The Construction and Design Institute at Monroe Community College will host a learning session on the collapse of the NYS Thruway’s Schoharie Creek Bridge, a tragedy that led to changes in the design, inspection and maintenance of bridges. The two-hour event will start at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, in Building 8, Room 300 on the Brighton Campus.
Two spans of the Schoharie Creek Bridge in Amsterdam on the morning of April 5, 1987, fell into the flooded creek after a pier, which supported the spans, was undermined by scour. Five vehicles plunged into the creek and 10 people died. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the bridge footings were vulnerable to scour, a form of deterioration around the base of the piers, and to a relatively shallow foundation. The I-90 collapse focused national attention on the vulnerability of bridges to failure from scour.
Listen to Dick Bovee, P.E., chief engineer at Clough, Harbour and Associates LLP, offer a comprehensive review of the events that led to the collapse and the design of the detour and replacement structure, and discuss various lessons that were learned in the process.
The cost is $15 and 1.5 credit hours of professional development are available through the Practicing Institute of Engineering. To register, call Val Galletto at 585.262.2640. The event is geared to the engineering community, including students, and the public is welcome to attend.
The Construction and Design Institute centralizes community resources in the architectural design and construction fields to provide a collaboration of services, including credit courses to prepare students for a career in the industry, seminars and training for current employees to maintain and surpass required certifications, a forum in which professionals can network, and a unified voice and collective marketing to change the perceived image of the industry.
Partners in the Construction and Design Institute at MCC currently include BOCES centers, Rochester City School District, Rochester Institute of Technology, state Department of Labor, RochesterWorks, the American Institute of Architects, Association of Builders and Contractors, Association of General Contractors, Unions and Businesses United in Construction, and local unions.
Thomas J Fitch
Workforce Development
10/26/2004 |