Markets
Enhancing Flood Control Reliability at Waterbury Dam
During routine maintenance at Waterbury Dam, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) identified operational behaviors suggesting potential excess resistance in the gates’ trunnion pins. that raised concerns about the performance of the dam’s spillway gates. Given the critical role these gates play in flood control, ensuring reliability of the dam’s spillway gates was essential.…
Read MoreSupporting Miter Gate Maintenance on the Upper Mississippi River
BDI has partnered with the St. Paul District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to support ongoing maintenance operations at Lock & Dam sites along the Upper Mississippi River. In the winter, during the off-season for river traffic, these sites are dewatered on a scheduled cycle to allow for inspection and maintenance of key structural components,…
Read MoreTiger Creek Gates
Tiger Creek Afterbay Dam, originally constructed in 1931, stands approximately 120 feet tall and 400 feet wide. It features ten spillways equipped with steel Tainter gates and is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). BDI had previously performed pin friction testing on these gates in 2015, and returned in 2024 to reassess…
Read MoreMonitoring the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Carrying I-275 over Tampa Bay, the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a cable-stayed structure that plays a vital role in Florida’s transportation network. To support long-term performance monitoring and asset management, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) contracted BDI to install a structural health monitoring system focused on capturing vibration behavior of the bridge.…
Read MoreLake Limestone Spillway
Sterling C. Robertson Dam impounds the Navasota River forming Lake Limestone, which serves primarily as a water supply reservoir. The dam, completed in 1978, features an approximately 250-foot-wide concrete service spillway which has been slated for significant rehabilitation. As part of the rehabilitation effort, BDI was engaged by Stantec to locate and measure the extent…
Read MoreSDOT Bascules
Fremont, Ballard, and University Bridge are double-leaf bascule bridges located in Seattle, WA. All three bridges operate frequently, with Fremont in particular being one of the most frequently opened moveable drawbridges in the US. The bridges also have significant historical and aesthetic significant to Seattle, and are all listed on the National Register of Historic…
Read MoreNorris Bridge Rehabilitation
The Robert O. Norris, Jr. Bridge is slated for replacement beginning in 2028. In the interim, critical repairs are underway to ensure the bridge continues to safely serve the surrounding communities. These repairs are scheduled for completion by September 2026. BDI is proud to support the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in this important effort.…
Read MoreEvaluating the Newark Airport Monorail Guideway
As part of the evaluation of the Newark Airport Monorail Guideway, BDI completed live-load testing, deflection modeling, and a 90-day continuous monitoring program to assess how the guideway was performing under real-world operating conditions. Instrumentation was installed at three representative sections of the guideway, with sensors placed on both the track girders and supporting piers.…
Read MoreEmergency Monitoring of Bridge Closed Due to Settlement
BDI was engaged by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to support emergency monitoring efforts at the Route 644 bridge over the Meherrin River in Brunswick County, VA. The bridge had been closed due to settlement at its central pier, possibly due to scour, which prompted the need for real-time tracking of structural movement during…
Read MoreMonitoring the Marine Parkway Bridge for Long-Term Performance
BDI was selected to design and install a permanent structural health monitoring (SHM) system for the Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in New York City. Working in collaboration with CRC Associates and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), BDI developed a custom monitoring solution as part of mechanical and electrical upgrades to this movable bridge…
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