I-235 / I-44 Interchange

[Celebrator]

Just out of curiosity...why do the bridges that are to be installed already look...old--rusted, etc.? I had someone from out of town with me as we drove past them during Christmas and they thought those were the old bridges that they had removed. I am no engineer, so I had no answer. Will they be painted/treated or something down the road? Anyone here explain this to me?

[Anonymous.]

I believe it, along with most modern large structures that are steel, is constructed using a steel that basically protects itself via a layer of rust.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weathering_steel

[LakeEffect]

I believe it, along with most modern large structures that are steel, is constructed using a steel that basically protects itself via a layer of rust.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weathering_steel

Ditto. It's intended to be that way, except for the stainless steel walkways they've built along the structure, which do look odd on the pre-rusted steel.

[LakeEffect]

That made me laugh too. But in all seriousness, the amount of time it takes ODOT to complete projects ought to be illegal! It really is outrageous.

I give a nod to the contractors on the I-235/I-44 project, they've been completing the individual projects very well; it's the overall phasing by ODOT that's taking so long (because the State doesn't issue bonds, IIRC).

[OKCisOK4me]

Link to live cam available now or only when the closing begins?

[pw405]

Anybody know where I could find statistic on the number of people that have died at this intersection?

[rte66man]

December 21 northbound on Broadway Extension

2018-01-04_21-17-56

[Plutonic Panda]

Thank you for the picture! I have meant to get out and take several shots, although I have no drone!

[dwellsokc]

Just out of curiosity...why do the bridges that are to be installed already look...old--rusted, etc.? I had someone from out of town with me as we drove past them during Christmas and they thought those were the old bridges that they had removed. I am no engineer, so I had no answer. Will they be painted/treated or something down the road? Anyone here explain this to me?

Most likely, the steel is a type that is intended to rust, and won't be painted. The rust actually protects the steel from deterioration.

[bombermwc]

I'm sure they will paint them with an anti-rust coating. Obviously they can't leave it exposed. think about if you've ever seen another steel bridge that isn't painted. dwells is messing with you.....rust IS deteriorization. Its the oxidation of the iron when it meets oxygen. Doesn't hurt it for short stents, like while under construction, but it's not a long-term solution.

For recent history, look to the Bennett Expo Center at the fairgrounds. The beams weren't coated correctly when they came from the manufacturer, and rust started developing on them....delaying the project by months.

[jn1780]

I'm sure they will paint them with an anti-rust coating. Obviously they can't leave it exposed. think about if you've ever seen another steel bridge that isn't painted. dwells is messing with you.....rust IS deteriorization. Its the oxidation of the iron when it meets oxygen. Doesn't hurt it for short stents, like while under construction, but it's not a long-term solution.

For recent history, look to the Bennett Expo Center at the fairgrounds. The beams weren't coated correctly when they came from the manufacturer, and rust started developing on them....delaying the project by months.

There is such a thing as weathering steel as someone posted a few posts above. Its steel with a special mixture of alloys that helps form that protective layer. Normal steel of course can't be allowed to rust. I think it would have been painted by now if they were going to give it a coating.

[HangryHippo]

I give a nod to the contractors on the I-235/I-44 project, they've been completing the individual projects very well; it's the overall phasing by ODOT that's taking so long (because the State doesn't issue bonds, IIRC).

I agree with you cafe. The contractors on this particular project have done a better job. My issue is with the state and how they phase projects due to state law.

[LakeEffect]

I'm sure they will paint them with an anti-rust coating. Obviously they can't leave it exposed. think about if you've ever seen another steel bridge that isn't painted. dwells is messing with you.....rust IS deteriorization. Its the oxidation of the iron when it meets oxygen. Doesn't hurt it for short stents, like while under construction, but it's not a long-term solution.

For recent history, look to the Bennett Expo Center at the fairgrounds. The beams weren't coated correctly when they came from the manufacturer, and rust started developing on them....delaying the project by months.

It's a real thing - weathering steel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weathering_steel

http://www.corten.com/frequently-asked-questions.html

[OkiePoke]

Yes, quite common to get weathering steel as coating is quite expensive.

If it is already rusted, that would indicate it is weathering steel as you aren't going to coat after it is rusted. The steel would have been delivered to site partially coated if they were going to go with a coated design.

[rezman]

If it was "regular" structural steel. it would require sand blasting to a white metal finish, primed immediately afterwards, and then top coated. The problem there is getting into all the nooks and crannies, and then the maintenance afterwards. With the weathering steel, this process is eliminated. Another benefit is that inspections are easier when possible defects are not hiding under paint.

