before being installed. That report has been reproduced Originally, the Zilwaukee Bridge was to be completed by November 1983. Four years later, MDOT announced a $70 million project to replace 154 of the bridges bearings, as well as to rebuild four miles of the freeway. cannot effectively be injected or sealed. Around the time of opening, the Zilwaukee Bridge saw roughly 11.3 million vehicles cross per year, according to MDOT. With fuel prices the way they are, every mile extra hurts.. (MDOT/Michigan Highways). Traffic: Estimated 21,600,000 vehicles per year. During the six-month shutdown, traffic was rerouted via I-675 through downtown Saginaw and massive back-ups were common. The present structure was designed to relieve traffic congestion along the freeway crossing it, resulting from repeated openings of the draw span for lake freighter traffic serving industrial sites along the river. While it may have seemed like a good idea in the late-1950s, soon after needed to complete the bridge. A match-cast segment is attached to one side of that pier group Were talking about, of course, the Zilwaukee Bridge. Traffic heading north each weekend, and south when the weekend is over, will still be able to traverse three lanes on the bridge. It assures thatthe Photo taken by Douglas Butler in August 2014, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY). computer-aided design drawings for projects built since the mid-1990s. For five years, it has routinely stored blueprints electronically, he The so-called balanced cantilever construction went way out of balance. The main strength of the bridge comes from its 4,000 miles of steel tension cables hidden away in the concrete. Almost exactly nine months later, the southbound side of the Originally anticipated to last a few weeks, the project instead stretched more than six months when construction workers from Midwest Bridge Company of Williamston drilled into one of the bridge's steel tensioning rods. Located in Zilwaukee, in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan, the Zilwaukee Bridge is one of the most spectacular bridges in the world. of the ramp, now scheduled to open this year. As more and more ships traversed the Saginaw River, the bridge had to be opened more frequently, stopping vehicle traffic. new eastern bypass of Saginaw for through US-23 traffic, filled with cement grout under high pressure. After an extensive investigation, five separate factors were identified, but the main issue was that too much construction weight was placed on the joint while the deck was being built. as the construction proceeds. MDOT has concluded no one was at fault and blamed three-decade-old as built drawings that didnt show where the steel was located as the problem. Segmental bridges are in two general categories: precase and cast-in-place. The Zilwauke Bridge is so high because it must allow boats to past. The Zilwaukee Bridge is one of the few, if not the only, bridge in Michigan that doesn't use salt to de-ice the roadway, an MDOT official said. When two adjacent The Zilwaukee Bridge has a mile-long box underneath the entire span so maintenance workers can keep an eye on how its holding up. The segments at Zilwaukee were constructed at a specially designed casting During a bearing replacement project, a contractor inadvertently cut through reinforced steel on the bridge, the agency has reported. Chris has a master's degree in history and teaches at the University of Northern Colorado. The device is 940 feet long and can easily bridge across the longest Published: Jan. 16, 2023 at 8:39 AM PST. The Zilwaukee Bridge wasnt the only option pitched when thinking about how to stop the traffic jams. auto transporter trucks weighing 40 tons each. The current bridge is not the first Zilwaukee River crossing. The cost was approximately $6.8 million. This balanced group of four can be pulled from either end. However, construction of the new segmental concrete bridge ran into trouble in 1982 when an expansion joint was overloaded, crushing the temporary expansion block. on the job weigh 160 tons, so the loaded unit can weigh up to 262 tons, The state spent $120 million to build the bridge but design problems and. However, the size of interstate traffic was simply not appropriate for a small citynor did many drivers want to slow down on their way north to rural areas or south to Detroit. The river serves as the boundary between Zilwaukee Township and the city of Zilwaukee at this point, which is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of downtown Saginaw. I believe it was demolished in 1989. After eight years of construction, the northbound lanes of the Zilwaukee Bridge were opened Dec. 23, 1987. However, it is most often known as the source of a giant headache because of a costly and high-profile construction accident that halted work entirely for two years. Adding insult to injury, the contractor discovered that more than 30 of the new bearings weren't properly designed and would not fit where they were to be installed. has progressed down the bridge, all the ducts in the completed span are That same year, S.J. group to create a solid unit, six segments long. The deck itself was able to be aligned back into place and the pier underneath was then heavily reinforced. crossing the bridge and continuing northerly toward Bay City. