1 Steel at Home in Town or

Country . .................. 8
2 What's Up in Kansas City . .. 9
9 Fi"st Vehicular Cable-stayed
Bridge in the U.S . ......... .10
 MODERII
COIiSTRUCnOIi
Published by

American Institute
VOLUME XIV ' NUMBER 1 I FIRST QUARTER 1974
•
CONTENTS
of Steel Construction
What's Up in Kansas City? 3
101 Park Aven ue, New Yo rk, N, Y. 10017
Expansion Insu red 6
Steel at Home in Town or Coun try 8
Fi rst Vehicular Cable-stayed Bridge in the U.S. 10
Steel Cuts Costs in Middle Income Housing 16
Van W. Coddington , President
William R. Jackson, 1974 T. R. HIGGINS LECTURESHIP AWARO
First Vice President
O. B Hughes,
Dr. Joseph A. Yum ha,~ been named rl'cipient of the Fourth
Second Vice President Annual T. R. Higgins Lectureship Award. Dr. Yllm teas
Robert P. Stupp, Treasurer chos(,n to rreci,'r the $2,000 a,card for his cOlltributioll to the
John K. Edmonds, flllld of l'I,gineering knowledge based upon hi,~ papel' entitled
Executive Vice President "The Effective Lellgth of Columns ill Ullbraced Frames" (A ISC
Leslie H. Gillette, r:ngineering Joul'1wl, A]J)'iI1971.)
Assistant Executive Vice President The award will be ]J),l'sented at the 1971, National Engineer-
William W. Lanigan, ing Confaence banqllet on Thursday £'I'fnillf/, May 2, in
Secretary and General Counsel
Chicago.

1974 PRIZE BRIDGE COMPETITION

BDITORIAL aT ........
Elltries arc iuvited for the 1,6th Annllal Prize Bril/ge Compe-
lition to ,~rlect Ihe most beautifllisleel bridf/e,~ opcl,ed to tmffic •
Dan iel Farb, Director of Pub lica t ions dllrinf/ thc calendar yea)' 1979.
Mary Anne Stockwell, Editor The ml'lllbcrs of Ihe 1,971, Prize Bridf/l' Jllry arc:
J1"iiliam S. Ailen , FAIA Anshen & Allen, San Francisco,
Califo I'll ia
Om'i" (;. lIamm oll(/, f'. ASC f; Daniel, Mann, Johnson &
REGIONAL. OF .. ICES Jfn,dcllhaii, Baltimore, Maryland
Atlanta, Georgia Crnig P. IIm e/el , lIor•. U. ASC f. Hazl·let & Erdal, LOllis-
Birmingham, Alabama rille, Kent IIcky
Boston, Massachusetts J1"iiliam ,u , Sang.,er, F. A. Cf. Prl',.ident-flect American
Chicago, Illinois Socil'ly of Cil'il Enf/inl'ers; Dirl'cllH', School (If Cil'il Enf/i-
Cleveland, OhIO neerill[/, Georf/ia I llstilllie of Techl/olof/Y, Atlanta, GeOl'gia
Colu mbus, Ohio R eece II. J1" e"lIpnroll. , f'. AS(;f; El'ecutit,c vice-]Jresidcnt,
Dallas, Texas Westcllhoff alld NOl'ick, i nc" Chicago, lllillois
Denver, Colorado Entries mllst be postmarked prior to Jlfuy 2.5,1971, alld ad-
Det roit, Michigan drfssed to the Awards Committee, Aml'l'icall i ll,~titllie of Stfel
Charlotte, North Carolina Constrllction, 101 Park Al'enue, New YOl'k, New YOl'k, 10017,
Hartford, Connecticut
Houston, Texas
los Angeles, California 1973 ARCHITECTURAL AWAROS WINNER
Memphis. Tennessee COLLEGE OF OuPAGE -- INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT ONE
Milwaukee. Wisconsin In Ihe /'(" I'llt/y isslled 1,?73 Al'chi-
Minneapolis, Minnesota tectural A wards of Exceilellce book-
New York, New York let, the slefl fabricator and ,~tecll'l'('c­
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma tOI' of th" ulI'ul'lI-wil/ning Coilef/I' of
Omaha, Nebraska DIIPUIII' 8/l'lIeI1i/,( shoulll hal'e btl II
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania listell a,~:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania S tept ,."nl,r;roto r :
St. Louis, Missouri Mi,.sissi/l/li Vallfy Stl'uctllral Steel
San Francisco, California Dil'isiol/ of Debl'on Cor/loration •
Seattle, Washmgton St. AIIII, II1is,~ollri
Syracuse, New York
Si ppi f : n '('tor :
Washington, District of Columbia
Kl'n /('ood COllst I'llcl ion COlli /lall y
HinsdlLll', n Unois
•

What's
•
UP
In
KANSAS
• CITY?
"Prime Time," Kansas City, Mo.'s
major downtown revitalization program,
started in 1971 and targeted for com-
pletion in 1985, has added an "ahead
of the times" design to its continuing
parade of construction projects. The
Mercantile Bank Tower is destined to
establish some new directions for Twen-
tieth Century architecture.
Filled with unusual structural and
engineering concepts, the Tower will
incorporate at least three major build-

A rti. ,', rt'1Ir1rring of .m-story

.1I1 rrCltl tiif Bell/I,: T owl'r.
1\(II IIW8 City , .1I o.

