Engineering porn

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I thought some of A2K's engineers might enjoy this time lapse of a bridge that is being moved in my neighborhood. They are shifting the old bridge to the side to use as a detour while they build the new bridge. I think the whole thing is pretty amazing.

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Type: Question • Score: 7 • Views: 2,825 • Replies: 11

[+3] - maxdancona - 01/20/2013I doubt I am the only one who clicked this with the expectation that "Engineering" was a verb.

@boomerang,

Damn - from that angle you can't see the shoehorn....

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@boomerang,

I doubt I am the only one who clicked this with the expectation that "Engineering" was a verb.

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@hingehead,

A shoehorn is right! It moved 66 feet at one end and only 33 feet at the other end.

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@maxdancona,

Sorry!

I love this kind of stuff.

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@boomerang,

Do you know how they moved it? I could google it but it's easier to boomer it.

1 Reply

@hingehead,

They've been preparing for about a year. They built the new supports, then the tracks, then the mechanism that shoves it into position.

The movement is imperceptible, inches over time -- that 1.5 minute video cover about 15 hours of real time.

There will probably be better video released soon. They just moved it last night.

Apparently it isn't the longest or heaviest bridge that has ever been moved but it (I think) is the most complicated because the bridge was falling apart and it winds through a residential area.

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@boomerang,

I wanna know if the pushy machines were automated - with the 66 feet pushing harder or more often than the 33 feet end, or whether it human controlled - maybe laser sighting to make sure ductility was surpassed (or whatever the engineering term would be for not stressing it too much sideways. Pretty freaking impressive. I wonder how much it ways.

I'm thinking about the poor administrator, CEO or whatever, with no engineering background signing the project proposal and praying his twonks knew what they were doing....

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@hingehead,

The kind of math involved in this sort of thing is WAY beyond my understanding.

Here's the best site about how they did it: http://www.sellwoodbridge.org/?p=bridge-move-and-detour-bridge#who

The pushing machines are digitally controlled:

Quote:

To move the truss along the curved path, Omega Morgan will control the pushing jacks such that the jacks at the west end will push twice as fast as the east end jacks, with the jacks at the other three points pushing at proportional rates. To accomplish this, Omega Morgan will use a “digitally-controlled power pack” that can control the amount of hydraulic fluid going to each jack.

About the weight:

Quote:

The 3400-ton truss span will be one of the longest bridge parts ever moved. The age and shape of the truss combined with the curved path of the move make it a highly complex undertaking.

Engineering porn

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