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Zilwaukee Bridge - Old. High pressure injection We lifted and tilted and jacked it into place. And the final contract to complete the bridge after a construction mishap totaled $38 million. text here is reproduced word-for-word from the original report and Each segment is manufactured with 10,000 pounds of reinforcing steel inside. BAY CITY, Mich. (WNEM) - The Bay Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced it is permanently changing its routes to avoid tolls on Liberty Bridge and . The compound gets rid of the ice without any worry of corrosion to the bridge. on the new structure commenced in late-1979 and was projected to cost approximately Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. through downtown as the through route. Yes, the Zilwaukee Bridge of 1960 was a drawbridge. Bridge Report Aerial Imagery Additional Traffic is being rerouted along as follows: Wednesdays - Saturdays The mighty Mackinac Bridge is Michigans signature bridge, with its own rich history. On example of a common but not simple auction is when the opponents compete vs. our 1NT Semi-Forcing bid. 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The construction of the structure was plagued with difficulties: when it was approximately half-complete, a major construction accident halted all work in August 1982. of the new bridge as segments are erected one against another and are post-tensioned You are being asked to avoid the. . After the cleanup and investigations and hiring of new contractors, work didn't resume until late 1984. I was not able to get a photograph of the bridge as as. I dont know whether or not the problem with the Z-Bridge is limited to the Z-Bridge or not, said Kahn, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a recent interview. Create an account to start this course today. and then locked in place with tapered steel wedges, a process called post-tensioning. as they come together and fills the tiny imperfections in the faces. (Thanks to Claire Kerk for the tip!). We are working to learn more information. The agency has vowed to hire experts in concrete segmental bridge construction for the next project. Department of Transportation. At Zilwaukee, these jobs are accomplished by two specially According to MDOT records, other proposals included barring river traffic, relocating the freeway and digging a tunnel under the river. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. There have been some issues with ongoing maintenance projects through the years. This drawbridge was meant to ease congestion, but made it worse as both vehicle and shipping traffic drastically increased. MDOT said crews erected a steel reinforcement on the exterior of the bridge to ensure that the structural integrity of the bridge continues to remain sound. My concern is (if) there are other examples out there of marked drawings that are incomplete. Authorities chose the lower-cost option. On some cold days these new sections could not be properly sealed against water infiltration, eventually leading to spalling as the water froze and expanded. with many steel cables to form the decks.]. The original Construction of the bridge would resume. on this website in its entirety for informational purposes and can be The state spent $120 million to build the bridge but design problems and long delays left everyone uncertain it would ever get used. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sometimes, the back-ups exceeded 30 miles and several hours in length. As the interstate highway system brought increased traffic to the area, a drawbridge was built in 1960. The bridge also features a massive tie-down block that spans 57 x 46 x 5-1/2 feet and weighs about 1,100 tons. Cast-in-place bridge segments are cast in traveling forms placed They weigh between It took a decade to complete and was so plagued with problems it came very close to not opening at all. Sunshine Skyway Bridge at Tampa, Fla., opened in 1987. It didnt really work, and Zilwaukee did not turn into Milwaukee. This archive footage shows construction at Michigan's Zilwaukee Bridge in 1982 and its official opening in 1987. SAGINAW, Mich. Friday marks 35 years since the Michigan Department of Transportation opened the Zilwaukee Bridge. Todays Zilwaukee Bridge can be traced back to the 1950s, and the original two-lane highway bypass on the east side of Saginaw, which according to Michigan Highways was completed in 1953. or pillar. The repair work added $500,000 to the $3.8 million project and postponed the bearing replacement project to 2012. (You can read a lot more about the construction issue here). Only one side of the bridge is open at a time, and traffic is shifted on Tuesday and Saturday, based on peak times. .004 inches (about the thickness of a human hair). 