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Engineers replaced the bearings and lowered a heavily traveled New Jersey bridge by four feet without shutting down traffic with the help of unusual temporary support methods. A telescoping system, which includes towers the range from 25 feet to 115 feet long and carry 1000 kips, is used to redesign the temporary support system.

The costly emergency repair of a deteriorating section of High Bridge in Boston, MA, has brought to the fore the problem of aging steel stringers in bridge spans. The $1 million project comes on the heels of other stringer problems in Massachusetts, which could trigger an investigation of the estimated 47,000 steel stringer bridges in the US. The two-level High Bridge was temporarily closed for three days to carry out the repair, which was managed by Weidlinger Assoc Inc.

Morrison Knudsen has successfully dewatered a portion of the Yellowstone river enough for bridge repair construction to begin. The company originally planned to block the river's flow with a 6-foot bladder to dewater a portion but failed because the river is too wild. The company then opted for the construction of steel forms that would be water tight. The cost of the project is currently $660,000 and the company expects costs to reach $900,000 before the project is finished.

The Fatigue Crack Detection System is featured as a new form of equipment for determining bridge cracks. The package combines the convenience of a head-mounted computer display with the portability of a backpack and battery power. The inspection system is a welcome tool primarily because of its convenience, but some inspectors doubt that it can stand on its own due to its limited adaptability potential.

Corman Construction Inc. is using three different foundation methods to rehabilitate the abutments of the Duke Street Bridge in Alexandria, VA, and realign the bridge's plate girders on newly-installed bearings. The stress caused by the bridge's 58-degree skew and clay behind the abutments is displacing the bridge's 14 girders to rotate in a counterclockwise fashion. To correct this problem, the contractor built temporary retaining walls, welded girder extensions and installed new piles through the footings of each abutment.

Studies conducted by the transportation departments of Washington and Oregon have shown that almost 4,000 bridges in the states are very susceptible to earthquake-induced damage. The studies also reveal that several hundred million dollars is needed to fund contruction programs aimed at strengthening the defective bridges. However, at the rate the projects are being carried out, it will take more than 300 years to complete the retrofitting for these bridges.

The renovation of the 108-year-old swing bridge over the Saugatuck River in Westport, CT, reduced the space under the structure making it impossible for boaters to pass. The Westport Mariners sued the state's Dept of Transportation for the structural design. The state agency, however, prepared a $1.8-million change contract to lift the bridge by two ft. Structural engineering firm Lev Zetlin Assoc Inc designed the lifting project.

Repair efforts for Mississippi and Louisiana infrastructure, hit hard by hurricanes, are gaining momentum, particularly for completely destroyed US 90. Bridges along Mississippi's US 90 are impassable and huge efforts are under way to repair and reconstruct the worst hit bridges from the Gulf Coast.

A freak lightning cut down one of the longest stay cable on the vast, five-span Rion-Antirion bridge in Greece on Jan 2005. The bridge has reopened and work has begun on replacing the roughly 300-meter-long broken cable and another damaged cable.

The problem of shifted span on Louisiana-Mississippi bridge is examined, for which engineers are conducting repairs on the bridge. The firm plans to replace the expansion joint and jack up the bridge to shorten the suspended span by about 10 inches.

A tornado swept from the east through the state park northwest of Pittsburgh, and knocked down 11 center towers including the tallest at 301 ft tower built by WM Borde Co. The measures to clear up the debris and access back to the gorge bottom to rehabilitate these towers are discussed.

A metal plate cracked causing a corner of the 1,232-foot-long Paseo Bridge in Kansas City, MO to lift 10 inches. Crews successfully reopened the bridge after 10 days. Officials blame deterioration of pin assemblies on debris, pigeon guano, and severe cold weather.

An Orange County freeway bridge with cracks, spalling and concrete voids will be fixed for between $3 million and $5 million, despite the fact that the irregularities will most certainly reduce the life of the bridge.

Littleton-based Lawrence Construction and Denver-based Wilson and Co. built a new 40-foot bridge for the Colorado Department of Transportation in under 46 hours. The construction technique obviated the need to close the Mitchell Gulch Bridge for a two-months.

To get the 92-year-old McKinley Bridge repaired, its owner, the tiny town of Venice, Ill., must transfer its ownership to the Illinois and Missouri Departments of Transportation due to a lack of toll revenue and debt. However, Venice must first pay $4.2 million in back taxes and debt.

A barge shattered a support column that supports the fixed section of the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge across Lake Washington. Issues concerning the repair by Seattle-based Hurlen Construction Company are presented.

The $87.7 million Tomlinson bridge construction work has been delayed two years over a claims battle between the state and White Oak Corp. White Oak claims that rip rap and timber cribbing has caused some delays in driving cofferdam sheetings while drawings of existing piers were not accurate and petroleum contamination in the area has been significantly undervalued that remediation and construction costs would rise sharply.

