Wilson Creek Bridge

Infobox Bridge
bridge_name=Wilson Creek Bridge

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caption= Wilson Creek Bridge, looking northeast
locale=Montgomery County, Virginia
maint=Virginia Tech Transportation Institute [http://www.vtti.vt.edu/]
carries=Virginia Smart Road
crosses=Wilson Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the Roanoke River; County Route 723 (Ellett Road), part of U.S. Bicycle Route 76 and the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail
below=175 feet (53 m)
design=Cast-in-place cantilever box girder
mainspan=472 feet (144 m)
length=1,985 feet (605 m)
width=40 feet (12 m), 2 lanes
open=May 30, 2001
coordinates= coord|37|10|27|N|80|22|29|W|type:landmarkThe Wilson Creek Bridge (also known as the Smart Road Bridge) is the tallest bridge in Virginia at 175 feet (53 m) tall, the second tallest being the Varina-Enon Bridge over the James River in Henrico County at 157 feet (48 m) tall.

The Wilson Creek Bridge is located in Montgomery County and was built as part of the Virginia Smart Road project. It is a cast-in-place cantilever box girder bridge and extends for 1,985 feet (605 m) with three spans of 472 feet (144 m) and two spans of 283 feet (86 m).

Construction

Construction began in August, 1998. The bridge was designed by Florida-based Figg Engineering Group and built by PCL Civil Constructors Inc., a subsidiary of PCL Constructors Inc. at a cost of US$17.4 million. The bridge design is the same genre as the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge. The bridge is composed of four double-tapered piers with stone inlay, two conventional abutments, and 100 cast-in-place segments. After review of the bridge design by the construction firm, the segments were changed from 4.5 m to 5 m segments, deleting 35 segments from the critical path of construction. The bridge was completed on May 30, 2001.

Awards

In 2002, the bridge received an honorable mention in the Federal Highway Administration's Excellence in Highway Design Awards, Category 3A: Major Highway Structures Over $10 Million. The bridge also received an award that year from the Concrete Reinforced Steel Institute, the only 2002 award-winner east of the Mississippi River.

Unique Features

The cast-in-place cantilever box girder bridge design is the only one of its kind in Virginia.

The bridge is hollow. Beneath the riding surface, the box girders are open with a width of 18 feet (5 m) and a height which varies from 12-35 feet (4-11 m). Power and communication lines are carried in the hollow concrete box and run the length of the bridge. Manholes in the bridge deck allow researchers to enter the box to monitor testing equipment.

The support structure of the bridge is inlaid with Hokie Stone to blend in with the environment and meld with the architectural stylings of Virginia Tech.

Bridge Pictures

* [http://www.vtnetletter.vt.edu/july00/smartroad3.jpgEarly construction]
* [http://www.virginiadot.org/images/pr-smart_2.jpgDuring construction]
* [http://library.thinkquest.org/J002675/smart.html During construction]
* [http://www.virginiadot.org/images/pr-smart_3.jpgBelow main spans during construction]
* [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/EIHD/2002/cat3apic5.htm Construction nearing completion]
* [http://www.millenniumhwy.net/Blacksburg_Va_May_2003/Blacksburg_Va_May_2003-Pages/Image90.html Looking south]
* [http://www.pcl.com/media/files/projects/55_civilse/5500510_1_300.jpgLooking southeast across Ellett Valley and Wilson Creek]
* [http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/03jul/images/hoellen1.jpgLooking northeast]
* [http://www.virginiadot.org/images/SmartBridge1.jpgLooking northwest]

References

*Brian Fortner, "High-Tech Highway", "Civil Engineering", October, 1999
*Gunnar Lucko, [http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-120199-224950/ "Means and Methods Analysis of a Cast-In-Place Balanced Cantilever Segmental Bridge: The Wilson Creek Bridge Case Study"] , Master's Thesis: Virginia Tech [http://www.cee.vt.edu/ Department of Civil Engineering] , November 30, 1999, accessed April 1, 2007
*"'Smart' Road Getting New Name: Willis", "Roanoke Times", May 12, 2001
* [http://www.asbi-assoc.org/ American Segmental Bridge Institute (ASBI)] , [http://www.asbi-assoc.org/news/project/index.cfm?aid=189 "Smart Road Bridge, Near Blacksburg, VA, Receives CRSI Award"] , May 17, 2002, accessed April 1, 2007
*"Smart Road Bridge Wins Kudos", "Roanoke Times", May 17, 2002
* [http://www.dot.gov/affairs/fhwa4302.htm "FHWA Gives Awards to Top Highway Designs"] , Federal Highway Administration, October 13, 2002
* [http://pubsindex.trb.org/document/view/default.asp?lbid=731954 "Design and Construction of Smart Road Over Wilson Creek: Montgomery County, Virginia"] , Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, 2002, accessed May 16, 2007
*Gunnar Lucko and Jesús M. de la Garza, [http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=PPSCFX000008000001000047000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes "Constructability Considerations for Balanced Cantilever Construction"] , "Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction", Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 47-56, February, 2003, accessed July 20, 2007
*Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), [http://www.virginiadot.org/about/success2003.asp "2003 success stories"] , accessed April 1, 2007
*American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials - Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures, [http://bridges.transportation.org/?siteid=34&pageid=515 "Our Nation's Bridges: Virginia"] , June 2, 2005, accessed April 1, 2007
* [http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/constsal-smartrdbridgefacts.asp VDOT - The Smart Road Bridge Over Wilson Creek] , October 29, 2006, accessed April 1, 2007
*Greg Esposito, "Smart Road does bring benefits to valley", "Roanoke Times", April 1, 2007
* [http://www.figgbridge.com/ Figg Engineering Group] , accessed August 13, 2008
* [http://www.pcl.com/projects/Archived/5500510/index.aspx PCL - construction details] , accessed August 13, 2008
* [http://www.avarconstruction.com/pt_bridges.html#smart AVAR - construction details on post-tensioning and form-travelers] , accessed August 13, 2008
* [http://www.nxl.com/ NXL - inspection and engineering services] , accessed August 13, 2008