Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Seaway International Bridges over St. Lawrence River at Cornwall, ON

1958 South Channel: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite, 14 photos)

South Channel.
CornwallSeawayNews, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) via BridgeHunter

This 2,480' (1061m) long bridge has a main span of 895' (273m). [HistoricBridges_south]

1958-2014 North Channel. The highest clearance was over the Cornwall Canal rather than the river.
Street View, Jul 2015

But the river had a fairly high clearance.
Street View, Jul 2015

The arched continuous truss main span is 414' (162m), and the length of the bridge is 5,350' (1631m). [HistoricBridges_north]
This bridge is also called the Three Nations Crossing because "an international Native American / First Nations reservation" is on part of the Cornwall Island. [BridgeHunter_north, HistoricBridges_north]
 
Photo from ezbordercrossing

2014 North Channel. The piers of the previous bridge have yet to be removed in 2017. Obviously, the girders are made with steel.
Street View, Aug 2017

The former south channel bridge is, in the foreground and the north channel bridge is in the background.
HistoricBridges_north


South Channel Predecessor Bridge


Chris Granger posted two images with the comment:
Cornwall, Ontario....September 6, 1898 and it was the day that a priest from Ottawa travelled to Russell and blessed the O&NY line.  Two hours later, which was also the amount of time photographer J.A. Noel finished his photos for the daily progression of construction for the St. Lawrence Bridges happened.  Just before Noon there was a loud sound of metal crashing against one another.  Noel went back to the south channel bridge and saw this.  Two of the three spans disappeared into the river, taking with it 15 souls and injuring 18 more.
The released report of what happened was that the Sooysmith Company did not properly find bedrock to build the piers.  What they thought was solid rock turned out to be 5 feet of gravel and beneath that was 20 feet of soft clay before bedrock.  Pier 2 collapsed from the weight of the steel work.  Phoenix Bridge Company was also found to be at fault.
A history tidbit, the centre span was found to be too heavy and the river current too swift to be retrieved so it was left in the river since the south channel did not have navigation ships use it and it was all but forgotten until 1957.  With the St. Lawrence Seaway using the south channel the bridge was removed (replaced with today's suspension bridge) and the dredges found the sunken steel work and had to get it removed before they could make the channel deeper for ocean ships.  Photos from the Cornwall Community Museum
1

2

HistoricBridges_south, this webpage also has historical photos of the North Channel bridge.
"The former South Channel Bridge was opened to traffic in 1900....When both former bridges served vehicular traffic, they were called the Roosevelt International Bridges, a name given in 1934."

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

1908,2010 Old Wenatchee Bridge over Columbia River at Wenatchee, WA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

This 1908 bridge was bypassed in 1950, but reopened to pedestrians in 2010. [BridgeHunter]
"This was the first highway bridge over the Columbia River in the United States. It was built to carry not only vehicular traffic, but also a water pipeline." The 1,320' (402m) long bridge has a main span of 520' (158m). [BridgeHunter]

Street View, Aug 2019

Darel Maden posted
Columbia River Wenatchee Washington

Carrying a water pipeline explains why the bridge lasted into the 21st century even though traffic was removed from the bridge in 1950.
C Hanchey FlickrLicense: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 
"The Columbia River Bridge remained in service as a highway bridge until a new structure was built in 1950. In 1951 the bridge was sold and the two 36” diameter original water pipes were removed from the outside of the bridge and a larger pipe was installed through the truss. The bridge continues to provide water to the fruit industry in East Wenatchee. It was rehabilitated and reopened as a pedestrian bridge in 2010.
"
 
C Hanchey FlickrLicense: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 
 
C Hanchey FlickrLicense: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 

Street View, Apr 2016

Monday, July 29, 2024

1961 I-295 Throgs Neck Bridge between Queens and Bronx, NY

(Archived Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite, 866 photos)

The bridge is 12,660' (3.9km, 2.4mi.) long with a main span of 1,800' (549m).

