Civil Engineering Students Spend Fall Break Touring Historic Bridges

Six students in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences spent their 2003 fall break touring a number of historic bridge construction sites in the Oakland, Calif., and Seattle, Wash., areas. According to Philip B. Rooney Assistant Professor Tracy Kijewski-Correa, the trip provided an opportunity for the undergraduates to observe firsthand the construction of some of the most expansive civil engineering projects in recent U.S. history, as well as the logistical challenges of modern construction. “Not only did our students gain a rare perspective of engineering beyond their coursework,” Kijewsii-Correa says, “but they also gained a deeper appreciation of engineering design and construction that their peers at other universities may not have.”

The students were accompanied by Kijewski-Correa and Notre Dame alumnus Dennis Murphy, president of Kiewit Engineering Company. Kiewit, one of the largest construction and mining organizations in North America, sponsored the trip.

Among their many stops, students toured the Skyway Bridge in the San Francisco-Oakland area. The signature span of this bridge included a self-anchoring suspension structure, the first of its kind in the United States. A portion of the bridge collapsed following the Loma Prieta Earthquake, so work to seismically retrofit the structure was under way during the time of the students’ visit.

Students also visited the Tacoma Narrows Bridge job site in Washington state. This project involves a seismic retrofit of the existing bridge, as well as construction of a second bridge with a truss deck. Once the new bridge is completed, the existing structure will be converted to a three-lane, one-way bridge with separated paths for bicycles and pedestrians. Although the project will significantly increase safety along this particular roadway, there were other concerns that had to be addressed as well, including relocation of an existing Living War Memorial Park; providing new and improved storm water collection facilities; recreating and protecting existing wetlands; developing and monitoring a new deep-water environment for bottom fish; working with the Puyallup, Muckleshoot, Squaxin Island, Nisqually, Skokomish, and Suquamish Indian Tribes regarding tribal policy, and coordinating with governmental agencies to ensure that the project remains in compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.

http://www.nd.edu/~bridge/Kiewit03/Kiewit2003.htm

Copyright 2004. University of Notre Dame.