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Home My WebLink AboutSN 3956 Narrative Aurelius over GT RR 2017 BIENNIAL BRIDGE INSPECTION SUMMARY AURELIUS ROAD OVER THE GRAND TRUNK RAILROAD STRUCTURE NUMBER – 3956 CITY OF LANSING, MI October 10, 2017 Tetra Tech 401 South Washington Square, Suite 100, Lansing, MI 48933 Tel 517.316.3930 Fax 517.484.8140 www.tetratech.com The structure is a three span steel bridge constructed in 1972. The center span is suspended with pin and hangers. The bridge is in overall fair condition with some components in poor condition. The bridge is on a 12 month inspection cycle. DECK The bridge has two separate roadways with a raised center median curb and an open longitudinal joint. The bridge was constructed with a sidewalk on the west side which is no longer being used since the construction of an adjacent bicycle path. A newer raised concrete median separates the southbound traffic from the bicycle path. The northbound lane has a bituminous overlay which is in poor condition with extensive cracks and spalls with bituminous patches. The expansion joints are paved directly over. There is a “macadam” type overlay on top of the bituminous in the driving lane but not the shoulder/bicycle lane. The coverage of the macadam overlay is incomplete and there are large areas where the underlying bituminous overlay is still visible mainly in the north half of the middle span (2W) and the north span (3W). The overall surface is very uneven. The overlay has heaved about 1/2" at the north expansion joint. The exposed bituminous has heavy map cracking. The southbound lane has a concrete overlay which has spalling with bituminous patches at both expansion joints. The south expansion joint is partially filled with hot‐poured tar and asphalt. The north expansion joint is completely filled with hot‐poured tar. There is a 2’x 10’ spall at the north abutment reference line. There are scattered cracks with hollow areas in the south (1W) and north (3W) spans. The center median curbs have heavy cracking (both longitudinal and transverse) and spalling with exposed reinforcement. There are large spalls along the top of the west face of the curb for the full length of the south span and 50% of the center span. The west face has spalls at the expansion joints and a 6‐foot long spall in the center span. The sidewalk along the west side has scattered cracks and shallow spalls, mainly in the north span. The adjacent concrete median curb is in good condition with some widely spaced transverse cracks. The railings are concrete open parapets with a one‐tube rail. The concrete railing has rusty cracks on all of the posts and spalls on many of the posts that range from minor to heavy. The east railing has horizontal cracks the full length with heavy spalling and exposed reinforcement in the center span. The west railing has heavy cracking at the south end of the center span with some spalling. The deck was constructed with galvanized steel stay‐in‐place forms except at the fascias and in the center bay with the open longitudinal deck joint. The forms prevent direct inspection of the underside of the deck in most of the bays. At the center longitudinal open joint, the underside of the deck has transverse cracks at 1 to 3‐foot spacing with some rust stains. There are spalls on each fascia at the north expansion joint. The stay‐in‐place forms have light rust and efflorescence along their edges at the beams. There is also rust and efflorescence at the transverse seams in the forms throughout the east Tetra Tech 401 South Washington Square, Suite 100, Lansing, MI 48933 Tel 517.316.3930 Fax 517.484.8140 www.tetratech.com half of the bridge deck. The deck at the expansion joints was formed using flat steel sheets as stay‐in‐ place formwork. These sheets are heavily corroded and hanging down in many locations. SUPERSTRUCTURE The beams are unpainted A588 steel with pin and hangers adjacent to the piers. There is heavy corrosion and some delamination and section loss of the beam ends at the pin and hangers. There is pack rust at the pin and hangers. All of the beam ends are very close together at the pin and hangers. There is moderate corrosion with delamination at the abutment bearings. Some beams have delamination at the webs at the backwalls, mainly at the north abutment. SUBSTRUCTURES The abutments have scattered hairline cracks. There is a 3‐foot long spall with exposed reinforcement on the top of the north abutment in the 8th bay from the west. There is a shallow spall on top of the northeast slope wall where a piece of wood was cast into the concrete. The abutment backwalls have an expansion joint with joint filler under the open joint in the deck. The joint filler material is falling out and dirt is coming through. The south pier has vertical hairline cracks in the crash wall. There is a crack and incipient spall on the top of the crash wall at north side of the center construction joint. The north pier has 1‐foot spalls with exposed reinforcement on the top of the crash wall on each face at the center construction joint. There is cast‐in‐place concrete slope paving at both abutments. There are cracks and heaving of some of the panels under the fascias. There are some weeds and trees growing in the joints under the fascias. There is a tree growing behind the north pier at the crash wall. APPROACHES The approach roadways consist of bituminous pavement or bituminous covered concrete at each end of the bridge which transitions to concrete pavement. There is transverse cracking at 3 to 6‐foot spacing at both approaches. In the northbound lane, the “macadam” surface extends past the bridge onto the approaches. The center median curbs have settled adjacent to the bridge at both ends. The approach curb on the east side tapers down to deck level at the abutment reference lines. RECOMMENDATIONS: The bridge is scheduled for total replacement pending approval of the City’s funding application. In the interim period, until replacement occurs, we recommend the following:  Patch spalls in the deck at the north abutment reference line in the southbound lane.  Patch small spalls in the bituminous surface in the northbound lane.  Patch spalls in the approach pavement at the abutment reference lines and at the northeast quadrant.