107. That way, neither vehicle nor shipping traffic would be impeded by the other. However, the most significant reason was the overloading of the expansion joint. with post-tensioned steel cables to form the deck, or superstructure, of The mile-and-a-half long bridge replaces The concrete bid was $76.8 million. This was highway running from Detroit to the Mackinac Bridge. So a new footing was built over the old footing and that is anchored down into bedrock, Chynoweth said. Officials confirmed Tulpehocken Forge Road is closed and they're asking people to avoid the area. It stands on its own steel legs Each one was closely inspected by a specially In 1979, with its Joint Venture partner Stevin Construction, Toebe won the contract to construct the Zilwaukee Bridge near Saginaw, Michigan. 2/24/2018 Aleana W. It's a iconic MI bridge. Along with asking for new procedures so that mistakes are not made due to outdated blueprints, the letter asked the agency to notify the senators office when the procedures are finalized.. After a bridge span is complete and construction Its a lot of extra time and miles for my truck because were right off I-75, he said. It was actually a four-lane draw bridge and a freeway beginning at the northern end of the 1953 bypass (at present-day M-13), crossing the bridge and continuing north into Bay City. MDOT Bay City Transportation Service Center Manager Gregg Brunner said trained, four-person team to ensure that they met predetermined standards to four hours in duration and often up to 30 miles in length. and reconstructing the newly-completed I-675 loop Less than fifteen years after the original bascule bridge was opened, Sometimes the bridge would open without much warning, causing cars to crash while trying to slow down. The incident in August 1982 was caused by a large amount of mispositioned weight during the installation of a segment between two piers, according to MDOT. You are still completely responsible for your decisions, your actions, and your safety. TIL of Zilwaukee, a town in northern Michigan. The town's founders called it Zilwaukee to confuse it with the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in hopes of luring settlers there to work. a new contractor. Bridge "bearings" are pads under the bridge deck that transfer loads to the piers while allowing for some movement. the bridge. (MDOT) BAY CITY, Mich - Bay County 911 reports there are two different multi-vehicle accidents on both northbound and southbound I-75 on top of the Zilwaukee Bridge. planned at that time, the 1953 bypass would become part of a much bigger Copyright 2023 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). 195 lessons. When we were kids this thing was massive and scarrrrrryyyyy!! A Saginaw News article from 1967 details another freighters crash into the bridge, causing traffic to be re-routed for a few days. On Saturday, the bridge has three southbound lanes, while northbound traffic. northeast of the city. Posted December 22, 2019, by Mike Kerkau (mjkerkau [at] gmail [dot] com) One thing worth noting: Upon the opening of this bridge to traffic, it served a triple concurrency of I-75/U.S. Next: Section 4: The Accident It wasnt until 1987 that the final piece of concrete would be installed, and the northbound lanes of I-75/US-23 were routed over the bridge just before Christmas in 1987. When the bridge opened for river traffic, it sometimes caused miles-long traffic jams, especially during heavy travel days around the holidays and the start of firearms deer hunting season. It helps prevent water and roadway contaminants That same article noted the City could save $10-30 million by buying the then-18-year-old structure than building a brand-new one, although it would have had to get Coast Guard approval, since it would have violated the maximum required channel with of 150 feet. on the bridge did not resume until late 1984 under a new contract with 10. ), The This important artery allows traffic to move through the area without entering downtown Saginaw. the bridge was completed and the back-ups on the freeway reached three added. Brunner said MDOT will meet with government officials and business owners to review traffic patterns before construction begins. Share YOUR roads!We'vemorethan 13.000 roads but we want more! The segments are erected by a massive piece of machinery called a launching The freighter was fine but the bridge suffered substantial damage. The tractor and trailer combined weigh 102 tons. The bridge design called for expansion joints that would enable the bridge to expand and contract as the temperature rose and fell. Once repairs were made, a new contractor was hired to complete the bridge once the initial contractor (Stevin Construction) and the state agreed to terminate their contract in exchange for both sides dropping their lawsuits over the accident. had also been converted to full freeway with overpasses and interchanges This story is a bit of legend, but its mostly accepted by local historians. River at the border of Washington and Oregon, opened in 1982, and the new Cables in the bridge run through galvanized steel ducts that have been plant at the bridge site. One thing worth noting: Upon the opening of this bridge to traffic, it served a triple concurrency of I-75/U.S. A midnight crew scrambled to safety as an overloaded thousand-foot-long bridge section shook, buckled and sagged. In 1979, construction on the elevated Zilwaukee Bridge, which accommodates both boat and vehicle traffic, began. We want your experiences too! MDOT spokesman William L. Shreck said old construction plans are not a new issue, but the problem with the Zilwaukee Bridge was. The worst back-ups, of course, occurred during the opening of the (original) Zilwaukee Bridge in 1960 it became clear Though some have speculated that the bridge was glued together, theyre not entirely far off. called tendons, to form a solid unit. The Department followed rigid procedures for quality control during the problems concerned the massive traffic tie-ups on the freeway each time Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. 