Design of Bridges for Extreme Events by Lubin Gao, Ph.D., P.E.

Design Bridges for Extreme Events

Design of Bridges for Extreme Events

Lubin Gao, Ph.D., P.E.

Disasters of Bridges

The disasters of bridges resulting from an extreme event, natural hazard or man-made hazard, could be intensive. The following links lead you to some of the famous cases in the internet.

Elevated Freeway Collapses Near S.F. Bay Bridge on April 29, 2007

A stretch of highway near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed on April 29, 2007 after a gasoline tanker crashed and burst into flames.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse (1940)

TacomaNarrows

Rainbow Bridge Collapse, January 28, 1938

RainbowBridge1938

I-40 Oklahoma Bridge Collapse,
A 600-foot section of an interstate bridge over the Arkansas River collapsed when one of two barges going north on the river rammed a pylon. About a dozen vehicles plunged into the river.

I40ArkansasRiver

Hanshin Expressway, Kobe Earthquake January 17, 1995

The elevated Hanshin Expressway, which is the main vehicular traffic artery through Kobe, was closed by collapses at three locations, one of which included a 630-m section of the expressway.

kobeHanshinExpress

Baltimore-Washington Parkway Bridge Collapse during Construction

On August 31, 1989, the Route 198 bridge over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway collapsed, injuring nine workmen and five commuters--one critically--when 400 tons (363 Mg) of steel and concrete fell on the parkway without warning.

West Gate Bridge, 1970

The West Gate Bridge, a large cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, collapsed during construction, killing 35.

Westgatebridge

Collapse of a Precast Concrete Girder Bridge during Construction, crossing Highway 15, North of Montréal, CA

A List of Bridge Failures

Excerpted from the paper “Bridge Failures – A Summary and Evaluation” by Lubin Gao, Ph.D., P.E. and Richard A. Lawrie, FACI , P.E., presented on New York City Bridge Conference, 2007.