FIRST QUARTER 1974

 ing innovations - employed in Kansas
City for the first time - which will set
it apart from nearly every other high-
terior of the girder will direct flames each fabricated from four rolled wide-
away from the web of the girder - in flange steel sections welded together
case of fire starting in the building. into the shape of a hollow cross.
•
rise structure in the country. The exterior face of the spandrel will All columns will be filled with a solu-
• The building will feature heat- be painted. both to decorate the facade tion of water and antifreeze which pro-
shielded exposed sleel girders and to weather protect the steel. vides an advanced and novel means of
which perform a dual role of fram- "This structural solution," says Philip fire protection, the first time that such a
ing and enclosing. Prince of Harry Weese & Associates, system has been used in Kansas City.
• It will contain a steel space truss, project architects, "is also an archi- This water-filled-column method fire
reminiscent of the truss system tectural solution. Nearly every piece of protects not only the exposed surface,
used in bridge construction, to exposed steel functions to make the but also the interior. The water-filled
transfer Ihe weight of Ihe 16 upper total structure work. Most of the build· columns - containing about 8,700 gal-
floors to Ihe main support col- ing wall requires no other materials to lons of liquid - will reach to the steel
umns and the elevator core. decorate, protect, or cover it. Our struc- space truss approximately 60 It above
• It will be supported by five mas· ture is exposed to full view - no em- the plaza. Each column will hold about
sive steel columns, each approx- bellishments, no false skin. 1,740 gallons of solution. To accom-
imately 60 It in height, and the "By adopting this design solution, we modate any volume change in the solu-
elevator core. These columns will are not only able to create the boldest tion, an expansion tank with a piping
be filled with a solution of water of steel structures, we are able, as well, loop connecting the tops of the col-
and antifreeze to provide fire pro- to achieve measurable economies, since umns will be placed inside the steel
tection for the columns. less finishing material will be required. space truss which encloses the me-
The heal-shielded girder system, de- Because the girders in the structural chanical equipment floor.
veloped by U.S. Steel Corp .. was intro- framing system also function as the "The tank will provide space for ex-
duced in a 55-story high·rise office exterior curtain wall, a secondary en- pansion of liquids in the columns in
struclure - One Liberty Plaza - com- closure system was not required." hot weather - or in the unlikely event •
pleted in New York City in 1971. The of a fire - when the liquid can be ex-
system not only incorporates a novel Steel Space Truss pected to expand." points out Oan
fire protection method, but it enforces a A second major structural innovation Duncan, project engineer of Jack D.
dual function upon the structural beam. in the Mercantile project is the steel Gillum & Associates, structural engi-
In conventional steel column and space truss. Located at the top of the neers on the project. "In case of fire
beam construction, the structural frame five support columns, about 60 It above the exterior columns must continue to
is fireproofed and Ihen the masonry or a sunken plaza level, the truss - provide structural support. They must,
metal curtain wall enclosure is added. comprising giant vees inclined outward therefore, be protected. Rather than
This is not so in the Mercantile Tower. at a 45 angle around the four sides of conventional fire protection - such as
The exterior horizontal girders serve the building - will be one of the build- cladding the entire column with steel
two functions in the Mercantile project. ing's most prominent visual features. plate over a layer of fire-retardent mate-
They are structural components, form- The principal function of the four- rial - the principals decided to fire-
ing part of the framing system and re- sided steel truss is to transfer the proof the columns with water from
placing the more conventional con- weight from 24 columns in the top 16 within. Not only was this an unusual -
cealed spandrel beams required to floors to the five main columns and and attractive - design and engineer-
carry floor loads. Also. these spandrel the elevator core. Since the engineering ing solution, it was both practical and
girders, acting wilh the exterior col- solution did not require a full space economical."
umns, resist all the wind forces on the frame, the truss system will create a
tower. Since they are exposed, Ihey also large, unobstructed area for housing the Advanced Steel Structure
act as 50 percent of the building's out- building's mechanical equipment. The 20-story structure will comprise
side wall. Because of the truss transfer system, 244,000 sq It of space. General offices
the space at the base of the building for the bank will be housed in a three-
Fire Protection will be left open to provide maximum story mini-building of exposed aggre-
As structural members, the spandrels accessibility to pedestrian traffic. gate precast concrete tucked under the
must be protected against fire. In the space frame. About 2,200 tons of struc-
Mercantile project, fire protection mate· Water-filled Columns tural steel - A36 carbon steel and
rial will be applied to the interior face The third innovation - and perhaps A572 high-strength, low-alloy steel -
of the spandrel in sufficient amounts to the most dramatic - concerns the will be needed for the total project. •
meet the Kansas City building code. building's massive support columns. The building is scheduled for com-
Special deflectors welded on the ex- There are to be five of these columns, pletion later this year.

