US-11 LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BRIDGE

The US 11 Lake Pontchartrain Bridge is an historic bridge (built in 1928) carrying US-11 over Lake Pontchartrain. The bridge consists of 717 reinforced concrete spans and two steel movable spans, for a total length of 24,922 ft. Past inspections revealed heavy spalls and cracks on the bridge from deck to pile bent.

Major tasks carried out by SDR included: 

• Performing in-depth inspection of the superstructure and substructure in order to determine the level and type of structural deficiencies designated in the structural inventory reports.
• Performing 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 non-linear 3-D finite element analysis.
• Conducting diagnostic field load tests and compiling an evaluation report with repair recommendations.
• Rehabilitation design of the bridge, including design documents, CADD drawings, technical special provisions, and construction cost estimation.