Many of the original stainless steel and teflon bearings have been replaced with a plastic material. Photo taken by Douglas Butler in August 2014, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY). The Zilwauke Bridge is so high because it must allow boats to past. In November 1978, bids were taken for either a steel or concrete bridge, according to MDOT records. 10. TIL of Zilwaukee, a town in northern Michigan. onto the bridge, unhooks from the front end of the trailer, hooks to the The bridge in question that "collapsed in the 1950s" has to be the Cass Avenue bridge, though re-using this bridge is something I've never heard about before. the bridge. which are hollow and usually rectangular in shape. subjected every day to far heavier weights than it will ever experience It was the only stop on I-75 from southern Florida to the northern tip of Michigan. This was done because the truck and trailer wouldnt have enough space to turn around. truck. By the end of the next year, the original 1953 US-23 bypass The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Why is the Zilwaukee Bridge so tall? In the 1950s, Michigan expanded its transportation system expanding north from Saginaw and through Zilwaukee. 1987a nice Christmas present, four years after the bridge was to be following pages reproduce a 1987 report issued by the Michigan [5] During 2014, special custom-made jacks were put into place as a stop-gap measure while bearings were replaced.[6]. The agency has vowed to hire experts in concrete segmental bridge construction for the next project. We lifted and tilted and jacked it into place. completely cured, the expoxy is stronger than the concrete segments which from leaking into the bridge itself. It was thought that this would accommodate both boat and vehicle traffic. Rated 5 / 5. While the most obvious Prior to that, all through traffic in the Saginaw area was funnelled A report released by MDOT in December 2010 noted the problems with the 2008 project were due to faulty documentation from the bridge's original construction. Read about the Zilwaukee Bridge collapse in 1982 and its reconstruction. This archive footage shows construction at Michigan's Zilwaukee Bridge in 1982 and its official opening in 1987. Posted July 9, 2019, by Melissa Brand-Welch, National Bridge Inventory 2021: (Nearby Bridges), Bridgehunter.com: Historic Bridges of the United States, http://bridgehunter.com/mi/saginaw/saginaw-river/, July 9, 2019: New photo from Melissa Brand-Welch, November 13, 2018: New photo from Douglas Butler, October 6, 2018: New photos from Douglas Butler, August 6, 2014: New Street View added by Douglas Butler. They range from a few hundred Hydraulic presses were used to realign the bridge. Each is formed by 12 strands In April 2008, a scheduled $3.3-million construction project to replace bridge bearingsdesigned to support up to 8,000,000 pounds eachwhich allow the bridge to move as much as a foot hit a snag. My concern is (if) there are other examples out there of marked drawings that are incomplete. Back to: Section 2: Background According to a story fixed to the opposite end. The construction of the structure was plagued with difficulties: when it was approximately half-complete, a major construction accident halted all work in August 1982. earlier two-lane highway of Saginaw was incorporated into the new Interstate It was opened in 1988 and is 8,000 feet (2440 m) long and 125 feet (38 m) at its highest point. According to MDOT records, other proposals included barring river traffic, relocating the freeway and digging a tunnel under the river. It stands on its own steel legs Bridge Construction Engineering. other ideas had been batted around, including a tunnel under the river Increased traffic led to the construction of a four-lane drawbridge that raised to let boats pass in 1960. If not replaced, the normal shifting movements of the bridge would cause additional damage, thus reducing its lifespan. The weight of the launching girder, combined with the truck carrying a In August of 1982, just one year before the bridge was supposed to be completed, one of the temporary compression blocks failed and collapsed. The bridge has twin decks built of a series A match-cast segment is attached to one side of that pier group As a child, watching the bridge open and close was pretty cool, but when you're an adult, running late for work and stuck in traffic, the magic is kind of lost. 23 chapters | There will be about 27,000 miles of eighth-inch wire It makes for an imposing sight, and the Zilwaukee Riverfront Park sits nearby. The Zilwaukee Bridge has some impressive specifications. After a bridge span is complete and construction joint between the segments. The main strength of the bridge comes from its 4,000 miles of steel tension cables hidden away in the concrete. more than six times as much as a fully-loaded standard 18-wheel, 40-ton Create an account to start this course today. However, the most significant reason was the overloading of the expansion joint. The Zilwaukee Bridge has a mile-long box underneath the entire span so maintenance workers can keep an eye on how its holding up. The freighter was fine but the bridge suffered substantial damage. Construction begins by placing two segments directly atop a bridge pier, The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River in the U.S. state of Michigan. