South Dakota has “rougher parts of towns”? [:D]
I really think you’re missing the point I had intended. Grandiose ambitions in completing the lines carried by these bridges gave little room for sober thoughts about who was gonna re-paint them in 60 years. E.G.: “somebody else’s problem”
We have a number of these in Michigan, the namesake being a local group. I’ll let the image speak for itself.
l’m afraid so. Sioux Falls has about one fourth of the state’s population . It also still has a large, very active packing plant. The areas right in the stink zone have a lot of poorly maintained housing stock dating from the 1870s.
What I read said the failure started soon after the original parts were fabricated, but that it was inside and took awhile to show on the outer surfaces.
Here is a report on the subject. I have yet to read it:
https://www.ardot.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Fracture-Investigation-I-40-MS-Rvr-Bridge.pdf
And the cracking not being observed from 2016 up to a later date was because the bridge inspector didn’t bother to inspect that area of the bridge.
He was fired. Though if he actually did such a shoddy job of inspection, I am surprised criminal charges weren’t filed–something along the lines of theft. He got paid. He didn’t do his job, intentionally. That surely could pass for theft.
Perhaps the inspectors need inspectors.
Ed
Come on, baby, do the locomotion!
We had a problem on one bridge on the DART system. It is near a high school and the students wanted to paint it in school colors. We were against this but stopping the students was difficult. We put a chain link fence around the cement work but they climbed over the fence and painted. I suggested we drop a wire from the 700 volt track power line. We liked the idea but thought the lipegal liability would be bad. I suggested we station one of our transit police officers there. It took less than one hour to catch the prep. The funny part the father of the perp was a high up city employee. After word of this got around no mor graffiti.
BaitACD is right about the railroad truss bridges that were built 100 plus years ago. I am a retired struct engineer and I can attest to the “unintential” over design of these bridges. As BaltACD says, engineers then did not have modern design tools or accurate specs of the material they were working with. I recall reading an article about present day struct engineers checking samples of typical bridges of that era and they found, by far, the largest percentage are very safe for use today (even with todays heavier loads and traffic).
Northtowne
As a medieval cathedral builder might have said:
Brethren, if thou art not certain, build hem stronger!
This here bridge:
has probably recently been replaced. But for over 100 years, it carried SP&S, BN, and BNSF traffic along the old SP&S mainline.
No slow orders, that I ever noticed.
Lots of 100 ton coal gons at maybe 50 MPH. And brown worms, too.
Ed
Not letting the high school paint ‘their’ bridge was an enormous public-relations advantage squandered. We have a local ex-IC bridge (roughly between the University of Nemphis campus and the stadium in which their teams play) that has been repainted in blue and white… it covers up stained old concrete and shows local spirit. With a little more ‘oversight’ the design and execution could have been far better.
Note that getting the school officially involved in helping maintain the paint was at least a possibility, as was appealing to alumni or local ‘booster’ groups for added support, including donated supplies or professional assistance.
The now UP bridge in Rockford, Il. (linked below) for many years had a nice mural painted on it of the Galena and Chicago Union Pioneer engine and train. This is the original ROW. First rail line built from Chicago.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.y7dHnyMKw0W7TlO8pvIsawHaE8%26pid%3DApi&f=1
https://bridgehunter.com/il/winnebago/bh50308/
Photo of part of bridge and station in their prime.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.b6Cl7KfUyd3ZwS65qTOIvgAAAA%26pid%3DApi&f=1
Pioneer being used during construction of Rock River bridge just west of photos above.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.3My5dhMAwgXtihn6RsrNxwHaE9%26pid%3DApi&f=1