Well, this is a partially complete twinning of that bridge, so it's possible that the final design calibration, in terms of how the stress from the cables is dispersed across the bolts, works for the final, finished product but in the interim it was off?
I'm no engineer though.
Could be as it looks like only one side of the bridge was elevated.
That's kind of what they're saying happened, just on a much smaller scale. The nipigon river acts as a wind tunnel and there are really strong winds that come through from lake superior. At this point, I think they're just giving any excuse they can.
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Fan of the Flames, where being OK has become OK.
Considering the engineering firm removed the project from their corporate website, I imagine there's a PR war going on. So second guessing reports in the media now might be wise.
But really, temperature, phased construction, and wind are all part of engineering designs, with environmental data being collected for that specific location in advance.
No excuses.
For those interested, looks like a lot of it was prefabricated, quite a bit here in Calgary too.
Well, this is a partially complete twinning of that bridge, so it's possible that the final design calibration, in terms of how the stress from the cables is dispersed across the bolts, works for the final, finished product but in the interim it was off?
I'm no engineer though.
From looking at pictures, and the design, this looks like the likely explanation to me.
It looks like these bolts are intended to be interior bolts when the bridge was complete, but in the interim, they were the outermost bolts, taking the brunt of the force.
Perhaps that, combined with the cold and wind, make them fail.
Always a joy to read the armchair engineers on facebook/twitter/etc debate the structural details that are way over their heads.
Sort of like me when I read people arguing that winter tires are useless, except I don't tell everyone that their opinions are crap and run away, I try to educate/help them.
But please, do tell us where we are wrong with our personal (non-professional) opinions based on little facts and only a few small res pictures, less than a day after the event occurring. Shall we just stop discussing it until we get the proper education and investigation reports a year later?
Let me guess... Engineer?
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Last edited by BlackArcher101; 01-11-2016 at 04:52 PM.
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Good to hear one lane is opened, I can only imagine how devastating this is for the locals just trying to go about their daily business.
It is interesting to hear the joints were made in China. From previous experience Chinese manufacturers will do whatever it takes to win a bid including stating their equipment is far above spec when really it is far below. If you do decide to go with China for commercial reasons you really need to do your research and visit the manufacturing facilities to ensure you are actually getting what was promised. Edit: it does look like bad calculations may have been a likely cause. I wonder if they grabbed a bridge design from the Southern US to save money.
Also, can they do any work to fix the bridge in the winter or are they pretty much stuck with the one lane and temporary solution until Spring?
Last edited by FireGilbert; 01-11-2016 at 08:20 PM.