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

T

• fil
Watey· led (ollwtn. fir~.('d
I th(' rxp .
prot('C't
lur/acc. bullot t~/:o the interior.
fllUO CO,".,,,. ~__

"O""IN TO
/ :lEVAorofl; .. IT

PII"t lOOP

e exterior face 1th

the
to spa)lcirci
decorate
Th. 1l be painted, b to protect the

• WI the facade an
d the u.'cathrT .
• tcel from

Th n I
.let 'P.aret tTIt" "
a ..'5 ~
U1'(,(,8
' .
C'ompTl8C8 Ulan
'ard at
illcilllrci oUlltl the /OI(T .uif'1f
l TOIOie
~i'~/t abuilding,

Arch itect:
Harry Weese
& Associates
Chicago, ilL ...
Structural E."a lMe & Associates

•
Jack D.GI~~m

SI.
Genera Llo~~~tr.c·tor,
d-a Managem ent Services limited
Concor City Mo.
Kansas I •

FIRST Q UARTER 1974 5

 •
EXPANSION
INSURED

•
Ex tcr ior 1t'a U.pac(' bdlt'('cu b(,am. and COhWUl'
i.l1iaud ..t'itll bro"zc-tilltf'd illllLiatiPig lila ...
Solar gla .. 'Int.cr('('1I' rcduu hf'at alld IIlart .

Arch it ect ,
Vincent G. Kling & Partners
Philade lph ia, Pa.
Structural E"aineer:
A & R Engineering Co" Inc,
Philadelph ia, Pa.
General Contractor:
L. F. Dri sco ll Co.
Bala Cynwyd, Pa .

...-

Sitt pia •.

6 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCT ION

•

H'rath crin g .ler l rz trrior ('o/umJI 3 alld .pam/rel. bkmiwith thr bltiMillU" 1t'(lodrd .rtti)lg.

The National Liberty Life Corpora- around a lobby and reception area. At that stair enclosures and service cores
tion. Frazer, Pa .. having outgrown its the west end is the operations area with have walls of red-earth colored brick.
present quarters, acquired a 92-acre larger, more open spaces centering on On the east, south, and west facades,
site for expansion. Projected growth of computer and mail facilities. Both areas solar glass sun screens reduce the sum-
the insurance company's business in- are designed for future expansion. mer heat gain, without sacrificing the
dicated a need for 135,000 gross sq ft The result is a unified, functionally views of the surrounding country.
of office building space to accommo- efficient building. allowing maximum The structure has a 52-ft wide cen-
date 515 to 550 employees by 1975. in growth flexibility for the future without tral bay. framed on each side by two
executive. marketing, operations, and weakening the initial unity. because the 20-ft bays. Fluorescent lights on 5-ft
computer departments. valley - the strong, natural environ- centers are used in office areas; incan·
An in-depth study of corporate phi- mental factor - is maintained as a descent lighting is employed in execu-
losophy, goals, functions. and paper north-south axis perpendicular to the tive areas. corridors, lounges, lobbies,
work flow resulted in a recommenda- structure. On both sides of this natural and vending spaces. Energized cellular
tion that executive-marketing offices be axis, additions can be constructed. steel deck underfloors are used for elec-
grouped together in one cluster and The steel-framed building has weath- trical. telephone and intercommunica-
operating areas be arranged around a ering steel exterior columns that blend tion systems. Together with the 5-ft
computer center in another cluster, with with the building's wooded setting. As lighting module. this system permits
a separate structure for the power plant. the bare steel weathers to a rich. dark complete flexibility in desk and partition
The new headquarters is a four-story brown, It develops a self-protecting, location. Partitions are demountable

•
structure, 360 ft x 100 ft. The central natural oxide coating. laminated gypsum walls. Floors. except
section bridges a valley with a small Exterior wall space between beams in computer, wash room , and stock room
stream. The executive marketing area, and columns is entirely glazed with areas are carpeted . Ceilings are of
at the east end of the building. centers bronze-tinted insulating glass, except acoustical tile.

FIRST QUARTER 1974 7

 STEEL AT HOME in TO
Imaginative applications of steel con -
tinue to show up in residential con-
struction . Whether an architect is faced
with revamping a century old nat on a
city street or a difficul t con figuration,
such as a steep hillside, stee l has
proved its versatility as well as prac-
ticality as a construction material for
homebuilding.
Here is a study in contrasts of how
steel served aesthet ically and function-
ally for two homeowners.