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Lin International (TYLI) to perform construction engineering services. Originally anticipated to last a few weeks, the project instead stretched more than six months when construction workers from Midwest Bridge Company of Williamston drilled into one of the bridge's steel tensioning rods. Precast segments, such as those at the Zilwaukee Bridge, are fabricated How to Survive and Journey through the Nanisivik Highway, The Ultimate Guide to Traveling the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road was closed permanently on April 2017, Dalton Highway is the loneliest road on Earth, Slettnes lighthouse: the road to the end of Europe, How to Stay Safe on Dangerous Roads: Preparing Your Car for Bad Weather Driving. While no Saginaw River crossing seems to have been The Saginaw Township Republican indicated he wants to avoid a repeat of a snafu that forced thousands of motorists to detour from the northbound lanes of the Zilwaukee Bridge for most of 2008. Then again, there's not much about THIS bridge that I had known prior to when I first visited this website last year. They are held together with 20,000 miles of steel cable. in the early-1980s which added many millions to the cost and years to the to the bridge and held in place while the epoxy is applied and the cables For five years, it has routinely stored blueprints electronically, he The project ran from April 2013 through 2015. .004 inches (about the thickness of a human hair). and another is attached to the opposite side. Repair work began in the early summer of 1983 and totaled around $6.8 million. Repairs totaled $6.8 million. Back to: Table of Contents, Michigan in the first place. Bridge Report Aerial Imagery Additional Share YOUR roads!We'vemorethan 13.000 roads but we want more! It didnt really work, and Zilwaukee did not turn into Milwaukee. It was a lime-stone hauler from Buffalo. That same year, S.J. Unfortunately, something happened that would change that plan. Five sets of casting forms inside the building The first two of those still serve this route across the current Zilwaukee Bridge today, but U.S. 10 was scaled back to end west of Bay City at around the same time that this bridge was replaced with that one. The immediate response to the accident was to halt construction and investigate the extent of the damage. The setback took two years and $6 million more unbudgeted dollars. This only after A 1,700-ton launching girder atop the bridge is equipped with a crane that takes the segment and puts it into place. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. major holiday weekends and during the fall hunting season. each cable is about the size of a man's wrist. Zilwaukee Bridge is ahigh level bridge carrying I-75 [and US-23] over of high-strength reinforced concrete segments held together by thousands It was projected to reach completion in 1983 at a cost of $77 million. MDOT spokesman William L. Shreck said old construction plans are not a new issue, but the problem with the Zilwaukee Bridge was. When portion of the new route in the Saginaw area was opened to traffic. On August 28, 1982, temporary compression blocks began to crush while a concrete segment was being transported, causing a 300-foot-long section of the bridge deck to sag five feet on one end, and rise three-and-a-half feet on the other end. Flint Journal file photoTravelers go on the Zilwaukee Bridge during lunchtime in 1999. And thanks to Chris Bessert for compiling all of this great historical information. project later in the decade. Department of Transportation. Aerial map of Zilwaukee Bridges by Chris Bessert/Michigan Highways. Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. The segments are joined plant at the bridge site. cast into each segment. This story is a bit of legend, but its mostly accepted by local historians. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters. When two adjacent While that may not sound like a lot, it's a big deal when talking about tons and tons of concrete and steel. Needless to say, the draw bridge wasnt exactly working. In 1960, the first The grout cures to become Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. MDOT said crews erected a steel reinforcement on the exterior of the bridge to ensure that the structural integrity of the bridge continues to remain sound. An MDOT report found the 2008 issues were due to faulty documentation from the original construction, according to Michigan Highways. [Image: The bridge takes shape. However, let's step back in time to the genesis of the crossing The cause, according to Michigan Highways, was construction loads at that location were too heavy. Almost exactly nine months later, the southbound side of the to turn the 70-foot trailer around on the 73-foot wide bridges, the trailer Some believe this Michigan bridge marks the start of Up North. At Zilwaukee, each cable is about the size of a man's wrist. Construction crews began work on a major renovation project on the Zilwaukee Bridge this week. Adding insult to injury, the contractor discovered that more than 30 of the new bearings weren't properly designed and would not fit where they were to be installed. in 1953. filled with cement grout under high pressure. completed. Cables in the bridge run through galvanized steel ducts that have been Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). Unfortunately, that wasn't the reality. The Zilwaukee Bridge along Interstate 75 over the Saginaw River. two spans of the bridge simultaneously. The dramatic failure of the Zilwaukee Bridge was successfully repaired by the State of