[dwellsokc]

I designed the house, "A Box for Living," on the SE corner of NW 7th ST & N Francis Ave... it was the first application of corten steel on a house in SoSA. Go see how nicely the steel is aging. (There are subsequent uses of corten on the north side of the street, but I don't think the steel was sandblasted to prep it for homogeneous rusting.) I'm sure they won't sandblast the bridge either... it's just for aesthetics, not performance.

[Celebrator]

Fascinating, thank you all.

[rezman]

I designed the house, "A Box for Living," on the SE corner of NW 7th ST & N Francis Ave... it was the first application of corten steel on a house in SoSA. Go see how nicely the steel is aging. (There are subsequent uses of corten on the north side of the street, but I don't think the steel was sandblasted to prep it for homogeneous rusting.) I'm sure they won't sandblast the bridge either... it's just for aesthetics, not performance.

The whole point of using weathering steel is so it doesn’t have to be blasted and coated, which in the case of the this bridge, and many others like it, It really is for performance and not aesthetics.

Since the benefits are in the makeup of the steel, I’m not sure what blasting the surface would do other than profile the mill finish. It may change the rust sealing characteristics of the steel, but I’m not a metallurgist.

[rte66man]

Ditto. It's intended to be that way, except for the stainless steel walkways they've built along the structure, which do look odd on the pre-rusted steel.

IIRC, those are temporary and will be removed once the installation is complete.

[jn1780]

As of right now, It doesn't look like the winds will cooperate this weekend. They need less than 20 mph an hour. Hopefully there isn't an extended period of windy weekends, as the whole project now depends on getting that new bridge operational so they can start building permanent lanes where there the current bridge sits.

[catch22]

As of right now, It doesn't look like the winds will cooperate this weekend. They need less than 20 mph an hour. Hopefully there isn't an extended period of windy weekends, as the whole project now depends on getting that new bridge operational so they can start building permanent lanes where there the current bridge sits.

It has been delayed to 1/26-1/30

[warreng88]

ODOT’s bridgework to be finished this weekend

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record January 23, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – The placement of 4 million pounds of steel across the Broadway Extension is still on schedule for Jan. 26-29 as long as the weather holds out, Allen Contracting Co. project coordinator Reed Greenhill said.

The bridge is part of the largest project in the history of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, ODOT spokeswoman Terri Angier said. The final placement of two trusses is part of nearly $88 million in widening and reconstruction work on Interstate 235 between Interstate 44 and N. 36th Street. Allen Contracting began work a year ago and is expected to finish in 2019.

The trusses, each weighing 2 million pounds, were built just west of their final destination, Greenhill said. Their placement is novel enough that ODOT has set up a public viewing area with bleachers on the east side of I-235 at N. 50th Street. The department will also provide live online streaming at www.i235live.com. Drone photography will not be allowed.

Greenhill said he is looking forward to moving day, but not necessarily with the same sense of awe as someone outside the industry. Allen Contracting has handled several ODOT projects, including construction of the Interstate 40 crosstown boulevard and the I-35 bridge at Main Street in Norman.

“It will definitely be a milestone for us, too, more like a feather in our cap,” he said. “We have a lot of experience with bridges. But when the job was put out for bids, realistically, there wasn’t a contractor in Oklahoma that had been able to check all of ODOT’s boxes. The size of the bridge threw this into a different category. … So we started combing through our industry contacts to find the right partner for the bridge part of the contract.”

The Oklahoma City company partnered with American Bridge Co. in Pennsylvania. By comparison to some of that company’s other projects, the Broadway Extension bridge is fairly straightforward. As far back as 1977, American Bridge was the general contractor for the New River Gorge bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, a 3,030-foot, double-hinged deck arch bridge 900 feet above the water. More recently, the company began work on a railroad bridge in Letchworth State Park in New York. That project is a 483-foot arch with three girder spans totaling 963 feet. It sits 235 feet above the river.

Greenhill said each truss will be hoisted to driverless vehicles – SPMTs, or self-propelled modular transports – which will then inch along the highway to bring the bridge parts into position. Once that stage is complete, the bridge will be ready for use by the BNSF railroad company, he said, although additional track work will delay the switchover for about five weeks.

“There’s little to no room for error. No one can afford an error in a job like this,” he said. That’s why the truss move was delayed a week when winds picked up, Greenhill added. “Every little change is magnified at that scale.”

“There’s been two years of planning that went into this. Our confidence comes from knowing we explored every option and factor to the nth degree,” he said.

[Johnb911]

stupid question but i assume 235 will be closed all weekend for this?

[Anonymous.]

Bleachers?! Haha, I don't know why but I find this funny. Not hating on those that are excited about this, props to that hobby!

[jn1780]

Bleachers?! Haha, I don't know why but I find this funny. Not hating on those that are excited about this, props to that hobby!

I don't think I will go out there, but I will check out the webcam off and on this weekend.