MTA Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
Throgs Neck Bridge Under Construction 1960
View of the Throgs Neck Bridge suspension span under construction, as seen from the Bronx.
Courtesy of MTA Bridges and Tunnels Special Archives

MTA Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
Throgs Neck Bridge 1960
Compressing the cables on the Throgs Neck Bridge. May 24, 1960.
Courtesy of MTA Bridges and Tunnels Special Archives

SfoskettLicense: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)
 
Long Live American Forces posted
The Throgs Neck Bridge is one of the major transportation bridges in New York City, connecting the boroughs of Queens and the Bronx. The Throgs Neck Bridge is tolled for both the ways; toll cost for either side is the same. Both the directions accept only tag transponder or toll by mail; you cannot pay cash on Throgs Neck Bridge.
Beauty of America posted
The Throgs Neck Bridge is one of the major transportation bridges in New York City, connecting the boroughs of Queens and the Bronx. The Throgs Neck Bridge is tolled for both the ways; toll cost for either side is the same. Both the directions accept only tag transponder or toll by mail; you cannot pay cash on Throgs Neck Bridge.
Bridges Now and Then shared
David Cooper: The best reason to go up the Empire State Building is when you go up on a clear night...and count the illuminated suspension bridges all the way to the far horizons.

ColliersEngineering
Identified toxic materials such as asbestos, lead paint and PCBs in caulk materials. Advised as to how to safely deal with those materials during a deck rehabilitation project.
[Why don't web sites provide a date as to when something happened?]

Jeffrey Gluck commented on a Spiro Polychronopoulos post
 
John Powers posted
Throgs Neck Bridge from Fort Schuyler
 
John Powers posted
Throgs Neck Bridge, Bronx/Queens NY

nycroads
This 6-lane bridge uses EZ-Pass for tolls and handles 105,000 vehicles per day. 
Starting in 2005, heavy trucks (over 40 tons) "can cross the span only between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM at a maximum speed of 30 MPH." This is because they were cracking steel floor beams. The deck had already been replaced in the 1980s because of cracked floor beams.
Between 2000 and 2004, a $23m projected repaired the deck. In 2002, a $10m project rewrapped the main cables and installed a protective islands.

nycroads

Sunday, July 28, 2024

1967,2007 The Laviolette Bridge over St. Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, QC

(Historic Bridges; Satellite, 78 photos)

The 8,881' (2,707m) long bridge has a main span of 1,100' (335M). "The tallest point of the bridge structure is 350 feet [107m], and the highest point of the deck is 180 feet [55m]." [HistoricBridges]

Street View, Aug 2014

Bridges Now and Then posted
"December 20, 1967. The Laviolette Bridge was officially opened in the Canadian province of Quebec. This arch bridge, which spans the Saint Lawrence River, carries two lanes of vehicular traffic in each direction via the major highway Autoroute 55. The Laviolette Bridge links the city of Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the river with the city of Bécancour on the south shore. (The bridge’s namesake is Sieur de Laviolette, a 17th century French settler who is widely acknowledged as the founder of Trois-Rivières.) The Laviolette Bridge has also been a vital connection between Quebec City on the river’s north shore and the southwestern part of the province." (Photo Credit: John White)

pomerleau
The bridge was rehabilitated in 2007.

tourismetroisrivieres, 1 of 5 photos
"Today, it is still the longest metal frame bridge in Québec." It is used by 40,000 vehicles per day.

Wheeled Excavators


Steven J. Brown posted at RWE Power AG - Tgb. Hambach in Niederzier, Germany
RWE Power Bagger 293 (built 1995 as MAN TAKRAF RB293) is a giant bucket-wheel coal excavator. It is 315' tall, 740' long and weighs 14,200 tons. It is recorded in the Guinness World Records as the heaviest terrestrial vehicle (shared with a sibling). The bucket-wheel itself is 70' in diameter with 18 buckets, each of which can hold over 530 cubic feet of material. It works in the largest open-pit mine in Europe. Hambach, Germany - September 8, 2022.
David P. Reaves III: What a huge machine! This hole-in-the-ground is, simply stated, immense. (We've driven past the area; no good view from the main highways).On Google Maps, it appears to be nearly five miles across. From what I've learned, brown coal is really, really dirty, BTW, but it's right at or just below ground level, so relatively easy to scoop out.
https://www.google.com/.../@50.9064099,6.../data=!3m1!1e3

