CHI and DRPA will give a presentation on “Temporary Tower Wind Tongues and Rocker Links for the Benjamin Franklin Bridge” at International Bridge Conference 2022 (July 18-20, 2022). The Ben Franklin Bridge opened to traffic in 1926 and is owned and operated by Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA). Its suspended spans consist of a 1,750-ft main span and two 752-ft side spans. The bridge carries 7 lanes of vehicular traffic and two PATCO tracks. After over ninety years of service, the major components in suspended spans, e.g. rocker links, wind tongues and win pins at tower and anchorages, and wind lateral bracing under the bridge, required replacements. CHI designed innovative jacking frames and temporary supports, as well as construction sequence, that could resist full dead and live loads, greatly reducing the impact to the traffic. Detailed and accurate 3D BIM modeling, and advanced finite element modeling and analysis had been performed.
Qi Ye (Principal, CHI), Liwei Han (Senior Project Engineer, CHI), Jie Zhang (Senior Engineer, CHI) and Michael D. Rakowski (Design Manager, DRPA) will attend the conference.
