Since then, TDOT and AHTD have worked jointly through evaluation, analysis, design and construction to implement a cost-effective, structurally sound seismic retrofit strategy that maximizes the use of isolation bearings.
WEBWALL BRIDGE UPGRADE
“In 1992, the bridge and its approaches were given priority upgrade status in order to protect the long-term safety of the public.” “Following California’s 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, AHDT suggested we jointly undertake a feasibility study to strengthen the bridge,” said Wasserman. The west approach is precast, prestressed concrete I-girder spans and steel-plate-girder spans, while the east approach and connecting ramps are entirely welded steel-plate-girder spans.Īlthough the bridge sits along an active fault zone, it was constructed in the 1960s with little seismic protection. The main channel consists of five steel-box-girder spans and two steel-tied-arch truss spans. The structure comprises 164 spans, 160 piers and 10 abutments. The I-40 Bridge is 3.3 miles long, including the main channel spans, approaches and ramps. The structure complex is owned by both states, with costs for construction and maintenance (and the retrofit project) split 60% and 40%, respectively. As one of only two crossings of the river in the Memphis area, the I-40 Mississippi River Bridge, known locally as the Hernando de Soto Bridge, is a vital transportation, commerce and defense link between Tennessee and Arkansas. Spanning across the Mississippi River and into Memphis, I-40 carries 60,000 vehicles daily including much of the nation’s east-west interstate trucking traffic. When Wasserman retired in August 2011 he had successfully overseen a longstanding, complex effort to not only secure the safety of travelers crossing the Mississippi, but to ensure the continued economic survival of the region.
Over his career, Wasserman’s commitment to the project has endured nine phases of construction and associated contracting processes, and he has worked with five different lead engineers with project partner Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD).
"I feel somewhat like a lone survivor, who gets the trophy bottle of champagne.”Įd Wasserman, CE director of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) Structures Division, has spent 21 of his 25 years as state bridge engineer dedicated to the seismic retrofit of the I-40 Mississippi River Bridge. By: Robert Schamber, P.E., Fred Stephenson, P.E., David DeLeeuw, P.E., and Mark Christensen, P.E.
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