Paper Mill Road Bridge - Cockeysville, MD - Suspension Bridges on Waymarking.com

Photos taken on 21 January 2022. The bridge replaces the one directly next to it, which is now abandoned. From the website, "Anew Paper Mill Road (MD Route 145) bridge crossing of Gunpowder Falls and Loch Raven Reservoir opened to traffic in December 2000. Travelers using the new bridge enjoy an improved alignment that eliminates the sharp curves of the earlier bridge approach roadways but maintains the serene nature of this area. This $12.1 million project, which complements the existing structure, relies on 3.9 million pounds of structural steel to cross a vital water supply for the Baltimore Metropolitan region with minimal permanent impacts to the watershed.

Design

As the bridge began to require increased maintenance, Baltimore City began to investigate replacing the bridge with a new structure. A new
bridge would be able to carry the greater loads required by present day
traffic conditions and also provide better-aligned approach roadways. The final recommendation was to replace the arch truss bridge with a new structure next the existing one, which was to remain intact as a river crossing for a future hiker-biker trail. An arch structure was chosen to accommodate the long center span necessary to avoid impacts to the waterway and to be aesthetically compatible with the historic bridge. The structure consists of a steel box arch with a span of 495 feet that rises to a height of 99 feet above the Gunpowder Falls. The steel arch supports the center span above the reservoir, eliminating piers. The parabolic arch is a 6’- 8” high by 3’-0” wide steel box with smaller box sections with end flares providing lateral bracing between arches. The approaches include seven steel stringer spans supported on steel
bents for an overall structure length of 670 feet. Two strands are used at each hanger location with each strand able to carry the full dead and live load. An innovative detail was developed at the upper end of the strands that equalizes the load between strands when both are in place but also allows the removal and replacement of one strand if necessary in the future. This rocker bearing type detail is located within the arch box to protect it from the elements. The new bridge, approximately 25 feet north of the older structure, provides two 12-foot lanes with shoulders and provisions for a sidewalk on the
north side. The structure will require minimal maintenance in the future due to the use of high-strength weathering steel and epoxy coated reinforcing steel in all concrete that would be exposed to water and/or salt.


Fabrication
One of the challenges of the project was the fabrication of the structural steel for the arch and the other bridge members. The size of the arches, 99 feet high and 495 feet long, made it impossible to completely erect the arches at the fabrication site prior to shipment to the job site. The fabricator decided to test-assemble the seven sections for each arch in sequence, with no more than three sections of each arch assembled together at one time until all the sections had been assembled together. At all times the fabricator kept strict control of the arch geometry to facilitate erection later at the site."


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Date Completed: 01/01/2001 Usage: Automobile Length: 670 ft WWW: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/22/2023 Searcher28 visited it