CONDITION OF PINE PILING SUBMERGED 62 YEARS IN RIVER WATER

IT HAS GENERALLY BEEN ASSUMED THAT TIMBER PILING NEED NOT BE PRESSURE-TREATED FOR USE IN FRESH WATER INSTALLATIONS, HOWEVER, THIS RECENT REPORT ON PILINGS REMOVED FROM THE 14TH STREET BRIDGE ACROSS THE POTOMAC RIVER IN WASHINGTON, D.C. PROMPTS A REEVALUATION OF THIS ESTABLISHED THOUGHT. WHEN THE BRIDGE WAS DISMANTLED AFTER NEARLY 60 YEARS OF SERVICE, PILING AND PIERS WERE FOUND TO BE INSUFFICIENTLY SOUND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BRIDGE. PILINGS WERE SENT TO THE FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY AT MADISON, WISCONSIN FOR DETAILED STUDY. THIS EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT EVEN THOUGH THESE PILES HAD BEEN IN FRESH WATER, THE TIMBERS ABOVE THE MUDLINE HAD LESS THAN ONE-HALF THEIR ORIGINAL STRENGTH, AND BELOW THE MUDLINE THEY HAD NO MORE THAN ABOUT 80% OF THEIR ORIGINAL STRENGTH. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 47, No 1, PP 22-24
• Corporate Authors:

  Wood Preserving

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Scheffer, T C
  • Duncan, C G
  • Wilkinson, T
• Publication Date: 1969-1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge piers; Deterioration; Fresh water; Support piles; Underwater structures
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pine
• Old TRIS Terms: Submerged conditions
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00208942
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 25 1994 12:00AM