Steel Bridge

N at i o n a l S t e e l B r i d g e A l l i a n c e NEWS june 2010

A sophisticated, iterative
analytical approach to
re-evaluating the bridge
superstructure has put this
project on the path
to completion.

Fast-Tracked
BridgeDesign By Prabhjeet Raj Singh, P.Eng., P.E., and
Matthias Schueller, P.Eng., Ph.D.

C
Crossing the Mackenzie River in Canada’a Northwest system. This reveals the difference of an extradosed bridge and a
Territories is anything but easy. In summer a ferry provides a way classical cable stayed bridge in terms of the structural system.
across, and in winter passage is via an ice bridge. But during the The two-lane, nine-span bridge has main navigation span of
transition seasons, as the ice is breaking up or before it freezes 623 ft. The approach spans are symmetrical about the center of the
solid, neither option is available. bridge. Each end begins with a 295-ft span followed by three 369-
The Deh Cho Bridge now being constructed soon will provide ft spans. The total length of the bridge is 3,427 ft. The superstruc-
a permanent link for ground transportation in the area. It is a com- ture consists of two 15-ft deep Warren trusses with a transverse
posite steel truss bridge with a cable assisted main span. The struc- spacing of 24 ft and a 9-in-thick precast composite deck.
tural system can be classified as a composite bridge with hybrid The truss members are built-up I-sections. Two A-shaped pylons,
extradosed-cable stayed features. Comparable to a cable stayed located at Pier IV South and Pier IV North, each support two cable
system, the primary purpose of the cables is to support the truss in planes. Each cable plane consists of six cables connected to the main
spanning the navigation channel. Cable stayed bridges use a close truss through an outrigger system. Figure 1 shows the bridge layout.
stay spacing to realize slender superstructures. However, contrary
to a cable stayed system, the backstays on the Deh Cho Bridge are
not anchored at a pier location. The backstays function by acti-
vating the bending stiffness of the truss similar to an extradosed Figure 1: General arrangement of the Deh Cho Bridge includes nine
spans from 295 ft to 623 ft in length.
MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION june 2010
 axial demands during service and in addi- loss scenarios. For those extreme events
tion bending during launching. The dead the designer should ensure the integrity
load to payload ratio is minimized through of the bridge is not endangered. Basically,
the principles of lightweight design. The the design engineer should have a clear
primary structural objective was to tune understanding of the load path and load
the system to be flexible for temperature behaviour for various load combinations.
effects while at the same time being stiff for In absence of a secondary load path, it is
live and wind loads. important to design the weakest member
The failure mechanism concept was along the path with a ductile behaviour to
applied to ensure that the structure does signal an overload through visual defor-
not experience a sudden collapse under mations or at least partial damage prior to
any given load scenarios. The primary load collapse. For example, the cable anchorage
paths are designed for a controlled failure and attachments are designed for the mini-
mechanism. The load travels through a mum breaking load of the cable, making
series of structural components compara- the cables the crucial component of this
ble to a structural chain. The weakest link particular load path.
in the chain is determined by the designer
and engineered to fail with adequate warn- Value Engineered Design
ing (ductile behaviour). The principles of lightweight design led
The Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI) to a saving of 25% in the use of structural
recommends that designers consider cable steel. The deck consist of precast concrete

Proceeding With the New Design

Construction work on a major bridge crossing the
Mackenzie River in Canada’s Northwest Territories is again
in full swing after being temporarily halted for an exten-
sive redesign of the steel superstructure. The $180 million
(Canadian) crossing will provide a permanent connection
across the river for the communities of Yellowknife and Ft.
Providence to the lower highway system of Canada.
An independent review by T.Y. Lin International (TYLin)
on behalf of the owner identified deficiencies in the origi-
nal superstructure design. Infinity Engineering Group Ltd.
was retained to propose conceptual solutions to eliminate
the inadequacies with the original design. Infinity devel-
oped a redesign option for an extradosed steel truss
bridge, the first of its kind in North America. A value engi-
neering exercise showed this approach would result in sig-
The Deh Cho bridge will provide a year- nificant savings in cost and schedule while simultaneously
round means for crossing the Mackenzie River improving safety, durability, and constructability. In Janu-
in Canada’s Northwest Territories where until ary 2010, Infinity completed the redesign in an accelerated
now access has been seasonally interrupted. six-month schedule that allowed the project to proceed.

