Wisconsin to Monitor Truss Bridge Safety

Associated Construction Publications reports:

Immediately following the fatal I-35W collapse in Minneapolis, and with concern growing nationwide about the safety of older bridges and other infrastructure, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle ordered the Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to inspect and continuously monitor the structural health of the state's 14 steel deck truss bridges.
Wisconsin's truss bridges range in age from 50 to 82 years, and are scattered throughout the state.
Beginning October 22, CTLGroup will install strain gages on critical structural members of each bridge and, in collaboration with the three prime consultants, perform diagnostic load tests to establish benchmark information. The gages will be connected to automatic data collection equipment that will then regularly transmit information on the bridges' structural behavior. The data will be uploaded to a central location, and degradation trends will be evaluated by the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University Schools of Engineering, in collaboration with the DOT.
The instrumentation and load testing, which is expected to be completed in two to three weeks, will provide WisDOT with a valuable tool to help maintain the bridges properly and ensure public safety.
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