Cooper River Bridge Demolition

Presentation
by
Charles Dwyer
Project Manager
SCDOT
for
THE 36th Annual South Carolina
State Highway Conference
Clemson, SC
March 28, 2007

Location Maps

Grace Memorial Bridge

Completed in 1929

Constructed in only 18 months

A private toll bridge

1,050-foot main span

Two 10 lanes

Two miles shore-to-shore

Built for $5.7 million

Purchased by state in 1945

Sufficiency Rating of 4

The Grace Bridge carried traffic across

Charleston Harbor for 75 years.
It opened with a three day celebration that
included a parade that started in Conway.
It suffered from neglect from its original
owner, The Cooper River Bridge
Company, when they went bankrupt.
At the end of its life, it was limited to 5
ton loads.

Grace Bridge

Permitting for the Grace Bridge--done by

the War Department at that time--required
that two high level trusses be constructed.

Cantilever Trusses

This schematic shows the parts of a

cantilever truss.
The need to use shoring in construction of
the anchor arms would also arise during
demolition.

Pearman Bridge

Constructed in 3 years

State-owned bridge

Three 12 lanes - one was designed as reversible

Two miles shore-to-shore with interchanges

Main span only 760 feet

Completed in 1966

Built for $14.5 million (not incl. interchanges)

The Pearman Bridge opened in 1966

without much fanfare.
The trusses of the Pearman Bridges were
identical, 760 feet spans over both the
cooper River and Town Creek.
But this shorter mainspan would prove to
shorten the life of this bridge.

Both Bridges

But this shorter mainspan would prove to

shorten the life of this bridge.
Because of the narrow opening of the
Pearman Bridge

New Bridge Completed

And so the new Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge

replaced both structures.

Ready for Demolition

As soon as traffic switched, we need to be

ready to begin the contract for
demolition

The Need

With the old bridges and their lower

clearance, some ships had to time their
passage according to the tides to ensure
they would fit.
The new, higher Ravenel would
immediately fix this.

10

Demolition Project Goals

Remove Obstruction to Shipping

USCG Bridge Permit

General Bridge Act of 1946

$1,000 per day civil penalty

Allow Wider 1,000-foot Channel

Allow Deeper Channel

Create Higher 186-foot Clearance

Shipping businesses around Charleston

were excited to see the higher vertical
clearance of the new bridge.
One shipyard has begun to contract for
cruise ship repairs, something they
couldnt do with the old bridges.

11

Demolition Project Goals

Opportunity for Mitigating Impacts

Reconnect East Side Community

Partnership with Municipalities

New Community Infrastructure

Parks
Housing
Drainage Improvements
Economic Opportunity

Now that the old bridges are gone, the

land they once occupied has become a
new opportunity for the communities.
Mount Pleasant will gain much needed
public access to the waterfront.
An economically disadvantaged
community in Charleston will be
revitalized.
12

Demolition Project Goals

Preserve History

Display Piece in Mount Pleasant

Save Some Structure in Charleston

Name Each New Tower for the Old Bridges

Memorabilia Pieces sold to public

Preserving history was another project

goal.
4000 official medallions were made by
SCDOT and these were sold to the public.
Occasionally you can find them for resale on eBay by collectors.

13

Contract

Design-Build Procurement

One Phase Selection

Best Value = Cost Technical Score

$59,595,000 Winning Bid

Eighteen Month Original Duration

Work Began August 2005

Complete by Spring 2007

A design-build procurement, the contract

package has been nicknamed DesignDemolish.
Work is about 98% complete and the last
footing was blasted earlier this week.

14

Project Partners

SCDOT

FHWA

Jay Cashman, Inc./Testa Corp. Joint Venture

Weidlinger Associates, Inc.

Earth Tech

TY Lin International/HDR Joint Venture

The winning firm was a joint venture of Jay

Cashman, Inc. and Testa Corp., both of Boston.
Cashman brought the marine experience and
equipment,
And Testa brought the demolition experience.
They hired Weidlinger engineers to help with the
demolition and Earth Tech to design the city
street.
TYLin/HDR provided CEI services.
15

Scope of Work

Remove Grace and Pearman Bridges

Create Artificial Reefs

Reconnect Charleston City Streets

Design and Construct I-26 Interchange Improvements

Build an Observation Pier in Mount Pleasant

Perform Wetland Mitigation

One item of work in the contract gave the

team a place to dispose of the material
from the old bridges
In sites permitted by DNR, the rubble
from the old bridges has created eighty
acres of artificial reefs.

16

Safety OSHA Requirements

1911.10 - Construction standards

1910.29 - Manually propelled mobile ladder stands and

scaffolds (towers)

1910.184 - Slings

1926.57 - Ventilation

1926.62 Lead

1926.752 - Site layout, site-specific erection plan and

construction sequence

1926.1101 Asbestos

1926.605 - Marine operations and equipment

1926 Subpart R App G - 1926.502 (b)-(e) Fall Protection

Systems Criteria and Practices

This is a list of the OSHA requirements

that apply to all of our jobs and become
even more important during something as
dangerous as demolition.
Unfortunately, we did have one fatality
when a worker did not use his fall
protection PPE.

