Page 57 - Bridge and Highway Structure Rehabilitation and Repair

32 SECTION 1 ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

would make it less likely for the wind to move them. Roebling went on to build the Niagara
Gorge suspension bridge in 1854 and the famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
Except for the ill-fated Tacoma Narrows Bridge that had design fl aws, the above long life
bridges have been successfully maintained on a regular basis.
3. Similarly, the French constructed the tallest bridge, Millau Viaduct, to connect Paris with the
Mediterranean. Akashi-Kaikyo in Japan emerged as the longest span bridge. The proposed
intercontinental Bering-Strait Bridge would link North America, Asia, and Europe.

1.10.3 The Challenges of Maintaining Bridges on the
Mighty Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
1. The bridges of the Mississippi provide the people and industries of the region a vital link
for interstate travel and commerce from Minnesota to Louisiana. The river itself provides
a border between states. For the agricultural bounty of the midwest it serves as a nautical
highway to the sea. A variety of bridge construction can be seen in cable stayed bridges and
pneumatic caissons.
2. Constructing the well-known structures has been a challenge for engineers, however, main-
taining such huge bridges has been an even greater challenge.
Notable examples are:
• Gateway Arch Bridge in St. Louis
• Super bridge: Clark Bridge in Alton, Illinois
• New Greenville
• The Bridge at St. Louis (due to Captain James Buchanan Eads)
• Minneapolis Stone Arch (due to James J. Hill)
• The ill-fated Route I35W bridges.
Similarly, it has not been easy to harness or maintain the Missouri River for crossing
purposes.

1.10.4 Arterial Highway Systems of the Northeast United States
1. The New York and New Jersey region transportation system is one of the largest arterial
systems in the world and includes navigable rivers in addition to bridges and tunnels. It
serves many modes of transportation and users, such as:
• Pedestrians
• Marathon runners
• Bicycles
• Automobiles
• Taxis
• HOVs
• Buses
• Rapid transit
• Ferry users.
2. It is hard to imagine the chaos the Big Apple traffic would face and the resulting adverse

effects on the economy of the northeast region without regularly maintained long span
bridges, such as:
• Brooklyn
• Harlem River
• Williamsburg