Lunda Construction Company’s Post

April 19, 2024: Tomorrow is National North Dakota Day! This day recognizes the 39th state to join the U.S. Some interesting facts about ‘The Peace Garden State’ include: ·      North Dakota may or may not have been the 39th state to have joined the union. Both North and South Dakota were admitted at the same time. President Benjamin Harrison asked then Secretary of State James Blaine, to shuffle up the paperwork to avoid anyone ever knowing the state that was signed first. Still, North Dakota is listed as the 39th state with South Dakota occupying the 40th spot. This is due to alphabetical order. ·      A few attempts were launched to drop “North” from the state’s name and go by the simpler “Dakota”. The first attempt was in 1947 and the second was in 1989. However, both were unsuccessful due to the pushback from the Legislative Assembly. ·      North Dakota is the leading producer of honey in the U.S., followed by South Dakota, California, Montana, and Florida. ·      Lake Sakakawea formed by Garrison Dam on the Missouri River is named after a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea. In 1805 – 1806, she worked as a guide and interpreter during the Lewis and Clark expedition. The lake was created in 1954. It is one of the largest artificial reservoirs in the United States. The Four Bears Bridge in New Town, North Dakota, was North Dakota’s first precast concrete segmental bridge. This bridge crosses the Missouri River, where the river is widened by Garrison Dam, creating Lake Sakakawea. The bridge features a variable depth superstructure that was built in balanced cantilever, minimizing the impact on the environment. FIGG designed this bridge for the North Dakota Department of Transportation Department of Transportation. FIGG also provided construction engineering and inspection support to the Owner. #civilengineering #concrete #bridge 

Today at 11am, The Grenfell Enquiry, published its final report into the fire at Grenfell which started on the 14th of June 2017, and killed 72 people. The report has found that significant dishonesty by multiple parties was a major root cause of a completely avoidable disaster. We welcome the publication of the report and will be reading through it, and digesting it over the next few days & weeks, to ensure our clients are well briefed on the implications of the report. Thouria Istephan’s summary on what is required moving forward should be a sober reminder and call to anyone involved in the construction industry to take responsibility for looking after their fellow humans. “We have found many failings of a wide range of institutions, organisations and individuals that spanned many years, which together led to the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower. They include many failures of the construction industry, my own industry, where I will focus my comments today. Our recommendations put responsibility and burdens on [specific] people in organisations. I make no apology for that. Put simply if you work in the construction industry and you do not feel the weight of responsibility for keeping people safe, you are in the wrong job.” You can watch the full release on YouTube. https://lnkd.in/eze_Xg7N

This assessment is quite rational. I examined the conditions surrounding the bridge collision and found that it occurred just before low tide, which is the point of maximum ebb—arguably the worst possible time for a loss of power. It appears that departures are intentionally scheduled during peak ebb to allow for maximum air draft and, secondarily, to benefit from the current's push. Given the absence of collision protection, it seems prudent to mandate the use of assist tug escorts for vessels transiting under bridges.

I've been thinking a lot about the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge since I heard about it yesterday morning. First and foremost I am grieved by the loss of life caused by this incident, and I pray for all those who are grieving loved ones to receive comfort in this very difficult time. And second, I just can't help but think about this from the perspective of an engineer. About ten years ago I performed a risk analysis governed by AASHTO standards to assess the risk of this very occurrence to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The analysis is complex and requires the input of many different factors such as the width of the channel, the shape of the channel (are there any curves?), the average number of vessels to pass under the bridge and their average size, their average speed, the amount of force required to cause catastrophic damage to that particular bridge pier, and whether the bridge piers are at all protected from collision. Oftentimes, the deciding factor on whether a certain bridge meets AASHTO standards of an acceptable level of risk is whether that bridge pier has an adequate amount of protection. For the Delaware Memorial Bridge, that meant the construction of eight large sacrificial cells (Ring of sheet piles filled with gravel and sand) to absorb the impact energy of any wayward vessels, which just recently completed construction. I can't help but wonder how much a similar protection system might have saved lives in this scenario in Baltimore. Many of the bridges throughout the country were designed many decades ago when cargo vessels were much smaller. As cargo vessels have grown in size exponentially with the innovation of TEUs (shipping containers) and the widening of canals, many of these bridges are being subjected to a higher level of risk than the designing engineers could have ever anticipated. I don't know that there are any easy answers on how to fix this problem on a large scale. Bridge protection systems are not cheap, and I know there are many other necessary safety upgrades needed to public infrastructure. But I do hope this incident serves as a wakeup call to DOTs and Bridge authorities throughout the country that bridge protection is crucial infrastructure that saves lives and major economic disruption and should be considered among the top funding priorities for those bridges that don't already have it. #FrancisScottKeyBridge #BridgeProtection https://lnkd.in/gT33MVZQ

