OP-ED-West Seattle – Suspension bridge versus submerged tube tunnel

Cable remained a bridge option as suggested by the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Written by Bob Ortblad

The economy and beauty of the cable-stayed bridge make them the default choice for distances from 500 to 2,500 feet. Whirlpools are 950 feet long. SDOT recently hired HNTB engineers to design a bridge or tunnel to cross vortices. HNTB is a multi-award winner for its cable-stayed bridges. As professional engineers, they will try to be objective in bridge versus tunnel analysis. However, their experience and the seductive beauty of the cable-stayed bridge may distort the objective vision. Beware, political and engineering arrogance may entice West Seattlites with their new cable-covered Duwamish Bridge.

For a fair comparison, SDOT should hire an equally qualified ITT (Submerged Tube) engineering firm. ITT is a much better option because it can be built in half the time, at half the cost of a bridge, accommodate light rail, and is safer in an earthquake. ITT can also restore a bit of the scenery and tranquility of the Duwamish River.

Let’s not repeat history.

A new bridge across the whirlpool is a high-risk solution. The West Seattle Bridge has failed under its weight, and the Seattle Department of Transportation has no idea why. Failure may be due to engineering error, construction error, earthquake, or heavy traffic. Duwamish mudflat is an appalling site for any style bridge. Two hundred feet of loamy loamy soil lies atop the Seattle Fault. The United States Geological Survey predicts that this soil will leak in a moderate earthquake. The Washington State Emergency Department warns that an earthquake in Seattle will cause massive damage.

Delays and cost overruns

The swirling cable-stayed bridge will be approximately 50% longer than the existing bridge.

In 2018, Houston began building a very similar $ 1 billion bridge across its ship channel. After two years of construction and spending of $ 422 million, construction was halted in January 2020. A set of engineering errors were discovered and the engineer was fired. In 2018, an engineering error caused the collapse of a suspension bridge near Bogota, Colombia, killing 10 construction workers. Work stopped in November 2019 on the Corpus Christi New Harbor Bridge, which is a $ 1 billion bridge. There is uncertainty about its future cost and schedule. The cable-stayed Port of Long Beach, CA Bridge will open in October this year after seismic reinforcements delayed completion by a year and added $ 500 million to the original $ 1 billion budget. In 2016, the Nybigon River cable car failed six weeks after its opening, cutting the Trans-Canada Highway temporarily. In 2009, $ 50 million was spent to replace the 25-year-old cable on Hill Boggs Bridge, New Orleans.

Washington state has two iconic cable-stayed bridges, one over the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick, and the other over the Tacoma Waterway The Thea Phos. There is no need for a third. The Perilous Swimsuit Bridge and Risky Cabling is tempting, but a wrong choice to reconnect West Seattle.

Some useful links

Modeling a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in the Seattle fracture zone in the middle of Puget Sound

https://mil.wa.gov/asset/5bac1792b2370

Seismic stabilization in the Swirling River Delta, Seattle, Washington

https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1661e/

Submerged Tunnel Digging – Underwater is not a boring tunnel solution

https://www.aurecongroup.com/thinking/thinking-papers/immersed-tunnelling

WSDOT – Tunnel inherent advantages

Engineers are raising “significant concerns” about the design of the $ 1 billion Ship Canal Bridge

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/engineers-ship-channel-bridge-project-houston-area-15118122.php

What’s next for the billion-dollar Houston Bridge after it launched the Bridge Designer County?

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/08/13/what-is-next-for-1-billion-houston-bridge-after-county-fired-bridge-designer/

A Colombian Bridge under construction collapsed, killing ten workers

https://www.thestructuralengineer.info/news/colombian-under-construction-bridge-collapsed-probably-due-to-high-loads

TxDOT: New HarbourBridge changes may add delays and a higher price

https://www.kristv.com/news/local-news/texdot-issues-official-position-on-design-firm-change-for-harbor-bridge

Port of Long Beach Bridge, California

https://www.enr.com/articles/41370-workers-on-big-california-bridge-tackle-oil-wells-seismic-issues

The cable stabilization bridge in the Nippon River failed 6 weeks after its opening

http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2018/05/nipigon-river-cable-stay-bridge-failed.html

The bugs added $ 20 million, two years to the Hill Boggs Bridge project

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/investigations/david-hammer/mistakes-added-20m-2-years-to-state-bridge-project/289-434648741

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