Converted Townhouse
In San Francisco, an architect turned
a small 19th century two·unit flat into
a two-story town house, a rental unit,
and garage. A fourth story was added
to the building to meet contemporary
seismic and wind load requirements .
Since the mai n section of the build-
ing only measures 12'-0" wide, steel
rigid frames were necessary to resist
overturn ing moment due to wind load.
Shop-welded and field-bolted frames •
were threaded through the existing
structure. The rigid frames take the
place of wood shear walls, permitting
the town house openness in both plan

Iaomttric Vlt'UJ 0/ San Fratlci.co tOlt'l l h OUIr.

S tu l / rame. t(.'tre lelt t:t po.ed in
both Int it. of Son F ranri.eo
town holf.r.

SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENCE

Architect:
Daniel Solomon, AlA
San Francisco, Calif.
Structural Ene ineer:
Hirsch & Gray
San FrancIsco, Calif.
General Contractor:
H. D. Grae
Mill Valley, ca lif.

- -.. •
•
8 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION
r

r COUNTRY
and section with a maximum exposure
to sunlight and view. The exposed
frames are painted tile red.

Hillside Home
An extremely steep site (approxi-
mately 40) in Portland, Ore., with
streets abutting both the high and low
sides, created a shallow building envel-
ope to work within. Because the prop-
erty line at the high side is 30'-0" from
the street and the grade drops so quickly,
a 36" diam. circular steel column was
chosen to support the structure for both
drama and simplicity of structural ori-
gin.
The center column, erected as a
single support with radiating steel roof
trusses, supports a series of main floor
beams, from which the lower floor
beams, in turn, are supported. From
this point, the remainder of the con-
struction is wood, which is synonymous

• with the locale .

The main floor plan consists of liv-
ing, dining, and kitchen spaces, along
with master bedroom with bath and
sauna facilities, a den and powder room.
The lower floor is for guest use.
In the PortlaJld, Orr., Tc,iclf'llce a circular
.ttel column ,upport, the ,tn{CIUTe.

PORTLAND RESIDENCE
Architect:

. ~-
Zaik/Mllier/Butler, AlA
Portland , Ore .

/
v Structural EMeineer:
Arthur James Engineers, Inc.
Portland , Ore.
General Contractor:
Barnard & Kinney, Inc.
Beaverton, Ore .

..
•
~. ~--

Cr08B·Bcction 0/ Portland, Ore., residcnce .

. .....
~

FIRST QUARTER 1974 9

First Vehicular Cable-stayed .
Bridge in the U.S.
by William L. Gute, Partn er
Gute & Nottinaham, Structu ra l Enginee rs
Juneau, Alaska

The site of the first cable-stayed ve- special erection and deck surfacing edge about cost and design, the diffi-
hicular bridge in the United States is problems, as with orthotropic design . culty of getting a new bridge-type ap-
Sitka , on Baranof Island, in the south- • The bridge blends in harmoniously proved through government bureaucra-
east panhandle of Alaska. The bridge with the surroundings. Shallow girders cies, and a general inertia to change_
replaces a small ferry to Japonski Is- look sleek in profile. Cables are small , Two modifications are necessary to
land, site of a hospital, residential area, and free-standing pylons clean. Under- adapt German designs_ First, bridges
a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding deck details are also very clean. Box must be made stiffer. live load deflec-
school, and a recently completed jet- girders require minimum bracing and tion of the Severn Bridge at Cologne is
port. The close proximity to the pic- all stiffeners are inside. With waterfront 1/ 225 of the span - 3v. times more
turesque harbor and town of Sitka views of antennas, masts, trolling poles, flexible than allowed by AASHO specs.
spurred an intensive effort to make this piling, and trees, this bridge accentu- Second, cables must be more ade-
la rge, high structure as unobtrusive as ates the waterfront mood. quately protected from traffic and road
possible. • In the center of the span, no su- salt corrosion. This means anchoring
Why is this bridge significant? As
the first vehicular cable-stayed bridge
in the U.S .. it shows this type design
is both economical and practical in this
country. The cable-stayed bridge com-
petes directly with truss bridges in the
intermediate span range. Shorter struc-
perstructure extends above the deck.
Thus no obstruction to seaplanes.
• The structure will be easy to main-
tain. Cables are galvanized and all other
steel sections are closed boxes with few
places for corrosion.
them beyond the edge of the deck .
Very little road sa lt splashes on the
cables because they are fa r enough
away from the deck edges. The cables
are galvanized to provide corrosion re-
sistance. There is so much rain in
Southeast Alaska that salt is washed
•
tures are usually girder bridges: longer Used in Europe off the cables anyway.
structures, suspension bridges. Both The cable-stayed girder bridge has The U.S. is too conservative on live-
girder and suspension bridges can be been widely used in Europe - but has load deflection allowances in the deck,
made beautiful. But most truss bridges not caught on in North America. The especially on longer spans. Permissible
- i.e., bridges used in the intermediate- Germans have used single and multiple deflection should be based on a struc-
spa n range - are ugly. The U.S. bridge stays in various configurations, includ ~ tural-response criteria fo r vehicle safety
designer now has another design to ing the bundle, fan, harp and star sys- and passenger comfort - not a ratio
choose from for intermediate-span tems. These have been arranged in of span lengths, as presently. There is
bridges, a more aesthetic design. In the three different planes: vertical exterior, a rea l need to revamp speci fications
yea rs ahead, more and more cable- vertical interior, and sloping from the here. The Sitka Harbor Bridge achieves
stayed bridges are likely to be built in top of an A-frame tower to an exterior the U.S. requirements on stiffness by
the U.S. - because of competitive cost, anchorage. anchoring the backstays over the ap-
clean details, and aesthetics. The cable- Why hasn't the cable-stayed bridge proach piers, and by using steeper cable
stayed box-girder scheme satisfies the been used in the U.S.? Several reasons. angles than in most German designs.
requirements of this site better than The cable-stayed bridge is highly inde- It is most important to provide for
any other bridge studied. It has these terminate, difficult to analyze exactly. cable adjustments in the field. Reason?
advantages: Most cable-stayed designs have consid- To insure that the girders are at the
• The cable-stayed bridge is the most erable flexibility in the deck, more than proper elevation, and the pylons vertical
economical alternate. It requires only permitted by AASHO specs. And until in the finished bridge. It is tempting to
standard construction techniques - no recently, most U.S. bridge designers, use cables with open sockets on each

