Speer Boulevard Bridge Replacement South Platte River

摘要

Speer Boulevard is the primary entrance to downtown Denver. Key to the recent reconstruction of Speer was the replacement of twin bridges over the South Platte River. The work had to be done in an area which experiences both heavy vehicular and recreational traffic and is surrounded by City parks. The design needed to eliminate the clutter of substructures present beneath the existing bridges while maintaining a thin structure profile. Finally, the project needed to create an architectural design suitable as the downtown gateway. These objectives were achieved by an interdisciplinary team, including both the client and consultant, working through a rigorous process and schedule. The selection of a steel tied-arch bridge satisfied the requirements for both a thin deck profile and a "gateway" design. The use of bolted tie-beams eliminated the fracture problem experienced on earlier tied-arch designs, and the use of crossed hanger cables reduced live-load deflections.