Michigan in 1983. Along with asking for new procedures so that mistakes are not made due to outdated blueprints, the letter asked the agency to notify the senators office when the procedures are finalized.. These joints have to be kept perfectly immobile during construction, so they are filled with temporary blocks held in place with steel tendons. Cast-in-place bridge segments are cast in traveling forms placed group to create a solid unit, six segments long. Michigan Highways > In Depth: The Zilwaukee Bridge: From the Beginning. During bridge maintenance, I-675 is used as a detour route for traffic. Zilwaukee Bridge: From the Beginning, Michigan An average of more than 6,600 pounds of steel cables holds each segment in place. Annotated Aerial Image, I-75 and Zilwaukee Bridge Improvements: Construction and Motorist Information, Photography One thing worth noting: Upon the opening of this bridge to traffic, it served a triple concurrency of I-75/U.S. The southbound side of the bridge would open to traffic the following fall in 1988, according to Michigan Highways. Crews removed some of the concrete material making up the bridge itself and removed the original bearings, then installed the new ones along with an inch of concrete grout. 23/U.S. stronger than that usually specified by MDOT for bridge decks. The mayor said he also is concerned about emergency responders having easy access to the city. We are working to learn more information. Six steps were required to bring the tilted 300-foot deck section back to its intened position. The repair work added $500,000 to the $3.8 million project and postponed the bearing replacement project to 2012. On precast segmental bridges, the concrete segments must be delivered no alterationsgrammatical or otherwisehave been made. The bridge design called for expansion joints that would enable the bridge to expand and contract as the temperature rose and fell. (You can read a lot more about the construction issue here). Others just marvel at its vast span and view of the Saginaw River. Our concern is if they shut it down for one year in each way, it could have a major impact, Jolin said. With regard to the bridge itself, 154 bearings installed during the bridge's construction in the 1980s were replaced with new ones made of "a high-density plastic material" according to MDOT's Engineer of Bridge Field Services Matthew J. Chynoweth. of Jason Hill: Zilwaukee Gallery, Michigan in Pictures: The Zilwaukee Bridge, Zilwaukee to four hours in duration and often up to 30 miles in length. To ease the commute along this route, a bridge was constructed over the Saginaw River. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. In 1979, construction on the elevated Zilwaukee Bridge, which accommodates both boat and vehicle traffic, began. Today, there are more than 70 segmental bridges either completed or under Ground view shows massive dimensions In 1979, construction started on a new, elevated bridge that ships could simply pass underneath. It caused serious damage. The work was completed in 2015 and was expected extend the life of the bridge until 2087. computer-aided design drawings for projects built since the mid-1990s. To protect them from corrosion, all the high strength, post-tensioned steel cables inside the . Construction crews began work on a major renovation project on the Zilwaukee Bridge this week. It wasnt until 1987 that the final piece of concrete would be installed, and the northbound lanes of I-75/US-23 were routed over the bridge just before Christmas in 1987. It was only 150 feet wide and several ships ended up clipping the bridge, causing damage and even more traffic issues. repairs as well as a discussion of the safety of the bridge, which was With fuel prices the way they are, every mile extra hurts.. Here's a copy of letters this week from an MDOT engineer to Kahn and from Kahn to MDOT's director about the Zilwaukee Bridge construction mishap. Now, an average of 21.6 million vehicles cross the bridge per year. The agency's Bay Region spokeswoman Anita Richardson said MDOT will follow the recommendations of an independent report on the mishap to make sure construction mistakes dont occur in the future on the Zilwaukee Bridge or on other Bay Region road work. as well. The two new segments then are stressed to the Around the time of opening, the Zilwaukee Bridge saw roughly 11.3 million vehicles cross per year, according to MDOT. A recent, major update in 2013 through 2015 replaced the original bearing pads at piers and expansion joints., which had a lifespan of around 25 years, Brunner said. A 1960 article in the Lansing State Journal reported about a German-registry lake freighter, carrying 4,300 tons of scrap steel, slamming into the draw bridge after the bridge was jammed in the open position. It is the cables that hold all the segments in compression. 21.6M vehicles cross each year. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. 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While the need for a replacement of the original structure became acute soon after it was completed,[3] the construction of the current structure was also plagued with difficulties. When the block was crushed, a 300-foot-long section of bridge deck sagged 5 feet on one end and rose 3-and-a-half feet on the other, according to MDOT records. Almost exactly nine months later, the southbound side of the bridge was opened. It tried to drop an anchor, but it was too late -- the ship slammed into the southbound bridge.