load rating of newport pell bridge

The Newport Pell Bridge is an 11,248-foot-long structure which includes a suspension bridge section consisting of a 1,600-foot-long main span and two 687-foot-long side spans. The remainder of the bridge consists of various superstructure types; stringer spans, girder spans, simple truss spans, continuous truss spans, and prestressed concrete beam spans.

Steere Engineering Inc. performed Load Ratings of the following spans of the Newport Pell Bridge:

• Stringer spans: three stringer spans from pier 11W to the west abutment

• Girder spans: six girder spans on the west approach (pier 5W through 11W) and twelve girder spans on the east approach (piers 10E through 22E)

• Simple truss spans: two simple truss spans on the east approach (piers 8E through 10E)

• Continuous truss spans: one unit of three span continuous truss on the west approach (piers 2W through 5W) and two units of three span continuous truss on the east approach (piers 2E through 8E)

• Structure “E”: A single span over the RITBA Administration building access roadway

The Load Rating was performed in accordance with RIDOT’s LRFR Bridge Load Rating Guidelines. Each span was modeled separately using the AASHTOWare Bridge Rating (BrR) software. Load rating analyses were performed for the reinforced concrete deck, steel stringers, end diaphragms, floor beams, and girders. Additionally, the stringer to floorbeam and floorbeam to girder connections were load rated. Other services performed by Steere under these contracts included the preparation of Appendix C and D of the report and the report write-up for bridge load rating assumptions and criteria for each span.

Location: Newport, RI

Owner: Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA)

Timeline: Rating Completed in 2018