Los Angeles County, California Bridges: Imperial Highway Bridge across the Los Angeles River

August 1999 (33.9306 Degrees, -118.1760 Degrees) Los Angeles River Bridges

Looking upstream from under the Imperial Highway Bridge (53C0042). I'm not sure why a state highway bridge has a county bridge number. Anyway, it's a five span T girder bridge on pier walls that was built in 1951 and widened with I girders in 1974. You can see the previously visited Long Beach Freeway Bridge and the UP Salt Lake Bridge in the background. At this point we are about 16 miles from the river's mouth in Long Beach.

Los Angeles County, California Bridges: Imperial Highway Bridge across the Los Angeles River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Miyagi Japan's Bridges: Tsuya Railway Bridge (1)

March 2012 (38.769 Degrees, 141.507 Degrees) Tsuya Railway Bridge

The next location is in northern Miyagi Prefecture at the Tsuya River. There was a lot of damage at his location including to this railway. We'll take a closer look at the railway damage tomorrow.

Miyagi Japan's Bridges: Tsuya Railway Bridge (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Niigata, Japan's Bridges: Rinko Yasaka Bridge across the U River (3)

August 2007 (37.3675 Degrees, 138.5433 Degrees) Rinko Yasaka Bridge

Looking downstream at the Rinko Yasaka Bridge, which is a two span precast I girder bridge across the U River  in Kashiwazaki. This bridge sustained quite a bit of damage without losing much functionality (once the embankments were repaired). For a precast bridge, it has some nice features. Like the previously studied Aumegawa Bridge, it's partially covered in ivy. It provides a nice view of the Sea of Japan. It includes a plinth with a decorative tablet giving the bridge's name.

We'll study the bridge damage from the 2007 earthquake in more detail tomorrow.

Niigata, Japan's Bridges: Rinko Yasaka Bridge across the U River (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Utah's Bridges: State Route 276 over North Wash in Garfield County

May 2006 (38.02472, -110.57667) SR-276 over North Wash Bridge

I rode south past Hanksville and onto State Route 95 towards Hite. At the junction of SR-95 and SR-276 there is a little bridge over the North Wash, which is a canyon that descends rapidly towards Lake Powell. State Route 296 continues southwest to the town of Bullfrog.

The National Bridge Inventory reports that the North Wash Bridge is composed of two simple (62 ft long) prestressed, precast I girder spans on a hammerhead pier and seat-type abutments. It was designed for an HS20 loading which seems appropriate for a two-lane road carrying only 500 vehicles (and 35 trucks) a day.

The rounded sides of the pier may have been chosen to provide minimum drag during the flash floods that occasionally pour through this wash. The bridge is stained from the muddy water and the bank protection at the abutments has been eroded.  The bridge was built in 1967 and the bridge inspection reports discuss erosion and scour. 

Utah's Bridges: State Route 276 over North Wash in Garfield County by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

India's Bridges: Bridge across the Rudramata River near Bhuj (2)

February 2001 (23.357 Degrees, 69.695 Degrees) Rudramata Bridge

Another photo (in better focus) of the Rudramata Bridge. The towers look like they were poured from small batches of concrete with cold joints between the pours. I like the variegated colors and the shape of the towers, which couldn't have been easy to form. 

Every society has its own way of designing and building bridges. In the US, bridges are often built without much emphasis on individual expression and the bridges can have an impersonal look. In places like Singapore or Australia, it seems like there is more effort to make every bridge look special, although they can still seem a little impersonal. In countries like India or Mexico, the bridges often have a personal look, perhaps because the culture is more homogeneous or because individual craftsmanship is emphasized.

India's Bridges: Bridge across the Rudramata River near Bhuj (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

India's Bridges: Bridge across the Rudramata River near Bhuj (1)

February 2001 (23.357 Degrees, 69.695 Degrees) Rudramata Bridge

This is a ten simple-span precast ‘I’ girder bridge on tall R.C. towers and ‘well’ foundations.  Each span is 55 feet long by 24 ft wide. The two girders sit on elastomeric pads and short pedestals.  The bridge was built in 1966.

The picture is out of focus because this bridge (near a dam and down the road from Pakistan) was guarded by a soldier who told us not to take photos. I held the camera at my side while I continued to snap the shutter. Maybe the picture is out of focus because I wasn't looking though the viewfinder or because I was shaking slightly from fear of being shot.


India's Bridges: Bridge across the Rudramata River near Bhuj (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

New Zealand's Bridges: Bridge Street Bridge across the Avon River in Christchurch

March 2011 (-43.525 Degrees, 172.724 Degrees) Bridge Street Bridge 

The last bridge across the Avon River is appropriately called the Bridge Street Bridge (or the South Brighton Street Bridge). It's a three span precast I girder bridge on big hammerhead single column bents and seat type abutments. The abutment piles are broken due to lateral spreading from the February earthquake but the bridge continues to carry traffic.

A few hundred feet downstream from this bridge is the Avon-Heathcote Estuary where the Avon and Heathcote Rivers meet before flowing into the Pacific Ocean. Tomorrow we'll begin traveling up the Heathcote River.

New Zealand's Bridges: Bridge Street Bridge across the Avon River in Christchurch by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Algeria's Bridges: Connector near Monument to the Martyrs in Algiers

July 2003 Connector Ramp  (lat. 36.751· long. 3.079·) Route de l'Armee de Liberation Nationale

Algeria's Bridges: Connector near Monument to the Martyrs in Algiers by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Alaska's Bridges: Chena Flood Channel Bridges (2)

December 2002  Chena Flood Channel Bridges on Richardson Highway (lat. 64.726· long. -147.258·)

Alaska's Bridges: Chena Flood Channel Bridges (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Alaska's Bridges: Chena Flood Channel Bridges (1)

December 2002  Chena Flood Channel Bridges on Richardson Highway (lat. 64.726· long. -147.258·)

Alaska's Bridges: Chena Flood Channel Bridges (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.