Screenshot @ 1:45
The world's largest wheeled excavator mines coal

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Dumbarton Bridges over San Francisco Bay at Menlo Park, CA

1927 Road: (Was replaced by the 1982 bridge.)
1982 Road: (Satellite, 1,135 photos)

The railroad bridge has some truss spans over the deeper part of the bay and trestle approaches on both sides. The middle truss span is a swing span. Most of the trestle approaches are modern concrete caps over concrete piles. But the easternmost trestle is wood. On a satellite image, you can see that the western end of the trestle no longer exists. According to a comment by Harold M, that is because it burned in January 1998. According to an article he references, SP had abandoned this bridge in 1982.
Street View, Feb 2024

Jack Liu, Feb 2023

In the background is the blimp hangers in Moffett Field.
Jack Liu, Nov 2023

Victor-Manuel Valencia, Oct 2023

KQED, Ben Cheng/Menlo Park Fire District
"The bridge opened in 1910 and was used to transport freight from the Peninsula to the East Bay. It shaved 26 miles off the journey on land, and at the time it was the costliest bridge in the state. Freight transport across the rail bridge ceased in 1982, the same year the Dumbarton Automotive Bridge opened less than a mile north."

A telescopic lens makes the bridge look shorter and the approach curves look tighter. The channel span is 340' (104m) with a vertical clearance of 85' (26m). [mtc]
Jack Liu, Apr 2023

Bridges Now and Then posted
A still of the SF Bay Area's Dumbarton Bridge, c. 1971, from the film Harold and Maude. The Dumbarton was the first bridge to span the Bay.
Bob Art: I watched it blown up from the top of a building at Moffet

Bridges Now and Then commented on Bob's comment

Is today's Dumbarton Pier a remnant of the old road bridge?
Street View, May 2011

Hua Chen, Aug 2023

The truss bridge on the right side of the above photo next to the railroad bridge carries the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct.
1953/55 Mountain View Quad @ 24,000

Friday, July 26, 2024

1935 Mississippi Lock and Dam #20 near Canton, MO

(John A. Weeks III; HAERSatellite)

USACE_instructions

"The maximum lift is 10.5 feet with an average lift of 5.3 feet....The movable dam has three non-submersible roller gates (20 feet high by 60 feet long), 34 non-submersible Tainter gates (20 feet high by 40 feet long), and six submersible Tainter gates (20 feet high by 40 feet long). The submersible Tainter gates submerge three feet." [USACE]

USACE, Rock Island District posted two photos with the comment:
Today we have another 'Then & Now'! This one takes us down to Lock and Dam 20 in Canton, Missouri. The first photo was taken in July of 1935 and shows construction of the steel forms that would later make up piers 8 and 9 of the dam.
The second photo was taken earlier this month [Oct 2024] and shows what the completed dam looks like today. Both photos were taken looking west towards the lock.
1

2

Note the high river level. All of the gates are out of the water. There was flooding on the Mississippi in 2024. Some of the locks closed in July.
Street View, Jun 2024

In the only other comparable view available, we can't see the river level.
Street View, Jul 2012

And then it occured to me that I could get a different view to compare the river levels.
Street View, Jul 2012

Judging by the height and maintenance of the levees behind the tracks, there are times when those tracks are under water. According to the 2004 SPV Map, those are CB&Q tracks that are now used by BNSF and NS.
Street View, Jun 2024
 
The gates were also out of water in 2008, but the river level wasn't nearly as high on the lock walls.
Johns Weeks, 1 of several photos

Johns Weeks

David Webster posted two photos.
Mirandaandseth Wyman: Lock 20 Canton Missouri
1
[The river is still running high on Jul 23, 2024]

2

NOAA

Those trees on the right are near the westernmost point of Illinois.
Street View, Jun 2012

HAER_grid