Description:

Rehabilitation of the Franklin Avenue Bridge

Abstract
The Franklin Avenue Bridge, built 1919-1923, is a historic, open-spandrel concrete arch bridge that crosses the Mississippi River in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Nearly a century of exposure to a harsh northern climate led to advanced deterioration of its concrete elements. WJE performed an investigation and condition assessment, and then designed repairs for the bridge as part of a team led by HNTB. WJE’s investigation included a vast array of forensic testing techniques, structural analysis, service life prediction, and life cycle cost analyses. The original concrete elements were rehabilitated using historically-sensitive, durable concrete repair methods, supplemented with targeted cathodic protection measures. Construction was completed in 2017. The project was recently featured with a two-part series in ACI’s Concrete International (June and August 2017). Mr. Johnson and Dr. Lawler, lead authors and investigators, will give an overview of the project from initial investigation through current construction.

Bio
Arne Johnson is a Principal with 28 years of experience at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates in Northbrook, Illinois. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a M.S. in Structural Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. His areas of practice include structural evaluation and testing, repair and rehabilitation design, historic preservation, and structural failure analysis.

John Lawler is an Associate Principal with 17 years of experience at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates in Northbrook, Illinois. Lawler received his BS in engineering physics from Hope College, Holland, MI. He received his MS and PhD in civil engineering from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. His practice areas include structural evaluation, corrosion, repair and rehabilitation design, and materials evaluation and research.