Articles

Main Speaker - April 2015

Main Speaker: Jonathan C. McGormley, P.E. - Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.

Jonathan C. McGormley will be presenting the data collection efforts for the IH-345 project. Mr. McGormley joined Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE) in 1994, and has since been involved with the structural evaluation and repair of deteriorated or distressed structures. Through his work, he has carried out numerous inspections and evaluations of steel bridge structures with an emphasis on fatigue and fracture problems. He is also experienced in nondestructive testing techniques and has conducted instrumentation and field testing projects. Jonathan earned his BSCE from the University of Cincinnati and his MSCE from Purdue University in West Lafayette.

Topic: Assessment, Instrumentation, and Load Testing of the IH-345 Bridge in Dallas

The IH-345 Bridge is an elevated expressway linking I-30, I-45 and US 75 in Dallas, Texas. Completed in 1971, the twin northbound and southbound two-girder structures each approaching 1.7 miles in length contain both mainline and collector ramps. Since the 1990s, the bridge has exhibited distortion-induced fatigue cracking at the floor beam-to-girder connections. The structure is designated fracture critical and, because of its cracking history, is inspected annually by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). As part of a comprehensive study commissioned by TxDOT, a Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB)-led team was tasked with completing a full condition assessment and a finite element method (FEM) analysis of 63 of the units for the purpose of developing long-term fatigue retrofits for the bridge. WJE led the condition assessment and field instrumentation portions of the work. This talk will discuss the methods used and challenges encountered in collecting large amounts of inspection and instrumentation data used to support the FEM modeling and retrofit decisions.