and Theodore Cooper, the most reputed engineer of that time became the main consulting A disturbing pattern was emerging. The devastating collapse of the Québec bridge in 1907 was followed quickly by a decision of the federal government that the project must proceed. The members under the highest compressive loads were gradually buckling. On June 16, 1897, the chief engineer of the Quebec Bridge Company wrote to a friend, who was also the president of the Phoenix Bridge Company (Holgate et al., 1908). In its final design, the clear span was 548.6 m (1,800 ft) long. This common practice made the fabrication of these members easier. The main vertical posts of the Quebec Bridge, once complete, would stand 96 m (315 ft.) tall and weigh approximately 3.49 MN (350 tons) (ER, 1907c). The collapse was initiated by the buckling failure of Chord A9L, on the anchor arm near the pier, immediately followed by Chord A9R. The specifications called for a cantilever structure. 119(5),  1539-1555. (1986). In addition, the Quebec Bridge Company was in favor of the Phoenix Bridge Company to win the tender (Tarkov, 1986). Indiana University Press, Indiana, USA. During the winter, ice became stuck in the narrowing and piled up as high as 15 m (50 ft.) (p. 3, Middleton, 2001). McLure continued to argue that the bends in the members had occurred after they were installed. Engineering Record (ER). They were to support a suspended span with a length of 205.7 m (675 ft.). According to Middleton (p. 53, 2001), �While there remained a requirement to submit all plans for the approval of the chief engineer of Railways and Canals, it was treated as a perfunctory formality. In the calamity, which occurred on 29 August 1907, 74 of the 85 men working on the bridge at the time lost their lives. A distinguished panel was assembled to investigate the disaster. The Quebec Bridge was the longest cantilever structure attempted until that time. The concept of the cantilever structure was first used in 1867. August 17, 1907. The Engineering Hevs commented 'The fall of this bridge ranks with the greatest engineering disasters in history. AISC curves are shown for both 230 MPa (33 ksi) and 250 MPa (36 ksi) steel. Engineering Record (ER). Presented By Things Simplified ( A New Perspective ) 2. In the late 19th century, the transportation needs of Quebec led to proposals for bridging the St. Lawrence River. In the rush following the final financial arrangements of 1903, the necessity of revising the assumed weights was overlooked both by the engineers of the Phoenix Bridge Company and by those of the Quebec Bridge Company, with the result that the bridge members would have been considerably over-stressed after completion. This greatly reduced the number of workers on the project, and there was concern that a temporary stoppage would cause more workers to leave and delay the project. The curvature also increased the secondary stresses on the members, reducing their buckling capacity. The result was to be a rigid joint that transferred loads uniformly across its area to ensure only axial loading. Another ethical concern was Cooper�s rejection to having an independent engineer check his work. 2. The bridge initially collapsed on August 29, 1907. However, the project did not gather momentum until 1887, when a group of businessmen and political leaders came together and formed the Quebec Bridge Committee. The Quebec Bridge was twenty years in the making, from the founding of the Quebec Bridge Company in 1887 to the bridge�s collapse in 1907. With a site selected, bridge design proposals poured in (p. 26, Middleton, 2001). When the federal authorities in Canada decided to expand the railway network in the country, the Quebec Bridge was a part of the plan. 34-35. (1908). (1907b). In the few occasions where some decision had been reached, there was hesitation in carrying it out. The St. Lawrence River was approximately 3.2 km (2 mi.) After review, Theodore Cooper stated, �I hereby conclude and report that the cantilever superstructure plan of the Phoenix Bridge Company is the �best and cheapest� plan and proposal submitted to me for examination and report.