The Brandywine River bridge makes up a portion of the Delaware Turnpike, carrying I-95 traffic over the Brandywine River in Wilmington, Delaware. The bridge was constructed throughout the mid-1960s and, as it happens, the opening ceremony for the Delaware Turnpike was one of John F. Kennedy’s last public appearances before his assassination. When this project was in its planning phases, the structural engineers were tasked with analyzing the bridge using today’s design vehicle loads. The bridge contains two types of piers, hammerhead piers in the approach spans and arch piers in the middle spans. The structural engineers decided the strut-and-tie method was the most appropriate and accurate way to analyze these piers. Learn how Fyfe FRP's Tyfo assist with the structure's rehabilitation. https://ow.ly/sZf250QFHBM #StructuralStrengthening #Rehabilitation #Repair

The Q2 issue of DEMOLITION is now out! Learn more about Lindamood and CDI’s implosion of three high-rise towers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; how Trifecta Services Company provides its mettle processing decommissioned power facilities; how the Wellington Avenue bridge in Cranston, Rhode Island, was demolished and replaced due to its poor condition; and more. https://lnkd.in/g5e_twr2

Today, at 11 am, The Grenfell Inquiry released its final report on the tragic fire that claimed 72 lives on June 14, 2017. The report identifies significant dishonesty by multiple parties as a key factor leading to this entirely preventable catastrophe. As we delve into the report in the coming days and weeks, we are committed to ensuring our clients are well-informed about its implications. Thouria Istephan's insights on the necessary steps forward serve as a poignant reminder for everyone in the construction industry to prioritise the safety and well-being of all individuals. For a comprehensive understanding, you can view the full release on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eze_Xg7N #GrenfellEnquiry #SafetyFirst #ConstructionIndustry #Accountability

The BLM will host five in-person public meetings in the spring of 2024. The Anchorage meeting will be on Monday, April 8th, at the Z. J. Loussac Library. The BLM needs to hear from you about whether you think Anchorage should be part of the Alaska Long Trail. BLM Alaska is evaluating the characteristics of the proposed Alaska Long Trail and recommending its eligibility as an addition to the National Trails System as a National Scenic Trail (NST). The purpose of the Alaska Long Trail NST feasibility study is to evaluate the feasibility, suitability, and desirability of designating the route as a NST. Results of the trail study will be shared with Congress, which has the sole authority to enact legislation to designate new NSTs. Following that, rights-of-way, authorizations, and easements must be secured for the entirety of the route. Only after completion of that process could construction begin on the project. This feasibility study does not authorize any activities. The preparation of the feasibility study meets the criteria set forth at 43 CFR 46.210(h) for a Departmental Categorical Exclusion. This effort will depend on public input to help guide the direction of the study. https://lnkd.in/gb4PzfYe

"This video shows how the Baltimore Bridge could have been saved. The video also shows that modern bridge code equations would have predicted that the collapse would have happened. Details are given about why the collapse happened and what could have been done to prevent it. A responsibility framework is also presented that can be used to prevent future collapses." https://lnkd.in/dRe3jaJt #structuralengineering #byggnadskonstruktion #structuralsafety #bärverkssäkerhet #byggteknik #bygg #byggbranschen #construction #samhällsbyggnad #civilengineering

The collapse of Baltimore bridge in the US is from the technical point of view is a testament of dynamic effect of impact forces and loads applied upon the bridge piers by passing ship or barge. It is interesting that such force was neglected in the design of a river bridge where ships and barges are often passing through and could collide with it as it already has happened. The cost may be a reason, however, safety of people’s lives comes first. A simple blocking perimeter around the bridge piers well designed can do the job with a reasonable cost. Whatever the cause was (mechanical failure or human error) it was enough to cause such tragedy and loss of life and money spent in that project that its workers thrived hard to save. In the end, this is life: full of lessons.