The Alaskan Way Viaduct is connected to State Route 99 and is located on the Elliot Bay downtown waterfront in Seattle, King County, Washington. It is a two level structure of reinforced concrete that runs for about two miles. The Viaduct was designed by the City of Seattle Engineering Department and the Washington Department of Highways, Bridge Division, and is owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The viaduct was built between 1949 and 1966 and was the first double decker to be built in Washington. The viaduct gave a direct connection through downtown Seattle and the industrial areas to the south. When it was built, it had the ability to carry over one hundred thousand vehicles per day.
In the early 1900’s Seattle’s waterfront was completely packed with trains trucks and wagons carrying cargo from the ships, and it only got worse once a seawall was extended and made a street called Alaskan way in 1935. The viaduct was mainly built to relieve such traffic. In 1947, Seattle did a traffic study that showed, two new north south routes had to be built, to greatly affect traffic and make an easier commute. While reading the Historic American Engineering Report (HAER) I found, “The traffic analysis identified six reasons why Alaskan Way would be the most effective route:
• It would carry a larger volume of traffic when completed (59,000 vehicles per day, compared to 47,000 on Alternative 2).
• It could be constructed in stages, each of which would be a usable facility.
• It could be constructed to its final length for the least cost because the northern section (Aurora Avenue) was already completed.
• It would have the lowest right of way costs because it could be built mostly on property already owne...
... middle of paper ...
...andBattery Street Tunnel. Rep. no.
WA-184. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. .
Lok, John. 2008. Photograph. The Seattle Times, Seattle. Web. 6 Mar 2014.
.
Ott, Jennifer. "Demolition of the Southern Mile of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct Begins on
October 21, 2011." HistoryLink.org. N.p., 7 Mar. 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. .
"Viaduct Beginnings." Alaskan Way Viaduct. Washington State Department of Transportation,
Mar. 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
.
Washington State Department of Transportation. "Alaskan Way Viaduct – Earthquake
Simulation." YouTube. YouTube, 23 Oct. 2009. Web. 07 Mar. 2014. .
At the time of its construction in 1929, the Ambassador Bridge was the largest spanned suspension bridge at 564 meters until the George Washington Bridge was built. It was an engineering masterpiece at the time. The total bridge length is 2,286 meters and rises to 118 meters above the river. Suspension cables support the main span of the Ambassador Bridge and the main pillars under the bridge are supported by steel in a cantilever truss structure. In total, the McClintic-Marshall masterpiece is comprised of 21,000 tons of steel. The immense socio-economical impact that the Ambassador Bridge has on transportation and trade is imperative for daily interaction between the Un...
On the day of the collapse, the bridge was undergoing a resurfacing project that closed 4 of the eight lanes. The closed lanes were used as a staging area for sand, gravel, construction materials, and other equipment necessary to complete the work.
After America acquired the West, the need for efficient transportation heightened. Ideas circulated about a railroad that would spread across the continent from East to West. Republican congresses ruled for the federal funding of railroad construction, however, all actions were halted for a few years on account of a war. Following the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the race to build transcontinental railroad began in 1866. Lincoln approved Pacific Railway Act of 1862, granting two railroad companies the right to build the first American transcontinental railroad, (Clark 432).
Many mass construction projects in the history of the United States have had a major impact on the economy and culture; however, not many of these have had as large as an impact as the Interstate Highway Act of 1956. The Interstate Highway Act revolutionized the way that we think about highways today. The act created an extremely easy mode of transportation for people across the country. Not only was the Interstate Highway Act extremely helpful in making rural and urban transportation for normal people, but it also helped commercial businesses in increasing sales across the country. These businesses were now able to transport their goods cheaper and faster. The Interstate Highway Act was tremendously beneficial in regards to its economic, social, and cultural significance. The legislation was significant economically in the way that it promoted business and cut travel costs, it was significant socially in the way that it allowed people to see friends and family even if they did not live close, and it was significant culturally in the way that it allowed people to move out to the country for low costs in order to live a happier life.
The bridge was designed at a time when America was moving toward streamline products, this included the design of bridges. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a sleek, graceful looking suspension bridge. Suspension bridges consist of many cables anchored...