•
with some exceptions, haven't been very end because of the simplified detai ls:
concerned with bridge aesthetics. Also but fabrication and construc tion inac-
eased on an .rti cle In the NoYember 1973 issue
of CIVIL ENGINEERING-ASeE, oHicial month· contributing to the lack of use of the curacies and the variable modulus of
Iy pUblic.ation of the American Society of Ci ... i l
En8meers . cable-stayed bridge is lack of knowl- elasticity of the individual cables pre-

10 MODERN STEEL CON STRU CTION

•

clude this. The camber of the girders proach and side spans. The result is a The side plates of the boxes are \7-in.
is the most difficult thing to fabricate constant depth roadway - i.e., a con- thick; and the end plates are 1\7 in.
exactly; any change from theoretical stant depth girder - from one end of thick in the lower part, and ~'-in. thick
changes the cable stress - and hence the bridge to the other. in the upper part of the pylons.
length. Cable stress also changes if Cables are attached with open sock-
bearings are not set at exact elevations; Single·Stay Cables ets to large plates at the tops of the
or the base of the pylons is not exact. A single-stay system with attach- pylons. This eliminates cable saddles
In short, the cable adjustments enable ments to the girders at the third points (i.e., an assembly on top of the pylon
you to nullify unavoidable fabrication of the 4S0 ft main span is used. Rea- over which cables pass) and simplifies
and erection errors. son? For simplicity and to minimize the details. The strong axis of the pylons
number of deck cable anchors, which is perpendicular to the roadway to re-
Superstructure Design are very expensive. Multiple stays are sist wind forces. The tops of the pylons
The same floor and girder system is feasible only when they anchor directly move about 2 in. in the plane of the
used for the full 1,2S0-ft length of the to the girders. The back stays are an- cables due to live load deflection.
bridge. The bridge has four 12S·tt ap- chored over approach piers to minimize Height of pylons is determined by
proach spans, two lS0-ft side spans, live load deflections. If this is not done, the optimum angle of the cables. The
and the 4S0-11 main span. The ap- computations show, the pylon-cable- controlling factor - cable strength or
proach on the Sitka side is a hori- girder system acts like a flexible girder live load deflection - depends on the
zontally curved continuous section; the haunch - the structure is too flexible. angle the cable makes with the hori-

•
one approach span on the Japonski The pylons are free standing vertical zontal. Plots of cable stress and verti-
Island side is simply supported. The welded steel boxes, 3 II x 4 It in sec- cal stiffness yield an optimum angle of
side and main spans are continuous tion, fixed to the piers with high strength 26.S for a level structure. For smaller
with expansion joints between the ap- threaded rods anchored in the concrete. angles, deflection controls design; for

FIRST QUARTER 1974 11

 The anchor beam consists of a 5-ft
diam. welded steel tube with I-in. thick
walls. The ci rcular section exhibi ts

•
equal bending strength in all directions,
A . tlon light
y-,vla eliminating the problem of cable orien-
tation. The tube is stiffened with ~:'-in .
.--
diaphragms at the girder webs and
cable sockets. The cables themselves
are anchored through steel tubes
welded through the anchor tube, with
an anchor socket and spanner nut.
,.......3 .. 4> galv. cables Cable adjustment is provided at this
point. The enti re anchor tube was shop
assembled, complete with box gi rder
~Stee I pylon and longitudinal stringer stubs welded
4. framing
in place. High-strength bolted field con -

-
<:>
0

, l- 22' - - 22' - 4.pylon =

Ilcabies
nections splice the box gi rders and
stringe rs on each side of the anchor.

