The highway agencies of these governments are heavily involved in the project. This computer-simulated rendering of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge shows the sweeping arches that will replace the current bridge design. Construction is planned to begin in late 2000. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2000, and the project, which also includes the reconstruction of four major interchanges, should be fully completed in 2006. Bridge Scour Is a Major Design Concern Hydraulic engineers in the United States are keenly aware of the problems associated with bridge scour because more bridge failures in this country are due to bridge scour than all other causes combined.
Bridge scour is the erosion of stream bed material around bridge foundations.
First, the new bridge will have fewer but much wider piers than the existing bridge. Scour at extremely wide piers has been an area of needed research for several years. Second, the piers are designed to have exposed pile foundations to be capped near the water surface. Scour at complex piers is the topic of a new procedure that is being prepared for the next version of HEC-18. Third, soil borings indicated that there are some relatively erosion-resistant layers below the stream bed in the vicinity of the proposed new bridge.