About the author  ⁄ Anil Agrawal, P.E., Ph.D.

Anil Kumar Agrawal, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The City College of the City University of New York, NY. (agrawal@ccny.cuny.edu)

Deadly Miami Pedestrian Bridge Collapse

Why and How the Structure Failed

On March 15, 2018, a pedestrian concrete truss bridge in Miami, FL, collapsed during construction. The span that collapsed had been designed as a concrete truss bridge with prestressed members. Figure 1 shows the bridge site before and after the collapse of the main span. The collapse caused multiple fatalities and raised serious concerns regarding the design and construction of the bridge, including the emerging concept of Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC). …

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Oct, 2020 By , and In Feature Comments 2

Composite Deck System

A Novel Lightweight Solution for Long-Span Bridges

Orthotropic steel decks (OSDs) have been used commonly in long-span bridges to reduce self-weight, and therefore improve the spanning ability of these bridges. The OSDs are usually covered with a 2- to 3-inch-thick asphalt wearing course. Under cyclic heavy traffic loads, these steel decks are susceptible to fatigue cracks, while asphalt overlays can suffer from cracking and shoving problems. Both issues compromise the serviceability and durability of the bridge deck. …

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Oct, 2016 By , and In Articles, Building Blocks Comments 0
STRUCTURE magazine