,
Girders and Deck
I A two-girder deck system is used to
minimize the bending moments in the
30' roadwai l5'
deck cable anchor beams. The two
_Bo x girders girders are close to the ends of the
iI
~ Ii \,\1 anchor beam and to the cables; drawing
<:> Str Ingers moment diagrams, it can be seen that

-" :"-Co ncrete pier

the moment for the two gi rders is lower
than if a series of girders were used to
support the bridge deck.
The girders are box sections. We used
box gi rders - rather than pla te gi rd ers

•
- because of thei r resistance to com-
pressive stress, resistance to corrosion,
f T ~S heet pile cell
and ease of erection. Plate girders
score poorly on these three counts. In
the U.S . today, box girders are being

U~
I
I used more and more. The Sitka Harbor
IrRoCk Ii girders are unusual in that they are
under high compressive stresses,
--::;iiir
I I--Steel tensioning
rods
stresses introduced by the horizontal
component of the tension in the cables.
The box girder was the logical choice
here, for it is stiff; it makes a good col -
umn. The plate gi rder, on the other
Cro"-'t' ction 0/ br id{/~ (irc"· ami ,uppurt inu pitT•. hand, acts " like a piece of spaghetti"
until a lot of braci ng is added. Many
plate girders require a temporary ho,,-
zontal bracing system to stiffen the
larger angles, cable stress controls. Py- Cable Anchors compression flange during erection.
lons, about 100 ft high, have ext ra The cable anchors to the deck were The box girder has better corrosion
height above the cable-attachment studied more carefully than any other resistance than the plate girder, be-
points for aesthetic reasons. structural detail. They act as canti - cause all the stiffeners are inside and
The tension in each stay is about levers With the plane of the cables 5.75 the web and flange plates are exposed
1000 kips. Three 3-in. bridge strands ft from the center of the girders. They to the weather on only one side. Most
were used for each staYi thus conven- must: be stiff enough to ensure inter- corrosion starts around welds and stif-
tional galvanized strand and fittings action between the two box girders: feners. Here, they are all inside the box
could be used . A factor of safety of possess great strength in the plane of and out of the weather.
three on the breaking strength of the the cables; support intermediate longi- The girders contribute only 10 to

•
cables is used. Theoretically, then, only tudinal stringers; pass through the rela- 15% of the stiffness of the main span.
one ca ble of the three-cable group is tively shallow box girders; and mi nimize the cables providing the balance. Thus,
required to support the full dead and stress raising detai ls at the intersection even doubling the stiffness of the girder
live loads. of the girders. would only increase the span stiffness

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

 by a small amount. The girder depth Better solution? To camber the gird- Note the 250-1t main span of Scheme I
was selected at 1/25 of the side-span ers (convex Curve facing upward) so must be skewed to accommodate the
length, or 6 ft (this 1/25 is a com- that when the heavy concrete deck is fender system along the sides of the

•
monly used rule-of-thumb). This is 1/75 poured, the girders will deform to the 200-ft navigatIOn channel. Both the
of the main span. A girder depth of proper roadway grade. Cambering does fender system and main piers would be
1 100 the main span was used for the not eliminate deflection. It merely in about 52 ft of water, making this the
North Bridge at Dusseldorf, Germany, makes allowance for it so the roadway most expensive scheme. The fender sys-
which also has its backstays anchored comes to proper grade after the deflec- tem would also be difficult to maintain
over approach piers. The box girder on tion due to the weight of deck con- and would be an eyesore, especially at
the Sitka Harbor Bridge really spans crete has taken place. This method low tide. A main span of about 450 ft
between deck cable-anchor beams, this increases cable stress and complicates would move the main piers out of the
is a distance of about 150 ft, the same the erection procedure, but it is used deep water and place them beyond the
length as the side spans. The width of in European designs. With enough cable limits of the channel defined by a navi-
the box girders is 30 in. All field splices attachment points and a shallow enough gation light on one side and the face of
are made with 'la-in. ASTM A325 bolts. girder, virtually any moment diagram a large dock on the other, thus eliminat-
A conventional reinforced concrete can be attained by cambering. ing fenders.
deck slab, composite with the girders, The girders in the Sitka Harbor Bridge The next two bridge schemes studied
simplifies erection and adds stability to are merely cambered to mirror the dead had spans of 300 It - 450 It - 300 ft.
the main span . The interior of the deck load deflection, the same as any other These spans were too long for Scheme
is supported on small longitudinal girder bridge. ASTM A514 steel, which II, the continuous plate girder, and Its
stringers spanning between floor beams has a yield stress of 100 ksi, is used to cost is high. The orthotropic deck box
on 25-ft centers. accommodate strains in high moment girder, Scheme III, is only about 4%
The dead load deflection at the cen- areas, this greatly simplifies details and higher than the cable-stayed scheme,
ter of the span is about 25 in. The erection procedures. Larger bridges will but It shares one major shortcoming
girders are so ineffective in contributing probably have to use some method of with Scheme II: It is too deep at mid-
to stiffness that the strains in the gir- cambering to reduce girder strains. The span . Either scheme will have a super-
ders, and hence the stresses, are about remainder of the structural steel is structure depth of about 14 ft at mid-
the same no matter how thick the A572, with A36 used for minor low span . As a comparison, the 6-ft depth
flanges are. Greater girder depths will stressed members. for the tied arch and cable stayed
tend to increase the strains and hence schemes results in an B-ft reduction
the stresses. in grade line. This is, of course, re-

