Calaveras County, California Bridges: State Route 12 across the North Fork of Calaveras Creek

April 2013 (38.20667 Degrees, -120.71083 Degrees) State Route 12 Bridge

Continuing east on State Route 12 we arrived at a handsome six span haunched T girder bridge across the North Fork of the Calaveras River (30 0007). The bridge is 300 ft long, 33 ft wide, and on a 39 degree skew. It was built in 1938, carries 5800 vehicles a day, and has a sufficiency rating of 73.7.

The bridge sits on big pier walls and has expansion joints at the end and the middle of the bridge. Its a two lane bridge covered in asphalt.

Calaveras County, California Bridges: State Route 12 across the North Fork of Calaveras Creek by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

El Dorado County, California's Bridges: State Route 50 across Weber Creek (3)

February 2013 (38.71669 Degrees, -120.8362 Degrees) Weber Creek Bridge

A last few photos of the old and new State Route 50 Bridges across Weber Creek. I scrambled through heavy brush to get this photo, but I'm a little paranoid of riparian vegetation since I got a severe poison oak rash recently. Nothing helped until I finally got my doctor to prescribe some Prednisone, which really works.

This bridge reminds me of the Forni Road Bridge across Weber Creek that we previously studied since it's pretty much of a slab bridge with supports at the sides. However, this bridge has more diaphragms, which the Forno Road Bridge was able to do without. Another strange thing is the building paper falling out of the expansion joints. It seems strange that paper would still be coming out of a 75 year old bridge.

Well, this old bridge presents more questions than answers. Perhaps someone familiar with the old highway can enlighten us?

El Dorado County, California's Bridges: State Route 50 across Weber Creek (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

El Dorado County, California's Bridges: State Route 50 across Weber Creek (2)

February 2013 (38.71669 Degrees, -120.8362 Degrees) Weber Creek Bridge

In the photo above we can see how the old State Route 50 Bridge over Weber Creek is dwarfed by the newer highway bridges. It looks like the newer bridges are on taller embankments, perhaps because they are raised above the 100 year flood (or maybe they are just longer and going over a deep valley).

The old State Route 50 Bridge is a five span haunched girder bridge with in-span hinges at the first and fifth spans. I think the bridge might have been rehabilitated at some point. Note the interesting roller bearings in the photo below. Those don't look like they were built in 1938. The bridge is now 75 years old, which makes it eligible for designation as an historic place. However, I couldn't find any reference to this bridge. It looks like a new end diaphragm and new wingwall (and perhaps a new abutment) were cast recently, perhaps because of the widening of the newer bridges?

El Dorado County, California's Bridges: State Route 50 across Weber Creek (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

El Dorado County, California's Bridges: State Route 50 across Weber Creek (1)

February 2013 (38.71669 Degrees, -120.8362 Degrees) Weber Creek Bridge

Over the next few days we are going to study several bridges that cross Weber Creek, a 12 mile long tributary of the South Fork of the American River that runs through Diamond Springs, California.

Diamond Springs took part in much of the 19th century development that helped to create California. The wagon route used by the first pioneers went through town as well as the Pony Express and parts of the first Transcontinental Railroad. Today, two major routes go through Diamond Springs, State Route 49 and State Route 50. More information on the history of transportation through Diamond Springs can be found on Wikepedia.

Today's bridge was the original State Route 50 crossing over Weber Creek, just half a mile west of the previously studied Forni Road Bridge (the yellow pushpin in the Google earth photo below). In 1963, parallel, steel girder, four span bridges on multicolumn bents were built beside it, but they left the original bridge (built in 1938) in place. State Route 50 keeps getting more and more traffic as El Dorado County continues to grow and so new lanes are being built, but so far the original bridge has been preserved.

We'll take a closer look at this bridge tomorrow.

El Dorado County, California's Bridges: State Route 50 across Weber Creek (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

India's Bridges: Muttukadu River Bridge in Tamil Nadu (1)

January 2005 (12.804 Degrees, 80.243 Degrees) Muttukadu River Bridge

Since I showed a photo of a camel cart yesterday, I thought I'd show an ox cart today. We are now on the east side of India, in Tamil Nadu. The ox cart is traveling on a very long T girder bridge on pier walls over the wide Muttukadu River. Villagers said the bridge had been overtopped by waves during the Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami in December of 2004, but we couldn't find any damage and the barrier rail looked freshly painted.

India's Bridges: Muttukadu River Bridge in Tamil Nadu (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

New Zealand's Bridges: Ferrymead Bridge across the Heathcote River in Christchurch

March 2011 (-43.559 Degrees, 172.710 Degrees) Ferrymead Bridge

The Ferrymead Bridge crosses the Heathcote River just above the Avon-Heathcote Estuary. It is a three span continuous haunched T-girder bridge on columns without bent caps (the tops of the columns are pinned to diaphragms). The bridge is considered a lifeline because it carries 30,000 vehicles a day (as well as water, wastewater, phone, and electricity) into the suburbs up on the hills looking out onto the Estuary and the Pacific Ocean. The bridge was being widened and strengthened when the February 2011 earthquake occurred, resulting in damage to the existing columns and to the shoring (it was apparently damaged and closed again after the June 2011 earthquake). 

An interesting feature of the widening is the very deep beam (in the foreground) that was used to support the end of the bridge.


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

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

March 2011 (-43.509 Degrees, 172.721 Degrees) Pages Road Bridge

The next structure downstream is the Wainoni Bridge, but I never took a photo of it. The next bridge after that is Pages Road Bridge, a continuous three span haunched T-girder structure on pier walls that was built in 1951. This bridge had moderate damage from both the September 2010 and the February 2011 earthquakes. It has long embankments supported by stone retaining walls that were cracked due to soil movement during the earthquakes. Despite the earthquake damage the bridge remains a dignified structure with its open bannister barrier rails and tapered light poles.

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

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

March 2011 (-43.525 Degrees, 172.646 Degrees) Barbadoes Street Bridge

Continuing along the Avon River we come to Barbadoes Street, which runs north and south through the City Center. The street was named after an Anglican Church Diocese in the West Indies. The river crossing is another single span haunched T girder bridge that was built around 1950. I wonder if they built falsework from the two abutments to form these haunched girders? Perhaps the forms were reusable since there are so many of these bridges in Christchurch.

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

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

March 2011 (-43.528 Degrees, 172.640 Degrees) Manchester Street Bridge

This handsome structure is a haunched T-girder bridge supported on end diaphragm abutments. It was built in 1940 and replaced an open spandrel deck arch. Note the quaywall along the river is much older and probably dates back to the original bridge. The bridges along this stretch of the Avon River are about as long (about 60 ft) as they are wide.

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

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

March 2011 (-43.532 Degrees, 172.633 Degrees) Hereford Street Bridge

Continuing downstream another couple of hundred feet we reach the Hereford Street Bridge. We are now in the City Center and the Avon River is crossed by many bridges. The river is less than two hundred feet wide, but it will continue to widen as we approach the Pacific. These single span, haunched 'T' girder bridges are a good choice for a two hundred foot span. 

The Hereford Street Bridge was built in 1938 and has Art Deco details. There are pedestals at the abutments that support attractive lampposts. Winglike details extend from the abutments along the exterior girders. There are highly decorative railings. A brief Christchurch Libraries Article (online) provides photos of the new and old bridges and calls the current bridge a new type of structure: a 'rigid frame' or 'square arch.'

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