‘Best of’ IBC Webinar Series

The Best of IBC Webinar Series is a great way to preview the high quality technical content presented at the International Bridge Conference®.

Attendees can earn 1 pdh credit!

Virtual webinars are FREE to attend, but registration is required for pdh certification. Register below.

January 15, 2025 Noon – 1:00 PM EST

IBC 24-42: Bridge Rehabilitation in the Heart of Our Nation’s Capital
Ahmad Faqiri and Jeffrey Hollands, P.E., HDR, Vienna, VA

Over half a mile of an elevated portion of the I-695 Freeway in Washington, DC is comprised of three main bridges and 10 ramp bridges. Bridge 1103 and its ramps, approximately 800 feet long, are a series of simple prestressed bulb-tee spans ranging from 50 to 150 feet long supported on reinforced concrete pier bents. Bridges 1104 and 1109, approximately 550 feet and 1500 feet long respectively, are primarily a series of simple steel plate girder spans ranging from 50 feet to 260 feet long supported on steel cross-girders and reinforced concrete columns. Several of the steel plate girder spans include pin and hanger connections. Theses bridges span over parking lots, local roads, and CSX facilities, resulting in complex bridge shapes. Built in the 1960s and rehabilitated in 1990s, these bridges are in poor condition, needing deck repair, joint replacement, beam repair, pin and hanger retrofit, bearing repair, pier/cross girder repair, and column/abutment repair. Due to the highly urbanized location of this project and the importance of the freeway to the transportation network of the US capital city, MOT is a major component of the project. To mitigate the risk and reduce the construction duration, the design team has proposed accelerated bridge construction methods such as use of ultra-high-performance concrete for the bridge deck overlay and some of the other repairs such as link slabs and joint replacements. Additional innovative rehabilitation techniques, to enhance bridge preservation, include metalizing of concrete and catcher beams at pin-and-hanger locations.

IBC 24-43: Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization – Construction overview and opening preview
Kevin O’Connor, HDR, Pittsburgh, PA

The Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization Program (PIT-TMP) will be approximately 90% complete at the time of the IBC in 2024. When the 2025 IBC comes back to Pittsburgh the Airport will be completed and open, and many of the conference attendees will pass through the new facility. The PIT-TMP is a terminal and roadway project that includes architectural and art elements as part of the Terminal Front Bridge and retaining walls. This presentation will show construction photos of the nearly complete facility and compare to renderings and mockups that were produced in design to illustrate the successful execution of the project vision. The PIT-TMP was designed using an overarching concept of Nature, Technology, and Community (NaTeCo). This concept is evident in the design of the Terminal, the bridge and retaining walls, and the terminal curbs on the bridge. The bridge design team also paid special attention to the user experience at the terminal curbs on the bridge, which is an area that is often neglected in airport design.

February 12, 2025 Noon – 1:00 PM EST

IBC 24-07: Pittsburgh’s Three Sisters Bridges Rehabilitation-Historic Bridge Rehabilitation Lessons Learned
Aaron Colorito, P.E., Michael Baker International, Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh’s historic Three Sisters Bridges (6th, 7th, and 9th Street) over the Allegheny River are nearing the completion of three rehabilitation projects that began in 2016. Although nearly identical in design, detailing, and construction, they have experienced age and deterioration in different ways. Numerous structural repairs were detailed throughout the rehabilitations to address different types of deterioration, damage, and deficient load-carrying capacity. These and other repair strategies are presented for structural steel, concrete, and masonry repair, including the challenging process of cleaning decades of soot and soil from the distinctive masonry substructure units of all three bridges. Challenges encountered during the rehabilitation projects are discussed from a designer’s and owner’s perspective.

IBC 24-09: Suspension Bridge Rehabilitation and Preservation Constructability Challenges
Josh Pudleiner, P.E., STSC, AECOM, Philadelphia, PA

There are 51 long span suspension bridges carrying vehicular traffic in North America. Of that number 50% of them are over 75 years old and 80% of them are over 50 years old. The US, has the oldest major cable suspension bridge inventory in the world with an average age of 73 years. The older of these bridges includes Williamsburg (1903), Brooklyn (1883) and Roebling (1867) with Wheeling (1849) being the oldest in the U.S.
As they get older, the inspection, maintenance, preservation and rehabilitation of these bridges becomes even more vital as the majority of them carry critical infrastructure routes and their closure or even partial closure would cause significant disruption and have an adverse economic effect. Therefore, it is essential that they are well managed and maintained.

Over the past two to three years additional funding has been made available to owners of some of these bridges and there is a large program of work being undertaken to ensure and in cases extend the service life of these bridges.
This paper will examine some of the constructability issues faced by engineers when carrying out projects to preserve, rehabilitate or replace elements of these suspension bridges. These include:

• Suspender ropes testing and replacement
• Hand ropes and stanchion post testing and replacement
• Main cable internal wire inspection
• Main cable dehumidification
• Anchorage dehumidification
• Cable band bolt re-tensioning and replacement
• Main cable saddle bent bolt replacement