23/U.S. Detroit Free Press noted "Containing and removing the toxic We need to make sure that we have good agreements with partner about how our bidding changes when the opponents come into the auction. Clearly, a new solution was needed. Much more on the The bridge carries the I-75 / US 23 road. This process is repeated until the entire span is closed. Rod Meloni is an Emmy Award-winning Business Editor on Local 4 News and a Certified Financial Planner Professional. built in western Europe and have been found to be generally more economical Support MLive.com. However, construction ground to a halt in 1982 when a significant accident paralyzed work. All rights reserved (About Us). The bearing replacement project consisted of construction crews lifting the bridge structure about an inch using jacks "the size of large wine barrels," according to MDOT. It tried to drop an anchor, but it was too late -- the ship slammed into the southbound bridge. Aerial map of Zilwaukee Bridges by Chris Bessert/Michigan Highways. That structure was supposed to be completed in 1983, but the collapse of a temporary compression block on an expansion joint in 1982 literally derailed the project. Because it would be virtually impossible Periodically flooded roads around the world. The entire segment instantly sank five feet lower than the section they were attempting to attach it to. Construction efforts hit a major setback in August 1982, when, among other, less-significant causes, mispositioned weight crushed a temporary block placed in an expansion joint. project later in the decade. Today, the Zilwaukee Bridge is the major artery connecting the north of Michigan to Detroit. mate on the structure, a process called "match-casting." And it wasnt just the cars that suffered. A recent, major update in 2013 through 2015 replaced the original bearing pads at piers and expansion joints., which had a lifespan of around 25 years, Brunner said. Bridge Construction Engineering. following pages reproduce a 1987 report issued by the Michigan We froze the ground below the pier, we abandoned the footing in place because the footing was completely destroyed. being completed at either end of the new bridge, it was discovered one the span for more than a year. Nearly having to start over, construction took another 3 years, but in winter of 1987, the northbound lanes of the Zilwaukee Bridge finally opened to the public. In order to provide you with the best online experience this website uses cookies. Add onto that the fact that the drawbridge span was pretty narrow, resulting in several ships running into the bridge and getting stuck, and it became pretty obvious that a new bridge was needed. But the $3.3 million project hit some road blocks in March, forcing motorists to steer around the bridge for at least another two months. Construction crews began work on a major renovation project on the Zilwaukee Bridge this week. Really makes me wonder - if that was a seriously considered plan, what happened? in the completed 1.5-mile-long bridge. the bridge opened, it also caused problems for traffic on the Saginaw River Ha! I feel like its a lifeline. freeway beginning at the northern end of the 1953 bypass (at present-day M-13), After more than four years, MDOT announced a $70-million project to replace 154 of the bridge's bearings as well as rebuild four miles of the I-75/US-23 freeway between the I-675 junctions, replace the Janes Ave overpass, and repair and widen the Wadsworth Rd and CSX Railroad underpasses to the south of the bridge. Thus, the new bridge is [5] During 2014, special custom-made jacks were put into place as a stop-gap measure while bearings were replaced.[6]. This would have been a big enough problem with only the increased vehicle traffic, but Michigan's growing economy also meant that shipping traffic was rapidly increasing. For example, consider drawbridges. When the block was crushed, a 300-foot-long section of bridge deck sagged 5 feet on one end and rose 3-and-a-half feet on the other, according to MDOT records. The draw bridge was opening and we would hope it wasnt opening when we were there, Fleisher said. All rights reserved. Lin International (TYLI) to perform construction engineering services. are 73.5 feet wide and either eight feet or 12 feet long. site. 23 chapters | Michigan Highways > In Depth: The Zilwaukee Bridge: From the Beginning. It took several hours for tugs to move the ship back into Saginaw Bay. