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Kinzua Viaduct collapses
Sad news... . on Monday, July 21, 2003 the over-100 year old Kinzua Viaduct collapsed.
See the story and pictures here
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
11 towers on Viaduct collapse
By MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER and MIKE SCHREIBER/Era Reporters
After standing tall across the Kinzua Gorge for more than a century, 11 towers on the Kinzua Viaduct went crashing into the valley below around 3:15 p. m. Monday.
"It appears as though a high gust of wind or a tornado has hit," said Steven Brode of W. M. Brode Construction Co. , the contractors hired by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to renovate the structurally-deteriorating viaduct.
"The bridge has sustained some damage," said Donald Main, assistant director of the Bureau of State Parks, early Monday afternoon. He added that crews were headed to the scene to evaluate the damage, and no further details were available.
Eugene Comoss, chief engineer with the DCNR, said late Monday evening that preliminary reports from engineers on the scene indicate that six towers remain standing on the side of the park toward the entrance, while three still stand on the other side.
"What a disaster," he said. "Where the concrete pedestals are -- it snapped right there at the bottom. It went right over at the concrete piers. "
He said crews will begin cleaning up today, and he will be at the site Wednesday morning to start the assessment of the damage.
Gene Strecht, regional engineer for facilities, design and construction for DCNR, said about 50 percent of the bridge is down. "It probably went down like dominos," he said.
While none of the workmen on the contractor's crew were injured in the collapse, one park employee did not fare as well. Earl Kilmer, local expert on the statistics of the viaduct and it's history, took refuge from the storm in a maintenance building at the Kinzua Bridge State Park.
A tree fell on the building, and Kilmer suffered a broken leg. Reports indicated that emergency crews experienced difficulties reaching Kilmer because of trees down in the area. Workers had to cut trees away to free Kilmer from the wreckage. No information as to his condition was available Monday night.
"The crews are safe," Brode said, explaining work was stopped Monday morning because of the rain and high winds. "We evacuated the site," he said, adding that fallen trees and downed power lines made the area unsafe for the workers. "And the winds are still blowing. "
"It's a disaster area," said Barrett Clark, park manager. "I'm sick about it. It was a historical structure -- one of a kind. Luckily nobody was injured. "
Workers have been at the viaduct since January, mapping out structural damage caused by age and wear. Brode's crews began work in February to return the structure to a useable condition.
In June of 2002, the DCNR closed the viaduct to the Knox & Kinzua excursion train. In August of 2002, the DCNR banned pedestrians from the walkways as well. Following preliminary DCNR inspections which showed areas of 100 percent loss to rust, engineers determined that a strong-enough gust of wind could create enough lateral pressure to topple the 6,715,000-pound viaduct.
"When the wind strikes the bridge it shifts the center of gravity, which in turn increases the weight on one side of the structure and reduces it on the other," explained Clark last year.
Dr. August Freda, engineer of metallurgy and former instructor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, said the wind could very likely have been the cause of the collapse.
He also opined that work on both ends of the structure may have caused additional pressure on the center of the structure. "Without being there, it's hard to tell," Freda said.
Completed in 1882, the viaduct was once capable of holding the 511-ton Big Boy, the biggest steam engine in the world. The viaduct, at 301 feet high and 2,053 feet long, is the forth largest in the nation.
The original structure took four months to build.
Sad news... . on Monday, July 21, 2003 the over-100 year old Kinzua Viaduct collapsed.
See the story and pictures here
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
11 towers on Viaduct collapse
By MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER and MIKE SCHREIBER/Era Reporters
After standing tall across the Kinzua Gorge for more than a century, 11 towers on the Kinzua Viaduct went crashing into the valley below around 3:15 p. m. Monday.
"It appears as though a high gust of wind or a tornado has hit," said Steven Brode of W. M. Brode Construction Co. , the contractors hired by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to renovate the structurally-deteriorating viaduct.
"The bridge has sustained some damage," said Donald Main, assistant director of the Bureau of State Parks, early Monday afternoon. He added that crews were headed to the scene to evaluate the damage, and no further details were available.
Eugene Comoss, chief engineer with the DCNR, said late Monday evening that preliminary reports from engineers on the scene indicate that six towers remain standing on the side of the park toward the entrance, while three still stand on the other side.
"What a disaster," he said. "Where the concrete pedestals are -- it snapped right there at the bottom. It went right over at the concrete piers. "
He said crews will begin cleaning up today, and he will be at the site Wednesday morning to start the assessment of the damage.
Gene Strecht, regional engineer for facilities, design and construction for DCNR, said about 50 percent of the bridge is down. "It probably went down like dominos," he said.
While none of the workmen on the contractor's crew were injured in the collapse, one park employee did not fare as well. Earl Kilmer, local expert on the statistics of the viaduct and it's history, took refuge from the storm in a maintenance building at the Kinzua Bridge State Park.
A tree fell on the building, and Kilmer suffered a broken leg. Reports indicated that emergency crews experienced difficulties reaching Kilmer because of trees down in the area. Workers had to cut trees away to free Kilmer from the wreckage. No information as to his condition was available Monday night.
"The crews are safe," Brode said, explaining work was stopped Monday morning because of the rain and high winds. "We evacuated the site," he said, adding that fallen trees and downed power lines made the area unsafe for the workers. "And the winds are still blowing. "
"It's a disaster area," said Barrett Clark, park manager. "I'm sick about it. It was a historical structure -- one of a kind. Luckily nobody was injured. "
Workers have been at the viaduct since January, mapping out structural damage caused by age and wear. Brode's crews began work in February to return the structure to a useable condition.
In June of 2002, the DCNR closed the viaduct to the Knox & Kinzua excursion train. In August of 2002, the DCNR banned pedestrians from the walkways as well. Following preliminary DCNR inspections which showed areas of 100 percent loss to rust, engineers determined that a strong-enough gust of wind could create enough lateral pressure to topple the 6,715,000-pound viaduct.
"When the wind strikes the bridge it shifts the center of gravity, which in turn increases the weight on one side of the structure and reduces it on the other," explained Clark last year.
Dr. August Freda, engineer of metallurgy and former instructor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, said the wind could very likely have been the cause of the collapse.
He also opined that work on both ends of the structure may have caused additional pressure on the center of the structure. "Without being there, it's hard to tell," Freda said.
Completed in 1882, the viaduct was once capable of holding the 511-ton Big Boy, the biggest steam engine in the world. The viaduct, at 301 feet high and 2,053 feet long, is the forth largest in the nation.
The original structure took four months to build.