The bridge we chose to select for our research paper is the Blue Water Bridge. The Blue Water Bridge spreads across the St. Clair River and conducts international traffic between Port Huron, Michigan, and Point Edward and Sarnia, Ontario. According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, “Located near the I-94 and I-69 interchange, the bridge forms a critical gateway linking Canada and the United States”. The Blue Water Bridge consists of tolls and inspection plazas on each side of the border where individuals pay for crossing and communication with inspection offices such as Immigration or Customs. The original Blue Water Bridge opened in 1938 and it was renovated in 1993. This bridge is a three-lane westbound bridge. The second
Throughout its nearly 60 year history, the Interstate Highway System has served the United States of America far beyond its original goals. From its original purposes of uniting the country and aiding defense to the more mundane, (but equally important)such as ferrying goods across the country, the Interstate Highway System has firmly entrenched itself as one of the greatest feats of engineering the world has ever known. Record setting bridges, tunnels, and length of pavement have all been made by the vast expanse of the IHS FACT. As Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president, stated “Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear -- United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts” (http://todayinsci.com/Events/Transport/HighwayInterstate-Quotations.htm 22 Feb 1955)
Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is an evaluation technique in which an assessment of the construction costs of alternative options is carried out with respect to the population served. CEA compares the cost of interventions with their intended impacts. A specific CEA approach is proposed for the majority of Rural Transportation Infrastructures (RTI) where traffic is less than 50 motorized four-wheeled vehicles per day (for a basic access road) (Lebo & Schelling 2001).
A transportation network must be judged for its cost-effectiveness. The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) in 1952 made its tenet, "that a profit should be returned on an investment applies as well to highway projects as to general business ventures."2 Cost-effectiveness includes safety, ease of use, and flexibility in the eyes of both the local government and individual users. Unfortunately, "little or no supporting evidence"3 exists and few studies compared the systems. Since no monetary value can be placed on human life, comparisons of safety are even fewer and less thorough. A simple account of accident records, however, is a good judge of safety. Studies of system costs, ont the other hand, are purely monetary and more frequent. From the operator's standpoint, costs break down to overhead and construction, maintenance of cars and lines, operation costs, and profits. From the users' standpoint the only cost is the fare.
In the early 1900's, settlers of the San Francisco Bay Area considered the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which spans over eight miles long and 500 feet above the water at its highest point, an impossible feat. However, with only a few complications, the bridge was completed by November, 1936. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge consists of two bridge types. The east section is a cantilever bridge, and the west, a suspension bridge.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Works eventually came up with a plan that called for an elevated highway 1.5 miles long through the heart of downtown Boston, accompanied by an Inner Belt that wrapped around downtown Boston to the west. In 1948 City and State officials approved a master plan, construction commenced in 1950. As soon as construction had started it became quite clear that the supposedly revolutionary highway had major flaws.
In 1968, Americans were continuing to migrate to the west coast and the pipeline industry followed. The increase of import refineries on the Gulf Coast also led to the construction of pipelines that would stretch across the eastern seaboard. 1968 also saw the discovery of large quantities of oil in Alaska. In response, a massive pipeline system was constructed in the span of seven years to transport oil to the contiguous United States.
The debate was ended in 1971 when the Mayor Alderman Emmet McDermott announced that the Queen Victoria Building would be restored, With Stephenson & Turner’s plan in 1976, the building was restored to its original use as a shopping mall centre, with the design on visually wealthy by Ipoh Garden of Malaysia.
The renovation, which is expected to take eight years to complete, is expected to increase
The development of every nation hinges on the effectiveness of their transportation systems. Movement of goods, services and people to and from locations is made possible by transportation systems. The importance of effective transportation systems cannot be over-emphasized. Many countries face transportation problems and my country Ghana is no exception. A trip of about 30 minutes usually takes about an hour or more due to traffic jams. This is seriously impacting productivity and has become a topical issue in the country. The situation is the same in Uganda where I currently work. To this end, Transportation Engineers are needed to design roads/ highways that will stand the test of time, plan effective traffic management systems to reduce