53rd Avenue Extension Bridge, Bettendorf, Iowa

This bridge is a three-span, prestressed concrete girder bridge constructed using funding from the Federal Highway Administration's Innovative Bridge Research and Construction program. The innovative portion of this bridge is the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) transverse deck panels which are used in place of a conventional reinforced concrete deck. The panels are made of nominal eight-inch thick Duraspan Deck Tubes compositely connected to the prestressed concrete girder superstructure.

53rd Ave extenstion bridge in Bettendorf, Iowa

Peak strain sensors were installed on this bridge Friday, September 26, 2003. Since then the sensors have been monitoring and recording the peak flexural strain induced in the 10 most heavily loaded girders. The sensors were mounted to the bottom flange at midspan as shown in the sketch below.

To see a graph of peak strain versus time, click on each sensor (large black circle) in the sketch below.

Sketch of sensor placement on 53rd Avenue Bridge in Bettendorf, Iowa