17

Reverse Engineering

Truss Stability

Girder Stability

Live Loads

Wind Loads

Shoring

Taking down the structure still meant

engineering and signed & sealed plans.
Partially demolished structures needed to
be analyzed for stability.

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Grapple Attachment

Now well get into some of the equipment

used foe the demolition.
This grapple was for the barge-mounted
excavator used to clean the river bottom.
The grapple could pull piling and debris
from the main footings.

19

Clean Up

Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte

Here is the excavator that cleaned the river

bottom.
It reached 70 feet down has the strength to get the
concrete and piles from down deep.

20

Shear Attachment

This shear was used to cut right through

steel and concrete and gets mounted on an
excavator.

21

Size of the Shear Attachment

This was the largest shear on the project and

would open about five feet wide.

22

Jack-Up Barge

Photo by: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte

The jack-up barge has three legs that are

motorized.
The legs could be extended until the barge lifts
itself right out of the water as shown here.

23

Charleston Heavy Lift

This crane was rented locally and used for

retrieval of the largest pieces of truss from
the river.

24

Deck Removal

Here we begin to show the demolition process.

After removal of the lights and signs, the deck and
parapets were hammered or cut, depending on
what lied beneath.

25

Failing the Concrete Girders

The concrete girder spans above drum island were

failed by equipment working from the deck.
The concrete shear would reach out to the quarter
point of the span and snip the girder until it fell.

26

Girder Removal with Track Hoes

In the community, dropping girders would

have caused too much vibration.
Here you can see track hoes working in
tandem to pick a girder.

27

Girder Removal over Meeting Street

For longer spans over land, this large

hydraulic crane would pick the girder.

28

Steel Girder Removal over Water

Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte

A barge mounted Manitowoc picked the

steel girders

29

Concrete Girder Removal over Water

Here is the hydraulic crane again picking a lowlevel concrete girder.

30

Superstructure Removal

Removal of the superstructure proceeded very

quickly.
The contract included a milestone for completion
of work in the Charleston community.

31

Bridge Debris

Once all of the structure was down, the skyline

changed and the land began to open up.

32

Dust Control

Dust control was handled with water hoses as

shown here.
The community did raise a complaint about the
dust and we worked to be answer it quickly.
We called a meeting with DHEC air quality before
they sent us a letter we didnt want to receive.
Being proactive meant that SCDOT and DHEC
were on the same page when the complaint went
to local politicians.
33

Box Girder Removal

Cast-in-place box girder sections presented unique

challenges for demolition.

34

Column Stability

Here a column was unstable once the box girder

was gone.
The schear is holding up the column while the
hoe-rams are bringing it down.

35

Pier Removal with High Reach

Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte

Here is an excavator with an extended reach arm.

36

Superstructure Done

Completion of superstructure over Drum Island

opened the way for the next phase of demolition
DYNOMITE!

37

Explosives Used on Substructure

Here explosives were used to topple a pier.

On the ground, standard equipment could break up
the concrete.

38

Transporting the Explosives

Trucks of explosives travel our highways more

frequently than you probably thought.
But carrying them though a secured port terminal
and out onto an island in the river did require a bit
of logistical planning.

39

Loading Up and Wiring on Land

Here is blasting subcontractor is loading shot into

holes he has pre-drilled in a pier.

40

Before

Before

41

During

During

42

After

After.
This blast was important because we learned how
much powder it took to rubble-ize the concrete
and how far out the debris would carry.

43

A short video of the blast.

44

Loading Up and Wiring on Water

Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte

Here is the loading of one of the taller piers over

water.
Discovery channel is seen here filming for a
dangerous jobs show.

45

Explosives Used on Substructure

Once we had some practice, several columns at

once were blasted.

46

Flying Debris
Proper equipment

Blasting mats to wrap

columns and truss
members

Blasting curtains

Berms

And

to block
flying debris
is vital
to success.

We used various equipment to block flying debris,

but my favorite is always
The six-foot six defensive end.
Go Gators!

47

Conventional Demolition on Water

Some conventional demolition was done over

water.

48

Foundations Drilled Vertically

Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte

This drill rig allowed shot to be placed all the way

down to the seal pour of the foundations.

49

Foundations Removed with Explosives

Explosive demolition of footings would

sometimes create a nice wave.

50

Cooper River Bridge Demolition

Demolition of Trusses

Weve talked about the girder spans, now lets get

into the trusses.

51

Saw Cut the Deck

Removal of the concrete deck from the trusses was

simple because there were no shear studs.

52

Removal of the Deck

Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte

The saw-cut deck was removed by a track-hoe

with a grapple attachment.

53

Removal of the Stringers

Stringer removal was done the same way.

54

Deck Removal on the Trusses

Deck removal started in the middle of the river

and worked back towards land across each truss.