•
Alternate Designs Considered
One method of handling these large flected back into the approach fills and
Six different bridge schemes were
moments is to provide temporary hinges results in lower quantities, less room
considered for this crossing.
over the piers and at the cable anchors reqUired for the roadway section, and
until the full dead load has been ap- Cost R.tio improved visibility from town. The re-
(C.ble St.yed
plied. The hinges could then be locked Scheme Description C,rder UX» sulting savings are not included in the
up for improved performance under live I Plate Girder w/Fenders 1.15 cost comparisons, but would give the
loads. This method is impractical, how- II Plate Girder 1.13 latter alternalives a deCided advantage.
ever, because the joints are at the III Orthotropic Box Girder 1.04 A through truss would have a low
IV Through Tied Arch 104
points of high live load moment and the V Half Through Tied Arch 106 grade line, but any type of simple or
details would be costly. VI Cable Stayed Box Girder 1.00 cantilever truss design is out of the

_ot------------
255'' 7 span cable -stayed box-girder bridge - - - - - - - - - - -_ _

_ : - ~- 150' -_+ik_------ 450' - - - - - - - -*"f--- 150' - ~ --­

3 @ 125' I @ 125'

5 2'min --~
,~~~~~--------~------~H~lghw.,~te~r~~------------~-----t~~~~--~~~~~f7
~ -r
__ -*~ Side span - ...~---- ---- Main span - - - - - - -_1+- Side span -
Approach

•
Approach
spans span
Elr I'(lt iuu of Sitka I/ o. rbor B ri(/uf.

FIRST QUARTER 1974

 Pylon

Cable-attachmenl
plale •
/'
/
/
Galvanized
strand

Cable attachmrnt details ncar top of pylons.

The tubular cable-anchor beam u'as shop fabricated with box girder a~!d
longitudinal 8tringer stub8 in place,

question for this site because of aes- tern can be made quite shallow. It is To prevent this, piers are supported on
thetics and maintenance. The bridge as good looking when viewed from the concrete-filled steel sheet-pile cells.

•
viewed from Sitka will appear foreshort- side. The cost is only about 6% higher The cement used in the cell concrete
ened. The many small members and con- than the cable stayed. is Type II for improved resistance to
nections would be a maintenance head- It has disadvantages, however. The seawater. These cells are 17.5 ft in
ache in the seacoast atmosphere. bracing between the ribs and in the diameter and 35 ft high for each leg of
The remaining three schemes studied sway frames at the piers will normally the main piers; and 12 It in diameter
make use of small piers to reduce the appear foreshortened. The low eleva- and 15 It high for each leg of the other
side spans to 150 ft. The one on the tion of the steel combined with the two water piers. The tops of the cells
Sitka side is founded on a rock outcrop many members and connections will are 1 It above the highest tide.
about EI. + 5 and the Japonski one is encourage corrosion. The skew of the Sheet-pile steel is specially formu-
at about EI. + 6. These piers are there- crossing may limit the optimum location lated to resist salt water corrosion. In
fore quite short and inexpensive. at the ribs beneath the deck because addition, sheet piles have two coats of
Schemes IV and V, the through and of interference with the limits with the coal-tar epoxy and a galvanic cathodic
half through tied arches, received close navigation channel. protection system to make them as
scrutiny. The through arch looks good maintenance free as possible.
from the side, but the usual view will Bridge Substructure The upper part of the cells is heavily
be foreshortened. The harbor is used for The bridge is supported on four piers reinforced to distribute the pier loads
seaplane operations and the high part in the water and two land piers. The over the full area of the cell. This
of the superstructure is in the center upper part of all piers is a reinforced heavily reinforced concrete, the lightly
of the channel. The overall view of the concrete frame about 40 ft high. The reinforced remainder of the cell con -
bridge does not blend with the site as frame legs are 4 ft x 7 ft in sections, crete, and the bedrock are tied together
well as the cable·stayed scheme. The except for the piers supporting the with twelve 50-ton prestressed rock an-
price of the through arch is virtually pylons, which are T-shaped, 6.5 ft x chors per cell drilled and grouted 30 It
the same as the cable-stayed scheme. 13.5 ft in outside dimension. The land into bedrock. These anchors provide
The half through tied arch, similar piers are supported on short H·piles improved factors of safety against over-
to the Port Mann bridge in Vancouver, driven to bedrock. turning or sliding under earthquake
B.C., is probably the strongest competi- Conventional concrete deteriorates forces.
tor of the cable-stayed scheme at this rapidly when exposed to seawater in

•
site. Half of the arch rise is carried be- Alaska . The high, cyclic pore pressure Constructing the Bridge
neath the deck, which lowers the piers from the tides, combined with weather Temporary wooden work bridges were
and decreases the amount of super- producing many freeze-thaw cycles, constructed from each shore to provide
structure above the deck. The floor sys- tends to pop off weakened concrete. access to the water piers. Foundations

14 MODERN STEEL CONSTR UCTION

 r .."....-------..--,
_....

