A question for you Tulsa/BA natives.

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CHenry

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im no expert. dad and i talked about that exact bridge before he died.. they are pre arched and the weight of the loaded concrete them level or close too it. just like the old hump back semi flat beds that's why they are arched. dad had 60+ years exp in all aspects of const.
Well thats sorta accurate. It was the beams that are made with pre tensioned cables inside. The "camber" or "deflection rate" is calculated to specify the amount of pretension in the cables based on the dead load applied to the beams based on deck thickness and rebar weight.
The consulting firm engineer screwed the pooch on this 1 calculation.
I didnt work in construction, I just designed and basically made the blueprint of how to design roadways. I didnt do bridgework but I did ask one of my friends at ODOT that did do bridge design, how this happened and that was the explanation I got from her.
And as you said, flatbed trailers that are cambered and designed to lay flat at maybe 60k pounds. (not sure of the number but thats close)
 

Bocephus123

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Well thats sorta accurate. It was the beams that are made with pre tensioned cables inside. The "camber" or "deflection rate" is calculated to specify the amount of pretension in the cables based on the dead load applied to the beams based on deck thickness and rebar weight.
The consulting firm engineer screwed the pooch on this 1 calculation.
I didnt work in construction, I just designed and basically made the blueprint of how to design roadways. I didnt do bridgework but I did ask one of my friends at ODOT that did do bridge design, how this happened and that was the explanation I got from her.
And as you said, flatbed trailers that are cambered and designed to lay flat at maybe 60k pounds. (not sure of the number but thats close)
yep i just put it in words some could understand !! have worked on may post tension jobs mostly parking garages a few bridges etc and a bunch of post tension slabs. i not proper in my spelling or explanations just a working man don't shoot me.
 

TerryMiller

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If you REALLY want a ride on that stretch of turnpike, do it in a Ford F450 towing a 38-foot fifth wheel at about 55 or 60 mph. We did that one year heading out towards Grove for an RV rally for our brand of fifth wheels.

Sucker bucked like crazy, and since the wife had wanted to drive for a while to get the feel of towing the trailer, she handled it quite well by slowing down to about 45 mph.
 

NationalMatch

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"The bridge originally cost $20 million to build and the Turnpike Authority says it would cost $28 million to tear down and re-build."

Dad was a defense contractor. Guaranteed if he'd built a debacle like that bridge, it wouldn't matter how much it cost to repair.

"While the Turnpike Authority admits it's an uncomfortable ride, they say it's safe and still falls within national safety guidelines."

I don't buy that. Thousands of cars crossing that section, tires creating stress each time they hit the "bump" in the roller coaster. After years and thousands of cars, creating more stress than the plans allowed for can't be sustainable.
 

TerryMiller

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"The bridge originally cost $20 million to build and the Turnpike Authority says it would cost $28 million to tear down and re-build."

Dad was a defense contractor. Guaranteed if he'd built a debacle like that bridge, it wouldn't matter how much it cost to repair.

"While the Turnpike Authority admits it's an uncomfortable ride, they say it's safe and still falls within national safety guidelines."

I don't buy that. Thousands of cars crossing that section, tires creating stress each time they hit the "bump" in the roller coaster. After years and thousands of cars, creating more stress than the plans allowed for can't be sustainable.

The Kilpatrick Turnpike out towards Yukon used to be crappy, but they must have done something, because it isn't as bad as it used to be. Back then, we didn't travel it very much because of where we lived, but now we use it more. I don't recall them having that part shut down to fix it.
 

Jwryan84

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The Kilpatrick Turnpike out towards Yukon used to be crappy, but they must have done something, because it isn't as bad as it used to be. Back then, we didn't travel it very much because of where we lived, but now we use it more. I don't recall them having that part shut down to fix it.

Yea, they replaced it entirely, it was a roller coaster for 1/2 a mile or more
 

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