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. time it opened for river traffic. The original bid for the project was $76.8 million. The Zilwaukee Bridge is a high-level, segmental concrete bridge spanning the Saginaw River in the U.S. state of Michigan. When we open 1-Major and show a hand with a long suit, the opponents often find a way to get in the way. The issue of one-way traffic is of great concern to local businesses and local government, he wrote in the letter to Steudle. The Zilwaukee Bridge is one of the few, if not the only, bridge in Michigan that doesn't use salt to de-ice the roadway, an MDOT official said. Zilwaukee Bridge is ahigh level bridge carrying I-75 [and US-23] over Some believe this Michigan bridge marks the start of Up North. Chynoweth noted the new bearings would double the Zilwaukee Bridge's lifespan to a now-predicted 100 years, or through 2087. Use our interactive map to explore the roads or just discover them by browsing the site. Technology for ost-tensioned, segmental, box girder bridges was developed By 1982, the 52 piers that would support the bridge were finished, and expansion joints were being added. Department of Transportation, Zilwaukee Bridge: The new bearings should last anywhere from 25 to 50 years, or possibly even longer, he said. Five sets of casting forms inside the building Each is formed by 12 strands spans are complete, the last segment is cast in place to join the spans. two spans of the bridge simultaneously. Already way over budget and long behind schedule, Chynoweth said fixing the mess took an engineering effort on a scale with designing a whole new bridge. Located in Zilwaukee, in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan, the Zilwaukee Bridge is one of the most spectacular bridges in the world. ZILWAUKEE State Sen. Roger N. Kahn has urged the Michigan Department of Transportation to enact new, clear procedures to avoid the use of outdated blueprints that could lead to construction mishaps across the state. girder picks up the segments from the truck and delivers them to the location Prior to that, all through traffic in the Saginaw area was funnelled designed machines made for that particular project. The resulting fiasco was the worst in Michigan's transit history. two-lane highway bypass on the east side of the City of Saginaw completed Boat traffic was also backed up on the river, as shipping traffic quadrupled in the years after the bridge opened. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. back end and drives directly off. Zilwaukee Bridge: From the Beginning. Additionally, MDOT performed bridge deck surface repairs and a sealer overlay was applied along with repairs to some of the barriers, lighting systems and other electrial repairs. The last one was cast in late 1986. an outmoded, inadequate drawbridge that caused backups on the freeway every Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The project is expected to last through January 2015. On precast segmental bridges, the concrete segments must be delivered T-shirts and other items emblazoned with an image of a broken Zilwaukee Bridge and the word "Oops were available at local gas stations, according to residents. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The original bid for the project was $76.8 million. through downtown via US-10 and US-23. The segment of freeway utilizing the Zilwaukee Bridge is part of I-75 and US23. They range from a few hundred of Jason Hill: Zilwaukee Gallery, Michigan in Pictures: The Zilwaukee Bridge, Zilwaukee in an MDOT-produced publication from the early-1990s: The The total launching girder apparatus weighs A Saginaw News article reported in 1954 that some German immigrants who would come through New York City would sign agreements to work in Zilwaukee, thinking they were heading to Milwaukee. The dramatic failure of the Zilwaukee Bridge was successfully repaired by the State of Michigan in 1983. Bridge in Zilwaukee and Zilwaukee Township, Michigan, "Z-Bridge screw up remains under investigation", "$70M construction project planned for Zilwaukee Bridge in April", "In the Field Report - "The Zilwaukee Bridge project", "Why Bridges Have Failed Throughout History", "The Z-Bridge: The Turbulent History Behind Michigan's Zilwaukee Bridge", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zilwaukee_Bridge&oldid=1120452718, Buildings and structures in Saginaw County, Michigan, Transportation in Saginaw County, Michigan, Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System, Short description is different from Wikidata, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 November 2022, at 02:38. Six steps were required to bring the tilted 300-foot deck section back to its intened position. The river serves as the boundary between Zilwaukee Township and the city of Zilwaukee at this point, which is approximately 5 miles (8.0km) north of downtown Saginaw. Create your account. While that may not sound like a lot, it's a big deal when talking about tons and tons of concrete and steel. Originally, the bridge seemed like a big improvement, but it ran into problems rather quickly. truck. in a specially built facility and then transported to the construction The cause, according to Michigan Highways, was construction loads at that location were too heavy. The bridge was only 150 feet wide and several ships actually hit are installed. In November 1978, bids were taken for either a steel or concrete bridge, according to MDOT records. In May of 1987, the Michigan To use information contained on this site is to do so at your own risk.
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