MATHEWS BRIDGE FRACTURE CRITICAL INSPECTIONS

The Mathews Bridge is an iconic steel cantilever through truss bridge that spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville Florida.  The main channel span is 810 feet from pier to pier and the vertical clearance is about 150 feet off the water.  The bridge was built in 1953 and has undergone multiple rehabilitation projects including a main span deck replacement from steel grating to an exodermic concrete deck.

I have been involved with inspecting this bridge on three occasions.  The first of which was as a project manager for Burgess & Niple, Inc. in 2009.  As subconsultants to Kisinger Campo & Associates, B&N was  hired to perform a routine biennial fracture critical inspection of the steel truss portion of the bridge  (over 2,600 linear feet of truss).  My role as PM was to lead the field work, coordinate with KCA, write the truss portion of the inspection report, and of course monitor the budget.  This inspection was performed using rope access.

The second time I was involved with this bridge was in the fall of 2013 when a ship collided with and severed the north bottom chord, resulting in an immediate closure of the bridge.  I was an employee of RS&H

at that time and was intensely involved with the repair project that ensued.  This was the most incredible experience of my career and I consider it an honor to have been a part of the team that immediately went to work to restore the bridge’s integrity.  Read more about the repair effort.

For my very first project as the owner of my own business I had the privilege of climbing the Mathews Bridge again.  I was hired as a subconsultant to B&N in May, 2014, to participate as a field inspector during another routine biennial fracture critical inspection.  B&N was a subconsultant to Volkert, Inc. on this project.  Of course, rope access was used to perform a hand-on inspection of the truss members and floor system.