Above right: A steel-armored reinforced concrete base in

Design the Mackenzie River awaits erection of one of the Deh Cho
The design philosophy adopted for the Bridge’s two A-shaped cable support towers. Photo: GNWT
Deh Cho Bridge consists of the big picture
approach, the failure mechanism concept, and
the integrity rule.
In adopting a big picture approach for the
design of the Deh Cho Bridge, special con-
sideration was given to functionality, safety, Prabhjeet Raj Singh, P.Eng., P.E., and
durability, constructability, cost, mainte- Matthias Schueller, P.Eng., Ph.D.,
nance and aesthetics. Member profiles and are vice president and principal,
materials were selected for their efficiency respectively, of Infinity Engineering
in resisting the primary force effects they Group Ltd., North Vancouver, British
experience. As an example, the bottom Columbia, Canada.
chord is an optimized I-profile resisting

 june 2010 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

Nat ional Steel Brid g e A l l i a n ce  steel bridge news

panels with cast-in-place infills. A combi- modern lock-up devices, which act like shock can be easily inspected visually. The loca-
nation of a waterproofing membrane with absorbers to allow slow acting movements tions of the cable anchorages were selected
two layers of asphalt is applied to the sur- while restraining sudden force effects. for improved structural and aesthetic
face for sealing purposes. The new deck is Compact locked coil cables have been behaviour. The simplified anchorages can
designed as a four-way slab resting on the used for the stay system using a Galfan be easily inspected and maintained.
truss and floor beams, thereby cutting the coating and cast sockets. The cables will be Constructability aspects as well as a
concrete mass by 30% and eliminating the shipped to site in the final length but the lightweight design approach have been
need for pre-stressing. adjustable anchorage at the superstructure adopted for the design of the superstructure
The articulation scheme allows a con- allows for length variations to correct and and pylons. The design of the bridge incor-
tinuous deck for the entire length of the manipulate cable forces. Compared to com- porates a proven construction scheme.
superstructure, which eliminated the need mon strands, locked coil cables are slender A truss is an excellent candidate for
for two modular deck joints on the bridge. with compact anchorage details. The con- lightweight design as it predominantly
The articulation scheme involves the use of dition of the outer wires and anchorages relies on compression and tension members
to transfer loads. Making the trusses com-
posite with the concrete bridge deck uses
both elements to economic advantage. The
principles of lightweight design require
maximization of the payload to dead load
ratio. This is achieved by minimizing the
self weight of the bridge, primarily the
concrete deck. In the case of the Deh Cho
Bridge, the high live load factors and the
dynamic load allowance of the Canadian
Highway Bridge Design Code govern the
concrete slab design. An average slab thick-
ness of 8½ in. has been realized using Yield
Line Theory.

Continuous Superstructure
A continuous superstructure avoids
the use of expansion joints on the bridge
and reduces the service and maintenance
effort. The design objective of the deck
was to engineer a continuous system over
the entire bridge length. To achieve the
goal the articulation scheme was required
to allow temperature movements with
minimal restraining effects and “lock-up”
the movements during fast-acting load
effects such as wind gusts in order to share
the loads with several piers. The so-called
lock-up devices (LUDs) mounted between
superstructure and pier enable this articu-
lation scheme. These devices are dampers
with restrictive orifices; they only allow a
significant translation when a certain force
is applied over a period of several hours.

Constructability
The truss was engineered as a
“Lego’”system that is easy to fabricate and
assemble. The chord member geometry
was kept constant throughout the length
of the bridge. The varying force effects
were resisted through changing the steel
strength and when necessary by boxing of
the chord “I” section through the addition
of side plates. Steel Grades of 350 AT and
485 AT have been specified for the truss.
Open profiles were selected for the truss
members for good access and assembly.
MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION june 2010
 steel bridge news n at ion a l S t e e l Br id g e a l li anc e

analysis influence coefficients, is created by running a unit load over a pre-

The analysis undertaken for the project included: a global analy- defined load area (typically traffic lanes). An influence surface can
sis of the entire bridge, an erection staging analysis and local finite be generated for a force effect (i.e. bending, shear, compression
element analyses for specific connections and details. For the global etc.) at any cross section of a component of the structure. The
analysis of the bridge on LARSA 4D, a 3D model was created that magnitude of the force effect from a vehicle placed anywhere on
included the entire bridge consisting of foundations, piers and abut- the load area is determined from the influence coefficients and the
ments, bearings, truss, pylons, cables and deck. The salient features vehicle loads.
of the analysis are briefly described in this section. Ultimately, the vehicle is positioned on the influence surface
to maximize the force effects under consideration. The influence
Cable Tuning surface for the bottom chord in the center of hanging span can be
The first step in the global analysis was to tune the dead load seen in Figure 5. The corresponding deformation for a truck posi-
sharing in the truss and the cables to obtain a beneficial behaviour. tioned in the most unfavourable location is shown in Figure 6.
An accurate estimate of the cable force was obtained by making
all the members infinitely stiff under dead load. The preliminary Unique articulation
cable size was determined using the dead load cable force and a Two separate models were created to represent the different
contingency for transitory loads. The properties of the cables thus
determined were used in the model together with the real stiffness
of all other members, compensating for the cable elongation by
using a temperature load case.

