St. Louis Seismic Retrofit Field Trip

Seventeen students from the University of Illinois and seven students from Washington University participated in a field trip to view the St. Louis Seismic Retrofit Project on Wednesday, April 3, 2002. The trip was sponsored by the Mid-America Earthquake Center Student Leadership Council and Undergraduate Task Force, ASCE Student Chapter, EERI Student Chapter, Institute of Transportation Engineers Student Chapter, and Chi Epsilon.

Focus: John Finke, P.E., S.E., from Jacobs-Sverdrup was the host for the event. The purpose of the field trip was to introduce undergraduate students to earthquake engineering as a field of study and to provide an opportunity for students to view firsthand how to mitigate earthquake damage.

Project Background: JE-Sverdrup has been involved in the seismic retrofit of US 40/64 (doubledeck complex) in St. Louis since the early '90s. JE-Sverdrup continues to be involved not only in design but with construction services as well. Recently, two contracts were awarded and are in various stages of completion. Over the next 5-7 years MoDOT will continue to retrofit this large complex with construction packages each year until they have completed the section from 21st Street to the river. Work is also underway for the retrofit of the Poplar Street Bridge as well. Due to the complexity of the structure and the importance placed on the structure by MoDOT, a strengthening approach was taken which includes foundation, substructure, and superstructure retrofit. Pinpiles, rock anchors, drilled shafts, footing enlargements, and overlays were used in the foundation. Many types of confinement methods were used in the substructure retrofit including the use of prestressed hoops and steel jacketing. Beam (prestressed and conventional methods) and joint enhancements were also included. Superstructure retrofit includes bearing replacement, additional shelving for joints, and cross frame retrofit.