Structural engineers working on buildings get used to anonymity. Even if a building has a daring structural design, most (or, often, all) of the press will name the architect rather than the engineer. In renovation projects, which make up nearly all of our firm’s design work, engineers are even less likely to receive much recognition. …
The vast majority of structures recorded by the Historic American Building Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record are distinguished by their design, by their history, or by both. Some are not, or rather by our standards today are not. I was mildly surprised to see the old West Side Highway had been photographed by …
That’s the 1916 Murtaugh Bridge over the Snake River, near Murtaugh, Idaho. It was recored by HAER in 1980 and demolished three years later. The two main spans were 102 feet long and 16 feet wide; if it were two lanes wide instead of one, it might have survived longer. Or maybe not. The HAER …
That little bridge from 1878, over the Roaring Run in Bedford County, Virginia, is still there and is on the National Register, so with a little luck it will stay there. It’s 55 feet long and 12 feet wide, so it’s not particularly surprising that it is a pony truss: a through truss that short …
The problems with the first Tacoma Narrows bridge – its excessive movement in use and its complete collapse after less than half a year in service – were a surprise but should not have been. The lesson learned at Tacoma Narrows – that deck stiffness is the key to preventing excessive damage from aeroelastic flutter …