Negative Camber Figure 5: influence sur-

The span arrangement of the Deh Cho Bridge requires a truss faces for individual com-
ponent members are
camber at the cable support locations. The span supported by the generated by analyzing
back stays is only 112.5 m while the span supported by the front the effect of moving
stays is 190 m. This uneven configuration results in unbalanced loads at various posi-
cable forces in the front and back stays, and thus causes a tower tions on the structure.
rotation to find equilibrium (see Figure 2). Because the back stays
are not connected to a fixed point such as an anchor pier, typical
for cable-stayed bridges, truss uplift at the backspan cable support
cannot be compensated for by cable force manipulation.
To achieve the given roadway profile the truss needed to be
cambered down (negative camber) in the backspan. The truss cam-
ber for half the bridge is shown in Figure 3. Figure 6: the model
shows the bridge
deformation due to
placing the movable
load at the position
where it has the most
significant effect.
Figure 2: unbalanced system with dead load and cable
tensioning applied.
articulation scenarios depending on the nature of horizontal load
The truss camber shown in Figure 3 compensates for the per- effects. The bridge is fixed transversely at the piers and abutments.
manent load deflections shown in Figure 2, resulting in the desired The continuous superstructure requires both flexibility for move-
roadway profile (see Figure 4). ments and fixity for load sharing of longitudinal loads. This con-
tradiction has been resolved by the use of LUDs that release tem-
perature restraining effects but engage the piers for external load
effects such as wind and braking loads.
The master-slave joint feature of the software was used to
model the articulation. The use of master-slave joints provides the
Figure 3: the truss camber in the backspan helps compensate for the option to couple or uncouple any of the six degrees of freedom
uplift introduced on that span due to the unbalanced cable stay load.
to model various articulation conditions. In the end the bridge is
fixed longitudinally for temperature load effects only at one main
Influence Surfaces pier. The use of LUDs has enabled a seamless deck for the entire
Influence surfaces were used to determine the maximum force length of the bridge.
effects from moving loads. An influence surface, or 3D grid of
Erection analysis
For the Deh Cho Bridge the following erection stages have
been incorporated into the design:
• Launching 1,621-ft-long truss approaches from each abutment
• Installation of A-pylons and cables
Figure 4: With the camber, cable shortening and dead load applied,
the bridge deck profile is as planned.

june 2010 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

 n ati onal Steel B r i d g e a l l i a n ce steel bridge news

• One-step stressing of all cables simul- This method has the advantage of being able to Pier 4. The design takes into account
taneously by lowering truss at Pier 4 to turn camber off when the truss is moved the construction demands including forces,
• Deck panel installation up to Pier 4 ahead and connected to the supports in the deflections and rotations from the stages
• Installation of 187-ft-long lifting span new location. About 130 launch stages were before.
• Deck panel installation in the main span analysed and summarized in demand enve-
• Activation of composite action lopes. A typical stage is shown in Figure 7. Conclusion
• Casting curb and installation of railing After erection of the A-pylon is com- The Deh Cho Bridge redesign is a
• Installation of waterproofing and pleted, the truss is jacked up at Pier 4 to unique example of an engineering assign-
wearing surface facilitate installation of the cables. There- ment that involved a complex long-span
A staged analysis for the launch was per- after, the truss is lowered to its final posi- bridge on a highly accelerated design
formed. The effect of camber was included tion stressing all cables simultaneously, as schedule with considerable technical,
in the analysis using a temperature load case. shown in Figure 8. project management and quality reviews.
The lifting span Rigorous analysis was conducted for cable
splice requires tuning and camber, live load and other
geometric compat- transitory loads. In addition, the staged
ibility of the truss analysis was conducted for the construc-
Figure 7: one of more that 130 launch stages analyzed in developing ends (see Figure 9). tion scheme. This investigation consisted
the construction plan. This is achieved by of truss launching, cable stressing and a
loading the back- lifting span operation.
span through pla- The principles of lightweight design
cing deck panels were applied to value engineer the bridge.
from the abutment The redesign significantly simplified and
Figure 8: the cables are stressed in one step, but do not at that point improved the constructability of the bridge
take up the camber in the span adjacent to the main span. in addition to achieving an estimated 25%
Figure 9: the lift-
ing span operation savings in structural steel. One of the
results in a load bal- major innovative features of the design is a
ance that brings continuous superstructure over the entire
the bridge structure
close to its final con- length of the bridge, making it the longest
structed profile. jointless bridge, from abutment to abut-
ment, in North America. The submission of
the issued for construction drawings earlier
this year has enabled this project to move
forward toward an anticipated completion
in November 2011.
Owner
government of northwest territories
Territorial advisors
BPtec-dnW, edmonton, alberta,
canada (aiSc Member)
t.y. lin international, San Francisco,
california (aiSc Member)
Quality assurance
Sargent & associates ltd., Victoria,
British columbia
Engineer of Record
infinity engineering group ltd., north
Vancouver, British columbia, canada
(aiSc Member)
Peer Reviewer
urS corporation, tampa, Fla. (aiSc
Member)
Steel Fabricator
canam Steel corporation, St. gedeon
de Beauce, Quebec and Point of rocks,
Md. (aiSc and nSBa Member)
Structural analysis Software
larsa 4d

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION june 2010