Overcoating can be conducted to save corroded bridges in a way that is cheaper than total removal and recoating. Galvanic protection is achieved by placing the first coat of paint over bare steel. After applying the first coat, a urethrane topcoat or an epoxy midcoat can be applied to the steel. Three-coat-systems, such as zinc-epoxy-urethrane, zinc-vinyl-vinyl, and zinc-acrylic-acrylic, can also be used.

The Michael A. Morano Bridge, a 6-lane, 2,565-foot-long bridge in Connecticut is being prepared for a major repair, following a 4-year continual maintenance and lane closures. The Mianus River Bridge, as it was formerly called, claimed three lives when it collapsed in 1983. Frequent damage to the bridge results in the splitting up of its nylon bushing locks which leaves a 10-inch opening along the road. The 60-day construction repair will start on April 1, 1997.

United States Booster Inc. has developed a new spraying process that can improve skid resistance on bridge decks. The process called Convergent Spray Technology utilizes technology created for applying heat-resistant coatings to space shuttles and allows the application of skid-resistant coatings in a single pass. Testing of the process in a Huntsville, AL, bridge resulted in increased skid resistance values from 40 to between 72 to 73.

California authorities are worried about the costs of retrofitting old and damaged infrastructure for seismic design. The budget for retrofitting the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is $250 million but California Dept. of Transportation officials estimate that actual expenses will be from $1 billion to $1.3 billion. Meanwhile, a blue-ribbon panel has recommended the reduction of the estimated $240 million needed to repair the Los Angeles City Hall.

Barry, Bette and Led Duke Inc. completes between 620 to 770 sq.ft. a day in its bridge redecking project in Albany, NY, without disrupting traffic. The contractor uses patented exodermic panels manufactured by IKG Greulich to enhance the speed of construction. The 22-by-7-ft. panels are composed of unfilled steel girds covered with lightweight concrete which are laid over the area to be redecked and filled with fast-drying concrete.

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The California Dept of Transportation may be authorized to retrofit 1,039 earthquake-prone bridges by the end of 1995. Project costs may range from $1 billion to 1.5 billion plus another $650 million for toll bridges retrofits in Northern California. However, the transportation department's performance is plagued with criticism as revealed by an SRI International audit. A state constitutional amendment should be initiated to provide for contracting-out flexibility via managed competition.

The California Dept of Transportation (Caltrans) has been given authority to handle the fast-track rebuilding of bridges damaged by the Jan 17, 1994 Northridge, CA, earthquake. Gov Pete Wilson signed an executive order suspending standard contract procedures for retrofitting activities. The order allows Caltrans to fast-track the retrofitting of 80 of the 200 damaged bridges. Caltrans is also giving minority- and women-owned firms a chance to secure contracts by varying contract sizes.

The 65-year-old 106th Street Bridge in Chicago sustained a damaged east bascule leaf even after going through repair. A ship on the Calumet River collided with the bridge in Nov 1993, prompting a $2.4-million repair job. However, a three inch alignment deviation still has to be corrected even after the bascule bridge was opened to traffic on Feb 15, 1994. The extensive damages prompted contractors to use 42 tons of steel.

The dangerous bascule bridge that spans the Duwamish Waterway in Seattle, WA, will improved by the addition of a parallel bascule bridge in Jul 1994. After the new $70- to 90-million bridge is constructed, engineers of the Washington Dept of Transportion will spend some $34 million to refurbish the bridge's steelwork, $120 million to strengthen its foundations and $45 million to repave the old approaches. A particularly hazardous 160-foot section of the old bridge's steel deck on which some 1,100 accidents occureed in a 10-year period will be replaced.

Oregon's Dept of Transportation plans to spend between $10 to $15 million for new base isolators on its Willamette River bridge near Portland, OR. The department intends to use Italian-design bearings manufactured by Jesse Engineering Co. The new bearing designs are expected to last longer than conventional base isolator systems and increase the earthquake safety of the 35-year old bridge.

Inspectors for the damaged New Haengju Bridge in South Korea disclosed that piers and footings are still structurally stable. Contractor Byucksan Engineering and Construction Co wanted to remove the collapsed deck slabs without affecting the foundation or the support towers prior to reconstruction so Byucksan contacted blasting specialist Dykon Inc for the slab removal. The detonations went well, leaving the tower and foundation structurally unaffected.

Heavy investments are needed to continue improvements on bridges and highways. Approximately $50 billion is required to maintain the 1991 status of highways and bridges. An average of $3.9 billion annually is necessary to maintain mass transit conditions. Although many improvements have been implemented due to increased investment in highways and bridges, more funding is needed to maintain the pace of construction and repair.