Structural Evaluation Of A Truss Pedestrian Bridge

The superstructure of a steel pedestrian bridge located near the University of Houston Downtown campus was selected to expose the students of the Structural Analysis and Design program to the evaluation of an existing structure. The bridge is a continuous structure of 304’0” making three spans with support-to-support distances of 57’0”-190’0”-57’0”. The steel superstructure consists of two vertical trusses with 10’0” height and spaced by 10’0”; a top horizontal truss, and a concrete slab at the bottom that is supported on steel beams spanning between the vertical trusses. The bridge is supported by straps at the ends and by pin-type supports on the central bents. All the steel joints are welded. The substructure consists of concrete frames which are constructed over drilled shafts. The project tasks are to obtain the material take-off and cost estimating; obtain the natural frequency; make the structural modeling; and verify if the structure is able to withstand the loads indicated in current codes. This type of project is motivating for the students because they see a real application of their studies. The course assessment indicates that the project leads to an excellent compliance of the course outcomes.