�  (p. 15, Holgate et al., 1908, p. 34, Middleton, 2001). Again, these were reported to Cooper on the same day that they were discovered. The major one is that deformations went unheeded for so long. This caused many setbacks in the design and construction. It was at time of construction the longest cantilever bridge in the world with clear span of 1800 ft. Collapse of the Quebec Bridge, 1907. In addition, bends (deflections) were observed in some of the most heavily loaded compression members. A simple span suspended between the two cantilever arms completes the structure. The collapse of the Quebec Bridge resulted from the failure of the lower chords in the anchor arm near the main pier. Only eleven workers on the span survived. During testing, the lattice system failed explosively due to shearing of its rivets, immediately followed by buckling of the chord. When the workers tried to rivet the joints between these chords, the pre-drilled holes did not line up. • In 1882 Quebec Bridge Company was granted the contract for the bridge • Due to short finance , nothing was done until 1887 when Quebec Bridge was incorporated with the Railway Company • Now the new management demanded to get the project rolling a.s.a.p. In its final design, the clear span was 548.6 m (1,800 ft) long. The first collapse in 1907. He did not require the compression members to be tested. 55, January 19, 1907. Graduate Student, Dept. In response, the Phoenix Bridge Company sent its chief engineer to meet with the Quebec Bridge Company�s chief engineer at an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) meeting in Quebec in 1897. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, New York. No clear chain of command existed. Engineering Record (ER). This added difficulty to the fabrication of such unusually large members. A grave error was made in assuming the dead load for the calculations at too low a value and not afterwards revising this assumption. Human toll: 200 deaths (estimated) of which 79 (Collpase of August 29, 1907) and 13 (Collapse of September 11, 1916) The Quebec Bridge is a cantilever bridge (See eduMedia animation on the different types of bridges) This technology for bridges has since been abandoned due to … Government funding was requested. Digitized By Villanova University. Cooper accepted these heavier loads and stresses, in addition to the already high stresses set for the bridge, as being within acceptable limits. Shepherd, Robin and Frost, J. David (1995). These considerations made the construction of the bridge a slow process. wide at its narrowest section. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. The Quebec Bridge was included in the National Transcontinental Railway project, undertaken by the federal government. Subsequent inspections turned up more deflecting chords in August. per foot) until they reached the dimensions of 9.1 m (30 ft.) by 40.5 m (133 ft) at the top. Once this error had been discovered and brought to Cooper�s attention, he immediately made an estimate of the new stresses that would occur. Theodore Cooper had been the consulting engineer for the Quebec Bridge project, and most of the blame for the disaster fell on his shoulders. 78 � 79, Middleton, 2001). The load transferred to the opposite A9R chord that also buckled. Listed below are some of the major findings (pp. In the calamity, which occurred on 29 August 1907, 74 of the 85 men working on the bridge at the time lost their lives. The bridge was finally completed in 1917, and stands today. �This error was sufficient to have condemned the bridge had it not fallen owing to other causes.� (p. 37, Holgate et al., 1908). �Erection Attachments for Bottom Chords and Vertical Posts of the Quebec Bridge,� (1907), The Engineering record, building record and the sanitary engineer. Cooper had required extensive tests on the eyebars. Worked for Phoenix Bridge Company, Chief Engineer for Phoenix Bridge Company, Bridge Inspector, Civil Engineering Graduate from Princeton, hired by Cooper, Chief Designing Engineer for Phoenix Bridge Company, Commissioned to review design work on the bridge after the collapse, �The collapse of the Quebec Bridge resulted from the failure of the lower chords in the anchor arm near the main pier. He mandated unusually high allowable stresses, and failed to require recalculation of the bridge dead load when the span was lengthened. Cooper insisted on retaining full control of the project, even at a considerable distance. A combination of design flaws and management errors caused the first bridge to collapse before completion in 1907. The bridge project was financially troubled from the beginning. The Quebec Bridge was the longest cantilever structure attempted until that time. Being dissatisfied with the theories offered by the engineers on site, Cooper developed his own theory. However, Norman McLure wrote, �One thing I am reasonably sure of, and that is that the bend has occurred since the chord has been under stress, and was not present when the chords were placed.