SEISMIC RETROFIT OF WESTBOUND I-70 OVER THE MISSOURI RIVER IN ST. CHARLES-ST. LOUIS COUNTIES, MISSOURI

The St. Louis Missouri metropolitan area is in a Category B seismic zone as defined by the current AASHTO Specifications (1995). Westbound Interstate 70 over the Missouri River in St. Charles and St. Louis counties is one of the heaviest traveled roadways in Missouri. The through-truss and steel plate girder bridge at this location is an important transportation structure for the entire state of Missouri and was given a high priority by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) for seismic retrofit evaluation. After initial screening and extensive review of all bridge components, retrofit strategies were developed to provide the predicted tolerance for earthquake induced response. The vulnerability of highway bridges to failure caused by earthquake loading has been repeatedly demonstrated by events as the 1964 Alaska earthquake, the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the 1995 Northridge earthquake in the San Fernando Valley, and the recent devastating earthquake in Kobe, Japan in 1995. Following the San Fernando earthquake, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) developed design guidelines for retrofitting existing bridges that were designed prior to the current seismic design procedures. These seismic retrofit guidelines consist of three major steps: (1) preliminary screening to rank or prioritize a large number of bridges in order of decreasing importance based on several criteria including structural vulnerability, lifeline dependency and traffic volume; (2) detailed evaluation procedure to determine the components of a bridge that require retrofitting; and (3) selection and design to retrofit measures.

• Corporate Authors:

  Iowa State University, Ames

  Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
  Town Engineering Building
  Ames, IA  United States  50011-3232
• Authors:
  • BROWN, C J
  • Hague, S T
• Conference:
  • Practical Solutions for Bridge Strengthening and Rehabilitation BSAR II
  • Location: Kansas City, Missouri
  • Date: 1997-3-24 to 1997-3-25
• Publication Date: 1997-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: p. 3-12

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Design; Earthquake resistant structures; Highway bridges; Retrofitting; Seismic prospecting; Structural design; Structural engineering
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00802414
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 29 2000 12:00AM