US-11 LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BRIDGE

The US 11 Lake Pontchartrain Bridge is an historic bridge (built in 1928) carrying US 11 over Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The bridge consists of 700 reinforced concrete spans and two steel movable spans, for a total length of 24,922 ft. Inspection of the bridge revealed wide cracks, and section loss on the bridge from deck to bent columns. SDR performed hands-on inspection, damage assessment, and designed rehabilitation of all structural components of the concrete superstructure and substructure. Major tasks included hands-on inspection of the fixed concrete bridge spans and substructure in order to determine the level and type of the structural deficiencies designated in the structural inventory reports; perform chloride ion penetration analysis to determine the diffusion coefficient and expected service life of the bridge; load rating the bridge, using traditional analysis, as well as refined analysis through linear and non-linear 3-D finite element models; conduct diagnostic load tests using strain gauges and loaded trucks; compile an evaluation report with repair recommendations; design bridge rehabilitation including detailed plans, special provisions, and construction cost estimation; and providing construction support.

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