High Bridge
St. Paul, Minnesota
Client:
Minnesota Department of Transportation
Date:
Construction completed 1987
Scope of work:
Design
Construction cost:
US$ 23,000,000
Services Performed:
- Bridge type selection
- Preliminary design
- Final design
- Preparation of bid plans
- Construction engineering support
Issues:
- Design of a bridge with high aesthetic standard
- Design of an arch bridge using innovative design features
- Non-linear arch response due to live loads
This half-mile-long bridge crossing the Mississippi River features a 520-ft steel tied arch river span, with half-arch side spans and steel plate girder approach spans. The deck is cast-in-place, reinforced concrete. This design features the innovative use of high-strength steel tendons below the concrete deck. These tendons were pre-loaded to counter the arch thrust. The use of tendons for the tension ties greatly improved the structural efficiency. This project received the 1988 First Place Engineering Excellence Award from the CEAC. T.Y. Lin International (TYLI) was the structural engineer of record.
- Kwong Cheng, current OPAC Principal, served as Supervising and Lead Engineer while at TYLI and performed bridge type selection and preliminary design.
- Francis Drouillard, current OPAC Principal, served as Project Engineer while at TYLI and performed final design and construction engineering support.
