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Washington Avenue Bridge
Description
So, when is a bridge a girder--and a steel stringer--and a deck truss--all in one? This bridge started out in 1965 as a plain deck girder bridge and remained as such until 2010, when a massive project began to upgrade the bridge to carry light-rail traffic. The plan was to add stringers to increase the load-carrying capability, but the original stucture's rigid cross-members didn't allow it. The design engineers came up with a very creative and innovative way to address this--instead of solid stringers, trusses were designed and installed, one member at a time, to fit around the existing sway bracing without having to remove any of it! And so, as a result, the main spans still retain their full original girder system, with multiple "stringer-trusses" to support the light rail vehicles.
Facts
- Overview
- Girder bridge over Mississippi River & East River Pkwy on Washington Avenue
- Location
- Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1965; upgraded 2010-2012
- Builder
- - AECOM of Los Angeles. California
- Railroads
- - Light Rail
- Metro Transit
- Design
- Girder/steel stringer/deck truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 315.3 ft.
Total length: 1,131.0 ft.
Deck width: 58.1 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +44.97318, -93.23945 (decimal degrees)
44°58'23" N, 93°14'22" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
- Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/481118/4979999 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Saint Paul West
- Average daily traffic (as of 2005)
- 18,800
- Inventory numbers
- MN 9360 (Minnesota bridge number)
BH 59219 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
- Inspection report (as of August 2017)
- Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 90.3 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- January 14, 2014: New Street View added by Matt Lohry
- January 13, 2014: Added by Matt Lohry
Retrofit design for LRT was completed by AECOM's Philly office.