Paul:
Happy to hear you found this article interesting. The River in question is the Chikaskia R. [linked} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikaskia_River it flows into another river whic takes it into the Arkansas R. system and thence into the Mississippi R.
This area is all part of the Lower Arkansas River Basin.[link]
http://ks.water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/arkfloods/ArkRiverBasin.html
Rivers are shallow and sandy bottomed ( oft-times said to have more sand than water in their bed). with channels very wide and low banks. Water usually comes with seasonal heavy rains which create heavy volumes and faster velocities, which do increase the bank cutting (and bridge undercutting). underlying rock in much of this area is a sandstone with pockets of soft limestoine. Generally, as you imagine, the soils are Harney silt loam: [linked] http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Kansas/Kansas_Soil.html
As you can see therse shallow rivers will sand and gravel overlaying soft rock make conditions for bridge pier undercutting a real potential problem.
Hope this info is of Interest.
I was just referred to this thread courtesy of Samfp1943, and now I have something to contribute to it (which I didn't last June anyway):
For a pretty good article on scour, underwater conditions, damage, &etc., see the March 2011 issue/ Vol. 107, No. 3 of RT&S / Railway Track & Structures magazine, published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp. Specifically, on pages 35 - 38 inclusive (consisting of 3-1/2 pages and 7 diagrams) is an article titled as "Railroad Bridge Inspection Below the Water Line / New Advances in Underwater Inspection Technologies for Railway Bridges over Water" by Daniel G. Stromberg, P.E., S.E., Chief Structural Engineer/ Diver, Collins Engineers, Inc. It should be available to the public 'on-line' at this URL:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/rts0311/index.php#/36
There's an old and now-abandoned railroad bridge near me - ex CRRNJ, I believe - across the Lehigh River between Catasauqua and Coplay, which has significant damage and missing stones from the lower upstream portion of one of its piers in the river channel. One of my goals for this summer is to borrow or rent a waterproof digital camera to get some decent photos of the bridge and that pier before the whole thing comes down in a major ice flow or deep stormwater runoff.
- Paul North.
Thank you for the link.
Go Huskies. Forward Together Forward
Fan of - C&NW - Milwaukee Road - CGW -
senshi This thread has interested me, since my work mainly revolves around surface water(rivers, lakes, etc). Looking at the pictures that accompanied the article the large clump of debris on the upstream side of the bridge likely exacerbated the scour of the streambed under the pier, by creating eddys that acted like underwater tornadoes. Also I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the streambed is sand or gravel. One would be surprised how many bridges are affected by scour, especially with flooding that has affected different parts of the country over the years.
This thread has interested me, since my work mainly revolves around surface water(rivers, lakes, etc).
Looking at the pictures that accompanied the article the large clump of debris on the upstream side of the bridge likely exacerbated the scour of the streambed under the pier, by creating eddys that acted like underwater tornadoes. Also I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the streambed is sand or gravel.
One would be surprised how many bridges are affected by scour, especially with flooding that has affected different parts of the country over the years.
SENSHI:
( This link: http://www.gordon-elias.com/blog/840/union-pacific-train-removed-from-sagging-bridge-in-caldwell-kansas/
Just found the above link on another Forum I monitor. You may find the info and photos of interest as it references some of the local landforms.)
And you would be correct, The bedrock around here mostly underlies aluvial soils, laid down in history of many meandering shallow rivers (Arkansas River lays to the east a numbr of miles). As you may be aware, most of the area of the present State of Kansas was at one time part of the vast Sea that covered the lands. The bedrock around here is mostly limestone, and underlays many deposits of sand and gravel.
In another thread of a Bridge ( near Norfolk, Ne. on the Nebraska Central RR) Mudchicken indicated that the colapse of that bridge was probably' scouring' of it's piers (or pier).
The pier that colapsed on the UP OKT Sub ( a former Rock Island RR line), and the estimates are that the piers were in place something more than 100+ years). The colapsed pier was more than likely a victim of scouring over a long period of many cycles of flooding and as well, as the sand and gravel. They were no match for the water velocity generated in the wake of the potential run-off of a 6-8 inch rain, as occured on Sun and Mon of this week.
Linked here: From the Wichita Eagle:
http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/17/1364239/buckled-rail-bridge-had-passed.html
FTA: "...When the bridge was inspected May 4, Lange said, "There were no defects, no issues with the pier or anything else. Basically, it was erosion by the rain that caused the pier to fail."Five to 6 inches of rain fell in the Chikaskia drainage basin over the past week with isolated areas recording as much as 8 inches, according to WeatherData..."
I thought this clip from the article was kind of interesting. IIRC I think there have been more failures than that since 1995 and reported in the THREADS on this Forum. BUT I may be mistaken ( Correction will be appreciated!)
FTA:"...Nationally, there were only 59 failures from 1982 through 2008, the most recent available figures. Three of those were in Kansas, with the most recent occurring in June 1995. Eleven of those failures were the result of water damage. None of those were in Kansas..."
I know 2 things that the crew asked for when they got to the ZVan each asked for a CLEAN PAIR OF UNDERWEAR sorry could not help myself there. This is coming from someone that survived a tornado recently and having one chase him on I-80 for about 40 miles so I have been thru weather before. Also they more than likely marked off and found a bar and went JD STRAIGHT UP PLEASE.
ROFLOL
0830AM 06/16/2010 [UPDATE}
Linked here is a video with aerial footage of the two UP locomotives on the bridge in which one of the piers has partially colapsed. Sunday night and monday morning, approximately 7 to 8 inches fell into the river. They are pretty lucky that the bridge was constructed over steel girders supported by stone piers. Had it been a timber trestle, there might have been a different outcome.
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/96394174.html
It is amazing the job the engineer did in getting this train stopped on the bridge.
Surely, he is a lucky man to get he, and the Conductor off with dry feet ( probably no nerves left!)
Kake TV reported today problems with a bridge colapse near Caldwell, Kansas on UP's OKT Sub.
June 15, 2010
Emergency crews are on the scene in Southern Sumner County, where a bridge is apparently starting to sink.
A Union Pacific spokesperson said a train with 66 cars was on the track near Caldwell when the engineer saw the bridge start to bow. The engineer got all of his crew off the train safely.
U-P officials are evaluating the situation. The eight trains that usually travel on that track have been re-routed. The area has had several inches of rain since last weekend.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
PIcture: Courtesy Wellington (Ks) News
LInk to KAKE_TV website for updates: http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/96394174.html
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