as other cable supported structures. His experience involves development of means and methods, access design and equipment design, to safely perform the various aspects of cable supported construction & rehabilitation. Mr. Reeve is a licensed Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania, has a lovely wife & 3 active sons.