Alma, West Virginia - Private Residence
In the hills of West Virginia, a contractor was putting the finishing touches on a new residence however there was a slight inconvenience. The owner had to drive four miles, out of his way, over secondary roads in order to access his driveway. The owner contacted U.S. Bridge and the consultation began. Immediately, U.S. Bridge began to offer viable solutions. After a design selection process, engineering and fabrication began on a new Cambridge Series truss bridge. The bridge was required to be 180’ in length and 12’ in width to accommodate all maintenance and emergency vehicles. U.S. Bridge installed the entire bridge within a few days in the spring of 2009 with the finished asphalt roadway surface applied shortly thereafter. The bridge was fabricated using self-weathering steel which blends naturally with its surroundings.
U.S. Bridge designed the bridge with a double bottom chord. This feature eliminates the possibility for the collection of water and debris which can lead to the accelerated deterioration of the steel thereby compromising the useful life of the structure. Further, the U.S. Bridge bottom chord tension member design and the two independent channel members permit the structure to be deemed “redundant”. AASHTO Bridge Design Manual states that to qualify for a “redundant” designation, the load path structures must have a multi-load paths where a single fracture in a member cannot lead to a failure of the entire structure.
Recognized by the American Institute of Steel Construction, U.S. Bridge is certified for the manufacture of both major and simple steel bridges with a both a “Fracture Critical and Sophisticated Paint Endorsement “.
U.S. Bridge, founded in 1936, is the nation’s largest producer of prefabricated steel vehicular truss and steel beam bridges. Complementing the vehicular bridge product line is a variety of custom designed and engineered pedestrian bridges.
STATS
.: LENGTH
180'
.: WIDTH
12'
.: STEEL
Self-Weathering
.: LOADING
HS-20
.: FLOORING
Asphalt
.: RAILING
Weathering W-Beam