U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

MEMORANDUM

PURPOSE

In the ongoing investigation of the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, the National Transportation Safety Board has identified construction equipment and materials loading on the bridge as part of their review. While no conclusions have been reached, in an abundance of caution, we strongly advise the State Transportation Agencies and other bridge owners who are engaged in or contemplating any construction operation on their bridges to ensure that any construction loading and stockpiled raw materials placed on a structure do not overload its members.

For more discussion on this issue, please refer to the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, 17th Edition, Division II, Section 8.15 or the AASHTO Load Resistance and Factor Design Bridge Design Specifications, 4th Edition, Section 3.

Please refer any questions to Benjamin Tang at 202-366-4592 or benjamin.tang@dot.gov.

PDF Version (32 kb)