Terri Meyer Boake BES BArch MArch LEED AP
Associate Professor :: Associate Director :: School of Architecture :: University of Waterloo

Suspension Bridge SR46

J. Meuller International and Indiana Department of Transportation

Columbus, Indiana

 

 

Project Information:

The city of Columbus, Indiana doesn't take its architecture lightly. This town, with a 2003 population of only 39,000 has one of the most significant collections of "brand name architecture" of any city in the United States or Canada. Thanks to design conscious citizens and the generosity of Cummins Corporation, Columbus is a living museum of architecture.

The bridges that form both the entrances and gateways to their community are no exception. The suspension bridge that leads from the Interstate highway into the main downtown area is a suspension bridge, designed by J. Meuller International. The tour guides boast that the City chose to build this steel bridge, at a cost of $U.S. 8 million, rather than build an uninteresting concrete bridge that would have cost the taxpayers only $ U.S. 2 million.

 

Project Images:

A view to the top point of the bridge through the suspension cables.
View from the river bank to the bridge.

The radial design of the suspension cables terminates in a triangular steel connection at the top fo the bridge.
Pedestrians crossing the river are separated from the highway traffic by a high concrete barricade.

A view up one of the very large 4 HSS supports that take the compression loads to to the river bottom.
View down the traffic lane of the bridge towards the city of Columbus.
Although the suspension cables may look "light" in the distance, the water protective sleeve that covers the steel cable and protects it from corrosion measures more than 4 inches across.
This protective sleeve is further protected by a flexible sleeve where the base of the cable connects to the concrete bridge deck.
The suspension cables are held in position by lighter steel tension members that are arranged in an arc along each "spray" of cable members.
A view down one of the main bridge supports into the river below.

 

These images are for educational use only and may not be reproduced commercially without written permission. tboake@sympatico.ca

Updated July 19, 2005