55

Grace Deck Removal

56

Bringing Down the Town Creek Trusses

Four Major Blast Events

Shape Charges to Sever Steel Members

Cuts Truss into 20-40 Ton Sections

Each Section is Pre-Rigged with Cables and Buoys

Chance to Prove that Removal Process Could Meet

the 24 hour Closure Time for the Shipping Channel

Explosive demolition was chosen for Town Creek,

the side channel.
If everything went right, the same method would
be used in the main channel.
LDs for not opening the main channel on time
were $15,000 per hour, or $360,000 per day.
So this was a good place to practice.

57

Explosives Used on Superstructure

Well,
Things didnt go so right. You can see that the
truss on the right is still in one piece as it falls.
Retrieval of all of the steel took three weeks.

58

Pearman Suspended Span

This is a video of that blast.

59

Explosives Used on Superstructure

The Grace Bridge over town creek gave the

contractor another chance to prove the method.
They hired a larger crane and broke it into less
pieces.

60

Retrieval of Superstructure

This is the Charleston heavy lift picking pieces of

the Grace span.
Retrieval of the steel was done in time but surveying the river bottom made it go
twelve hours over.

61

Bringing Down the Cooper River Trusses

Lowering Suspended Spans with Strand Jacks

Sections Weigh Up to 600 Tons

No Materials to Enter Water Therefore No Need to

Sonar Scan the Bottom Prior to Reopening Channel

24 hour Closures of Shipping Channel

First Closure Took About 12 Hours

So out in the main channel we switched methods.

A more-expensive mechanical lowering would be
used.

62

Strand Jacks

Here are the strand jacks used to lower the center

span.

63

Start of Truss Lowering

The lowering started early in the day but after the

last ship had left port.

64

About Halfway Down

Half-way

65

Fully Lowered

Lowered, but not done yet.

66

Tugs Positioning to Take it Away

We were still concerned about how the truss rested

on the barge.
A naval architect had to certify to the coast guard
that the barge would hold the truss securely

67

Heading Up River to be Recycled

Because the truss was carried up river where the

contractor cut it up for recycling.

68

De-Erection of the Cantilevers

The cantilever arms were then mechanically

disassembled.

69

Rubble Processing

Handling of all the concrete debris was a big task.

70

Rubble Taken Off-Shore

All of the debris was loaded on barges.

71

Emptying the Barge

And dumped out in the permitted sites in the ocean.

72

Reconnection of City Streets

Removal of the bridges from the Charleston

neighborhood

73

Reconnection of City Streets

Gave us the chance to reconnect old streets.

This area will now be redeveloped in a partnership
with the city of Charleston.

74

I-26 Interchange Improvements

We took the opportunity that this project presented

to do some concrete pavement rehabilitation..

75

I-26 Interchange Improvements

As well as re-align the interstate ramps to match

the new conditions.

76

Observation Pier Construction

On the Mount Pleasant end, we partnered with the

town to re-use some of the Pearman Bridge
foundations for a new public pier.

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Wetland Mitigation

And we also needed to complete our on-site

mitigation.
Here the old causeway to the Grace Bridge has
been removed. We will monitor its re-vegetation
in the coming years.

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Videos

Or how to complete a bridge project

with EXPLOSIVES from beginning to
end

Starting with the foundation test project

in 2000

Now I have a few more videos to show you.

79

Statnamic Test

How to use explosives on a drilled shaft.

80

Lateral Statnamic

How to use explosives to simulate an earthquake.

81

Ravenel Bridge
Be sure to use
explosives on
your brand new
bridge

How to test your new bridge with explosives.

82

Grace Spans

Demolition of multiple spans

83

Pearman Anchor Pier

Demolition of one of the larger concrete piers

84

Pearman Back Span

Another back span

85

Pearman Main Footing

One side of the present shipping channel

86

Pearman Main Footing

And the other side of the channel

87

QUESTIONS?

Is there a
motion to
save the
questions
for happy
hour?

88

More Information

SCDOT project website

Dixie Contractor article

www.cooperriverbridge.org

www.acppubs.com/article/CA6376220.html

Frank Starmers web log

oldcooperriverbridge.org

89

Many thanks to

It took many people to build the new Ravenel and

demolish the old bridges, so thanks to each and
every one of you who helped the project to succeed
and especially to the few I have room here to list:
Bobby Clair, Elizabeth Mabry, Don Freeman, Tony Chapman,
Bob Lee, Tad Kitowicz, Tim Henderson, Rickie Green, Jim
Raines, Tina Luke, Russ Touchberry, Daniel Burton, Danny
Shealy, Charles Matthews, Todd Steagal, Leland Colvin,
Rocque Kneece, Matt Lifsey, Barry Bowers, Lucero Mesa, Jeff
Sizemore, Wayne Hall, Oscar Rucker, Linda McDonald, Robert
Clark, Curtis Brice, Pete Poore, Doug MacFarlane, Mo Denny,
Debra Rountree, Becky Creighton, Dan Campbell, Kem
Dempsey, Wade Watson and PBC, Mike Abrahams and PB,
Kenny Pietz and TYLI/HDR and on and on and on.

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