Veterans Home Bridge Rehabilitation

Bridge rehabilitation projects are completed to permit current design loads and State legal loads on existing structures. This paper presents a rehabilitation case study of the Veterans Home Bridge, a historic orthotropic steel deck arch structure that was constructed with distinctive aesthetics and in an era that warrants its listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a contributing element to the Minnesota Soldiers’ Home Historic District. Following a fracture critical inspection which identified critical deficiencies that required urgent repairs, a load rating analysis was completed for the steel truss, which resulted in a 12 Ton Gross Vehicle Weight (G.V.W.) load posting requirement. Because minimum emergency vehicle G.V.W.s exceed this load restriction, the bridge was closed to the public. Multiple repair options were evaluated and a detailed rehabilitation design was completed to facilitate American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHTO) HS-20 Design Truck loading and to meet the aesthetic requirements of the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).