Delaware’s Indian River Inlet Bridge: Comprehensive Plan for Long-Term Structural Monitoring

Plagued by a serious scour problem, the existing bridge over the Indian River Inlet in Sussex County, Delaware, will be replaced by a 1,750-ft cable-stayed bridge. The new bridge is being constructed under a design–build contract by the team of Skanska and AECOM. The bridge is due to open in summer 2011. As part of this project, a comprehensive structural monitoring system has been designed and will be installed on the bridge to aid in the long-term maintenance and operation of this significant structure. The concept and the design of the monitoring system were proposed by the Center for Innovative Bridge Engineering, University of Delaware. The system has been designed with the intent of providing quantitative data on the long-term performance of the bridge, which can be used to augment the traditional inspection program. The all-fiber-optic system will include 119 embedded and surface-mounted sensors that will measure strain in the deck and pylons; accelerations on the deck, pylons, and cables; deck inclination; chloride penetration in the deck; temperature; and wind speed and direction. Slow, gradual trends resulting from thermal effects and environmental factors will be captured by the monitor data, readings taken on the hour, every hour. Bridge response under intense live loads, such as heavy vehicles and high winds, will be recorded as event data. A series of baseline readings and diagnostic tests will be conducted once the bridge is completed and will be used for future comparisons. The paper presents an overview of the monitoring system and the monitoring program, a description of the way the data will be used, and the owner’s perspective.

Language

  • English

Media Info

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01322205
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 9780309160421
  • Report/Paper Numbers: 7IBEC-0019
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Dec 6 2010 2:46PM