�   While this dispute of how the bend occurred in chords, 7L and 8L was going on, McLure reported to Cooper another occurrence of a similar bend in chords 8L and 9L (pp. on the wiki sept. 11th page it refers to 1916 - The Quebec Bridge collapses for a second time, killing 11 men. A second attempt to bridge the St. Lawrence River was made. This caused many setbacks in the design and construction. John Deans continued to serve as chief engineer of the Phoenix Bridge Company. He was sixty years old at the time he accepted the position of consulting engineer for the Quebec Bridge project. A Tragic Attempt To Bridge The River: The First Bridge The bridge seen today is sometimes referred to as the "second bridge" or the "new bridge." Two months later the company awarded contracts to the Phoenix Bridge Company for construction of the superstructure and to the Davis Firm for construction of the substructure. S.E. The second bridge was substantially heavier than the first. A few years later, on August 29, 1907, the south section of the bridge collapsed and killed 76 workers, including 33 Mohawk workers from the Kahnawake community. He stated that this would eliminate the uncertainty of constructing piers in such deep water, lessen the effects of ice, and shorten the time of construction of the piers. Although the workers who failed to report to work because of the deformations lacked the technical expertise, they seemed to be the only ones who properly understood what was really happening to the bridge (p. 78, Middleton, 2001). Eighty-six workers were present on the bridge at the time. The stresses that caused the failure were not due to abnormal weather conditions or accident, but were such as might be expected in the regular course of erection. So the next year the minister of railways and canals appointed a board of engineers that arranged for and supervised the design and construction of a new bridge. The Phoenix Company�s chief engineer had stated that the chord members were carrying �much less than maximum load.�. 55, January 12, pgs. These connection parts have, therefore, to perform the same function as the web of a girder or the web system of a truss� (Holgate et al., 1908). McLure will be over at five o�clock.�  Cooper�s reasoning for informing the Phoenixville office rather than directly relaying it to the site, was that he felt that action would be taken faster if the information went to the site through Phoenixville. The initial design length clear span was 487.7 m (1,600 ft). In its final design, the clear span was 548.6 m (1,800 ft) long. In its final design, the clear span was 548.6 m (1,800 ft) long. At the time this error was discovered, a large portion of the fabrication had been completed and a considerable amount of bridge erection was finished. Cooper withdrew from practice to live out a lonely retirement. Over 100,000 people gathered in Quebec City to celebrate the big day. Great care had to be taken while working around these joints until they were riveted (pp. Although there were sound engineering reasons for this change, it was also true that the lengthening of the span would also make Cooper the Chief Engineer for the longest cantilever bridge in the world (Petroski, 1995, p. 46, Middleton, 2001). Roddis, W. M. Kim (1993). The wreckage is shown in figure 3. Neither of the men was aware that construction had resumed on the bridge. It was at time of construction the longest cantilever bridge in the world with clear span of 1800 ft. Regardless, the Phoenix Bridge Company designed the first Pont de Québec, and it turns out they did a very poor job of it. Several ethical concerns can be pointed out in this case. The bridge project was financially troubled from the beginning. The entire south half of the bridge, approximately 189 MN (19,000 tons) of steel, fell into the waters of the St. Lawrence within 15 seconds. 1 QUEBEC BRIDGE COLLAPSE -1907 1.1 INVESTIGATE ALLOCATED EXAMPLES OF ENGINEERING FAILURE: The Quebex Bridge was a long time in planning, the original design come from the Quebec Bridge Company in 1887, of which Hon. Thirteen workers lost their lives in this accident. and Theodore Cooper, the most reputed engineer of that time became the main consulting 32 � 33, Middleton, 2001). The Phoenix Company had been in correspondence with Cooper throughout this process (Holgate et al., 1908). In the late 19th century, the transportation needs of Quebec led to proposals for bridging the St. Lawrence River. 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