Lessons From the Kinzua: An Investigation Into the Collapse of the Kinzua Viaduct, a 103-Year Old Railroad Bridge and Civil Engineering Landmark in Pennsylvania

This article discusses the collapse of the Kinzua viaduct in northwestern Pennsylvania. The viaduct, used heavily as a coal rail line in the early 20th century with diminishing traffic and eventual public ownership by 1963, was a massive, beautiful, and highly prized architectural accomplishment for the New York-Pennsylvania border region. The collapse was caused by a massively powerful F-1 tornado that swept through the area on 21 July 2003. The article discusses the nature of the collapse in sequential order, and outlines eight lessons that can be learned from the collapse. Among these are: the design of tall and light structures coupled with large height-to-base aspect ratios will generally be governed by lateral loading and should, accordingly, receive greater attention during initial design; the normal notions of wind loading for structures that may experience extreme winds should be reevaluated to provide proper structural integrity; and, eyewitness testimony of a collapse, or the period immediately following a collapse, can be integral to determine what “went wrong” in buildings under structural duress.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/10480594
• Authors:
  • Leech, Thomas G
  • McHugh, Jonathan D
  • Dicarlantonio, George
• Publication Date: 2005-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Illustrations; Photos;
• Pagination: pp 56-61
• Serial:
  • Civil Engineering
  • Volume: 75
  • Issue Number: 11
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ISSN: 0885-7024
  • Serial URL: http://www.pubs.asce.org/ceonline/newce/html

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Anchor bolts; Bridge engineering; Collapse; Railroad bridges; Structural mechanics; Tornadoes; Viaducts; Wind resistant design
• Identifier Terms: Kinzua Viaduct
• Uncontrolled Terms: Wind critical
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01018621
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 19 2006 7:38AM