Work Being Done on Harvey Bridge
Photo by Phil Riggan
David Hathcock gave me the heads up on the following. Contractors will be working on the Harvey Bridge doing repairs for the next several days. The guardrail will be replaced, there will be some spot welding done, and ultimately the decking will be replaced. Most or all the repairs will be completed before September 19th. At any rate, whether the decking has been replaced or not, the bridge will be safe and open for use on the 19th. It may be closed for some periods for the next few days.
Why are repairs being done on a brand-new structure?
Hope it’s still under warranty??!!
This may not be the case, but there seems to be some code the city wants everything to follow requiring widths of bridges to be “X” and guardrails need to be “Y” — part of the same backward bureaucratic junk that closed the new wooden trail bridge for a week in FHP. No idea why the decking would need to be replaced, looks good to me.
I just hope donations aren’t paying for the same work to be done twice.
The bridge was delivered with the wrong handrail. The decking was supposed to be redwood, I believe, and was actually southern yellow pine. Not big deals, but still not what the city paid for. No real controversy here, just took some time getting the repairs scheduled. Also adding some spot welds to be redundantly safe.
Good info Sundagger, glad to be wrong. There is a very similar bridge in Petersburg over the Appomattox and the guys FOLAR guys that brought the bridge in rave about the durability and resistence to damage and wear and tear. I hope this one gets the same reviews.
Phil,
You are right about the Community Development BS on the trail bridge.
Glad to hear that the city is holding out for what they paid for. Sounds like somebody is actually paying attention!
Building codes for public access structures are very specific and I suspect that the city wants to reduce or eliminate any liability exposure in case of an accident or other problem.
Which means that bridge decking has to allow for traffic in both directions, and have railings that provide a safe barrier and support for different users, from small children, to wheelchair users, and adults riding bicycles.
The city’s trail system is being hyped as offering something for just about everybody, and now they’re trying to make good on that.
Basic stuff. No complaints here.