• (al SECTION AT STRINGERS

«I SECTION AT CABLES

(bl SECTION AT BOX GIRDERS

S, rt j01l1 th rough tllb,,/(,r ('(fbI! tllfrhlJr bfa III.

were prepared by removing shallow over- conventionally without falsework until The contractor gave the steel a light
burden with a clamshell and level ing they reached the main piers from each brush sand blast in the field to remove

•
the bedrock using divers and under- side. The pylons were then set in place dirt and stains before a final coat of
water blasting. and bolted down. Holes had been pro- zinc paint and a top coat of vinyl paint,
To prepare the supporting elements vided in the through plates at the top pale blue In color, were applied. Finish-
for the concrete piers, sheet piles were of the pylons to accommodate tem- ing touches included a continuous low-
placed in the water, forming a sheet- porary erection guys. These supported level roadway lighting system and navi-
pile cell. Water was not pumped out of the girders as they cantilevered out to- gation, clearance, and obstruction lights
these cells. Reason? It was impossible ward the cable anchors, 150 It from for aircraft and marine traffic.
to get a watertight seal between the each main pier. Once the cable anchors
sheet piles and the channel bottom: had been erected, the permanent cables Economics
there was no overburden over the bot- were installed and the center girder The bridge items came in at $1,960,-
tom rock to give support to the sheets; sections dropped in place. 000 or $52 per square foot. Representa-
nor could the sheet piles be driven into Pylon positions and cable-anchor ele- tive prices include $145 per cubic yard
the bedrock. So, without attempting to vations were adjusted to predetermined for Class "A" concrete; 22 cents per
remove water from the cell, the bedrock values, and cables equally stressed be- pound for reinforCing steel; 46 cents
was merely cleaned off and concrete fore adding deck concrete. The steel per pound for structural steel, and
poured, with the sheet piles acting as erector accomplished this by adjusting $1.63 per pound for cables and fittings.
forms. The concrete displaces the water all three cables of a group simultane-
and hardens, as well as, perhaps better ously, using three center-hole hydraulic Credits
than, that placed under dry conditions. jacks working off a common manifold. Credit is due to Dennis Nottingham,
The usual precautions were taken to The cable anchor sockets have a center formerly with the Alaska Department of
avoid agitating the concrete. The con- hole to accommodate a threaded rod Highways, for the structural analysis
crete was transported with mixer trucks for tensioning purposes. The backstays and computer solutions. Barry Bergdoll
and placed with a concrete bucket and were adjusted first to position the tops was Project Engineer for the Depart-
crane. The remainder of the pier con- of the pylons, and the forestays were ment of Highways during construction.
crete was formed with plywood and then adjusted to position the cable an- Everett McKellar was Superintendent
placed conventionally. chors. Deck slab sections varying from and AI O'Shea was Field Engineer for
For the over-water steel erection, a 50 to 100 It in length were placed in a Associated Engineers and Contractors,

•
ISO-ton crawler crane with a lBO-it specified sequence to avoid overstress- Inc. Substructure work was done by H.
boom on a 60 x 150 It barge was used; ing the girders. Flechsing & Co. of Missoula, Montana,
and a smaller crawler crane for the Structural steel had been given two and steel erection was by Don L. Cooney,
approaches. The girders were erected shop coats of zinc paint in the shop. Inc. of Tacoma, Washington.

FIRST QUARTER 1974 15

 AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION
BULK RATE
101 Park Avenue New York, New York 10017 US POSTAGE
Address Correction Requested
P AI 0

•
NEW YORK . NY
Permit No _6662

Steel Cuts Cost in

Middle-Income
Housing
by Samuel Paul, AlA

Non-subsidized middle income rental

housing is nearly extinct in New York
City today. The high costs of construc-
•
tion and ma intenance have made pri-
vate investment in such buildings all
but impossible to justify.
However, we found that th is type of
housing can be economically feasible
- even in the New York metropolitan
area. Georgetown House, an ll-story
apartment building now under construc-
tion in the Gravesend section of Brook- more than 15 percent of the cost of building will contain 110 apartments
lyn, proves the point. the concrete system, and the light- including 10 efficiencies, 90 one-bed-
Two features in particular enabled weight steel joist construction resulted room units, and 10 two·bedroom units.
owner/builder Edelman & Jacobs to con - in 30 percent less weight on the build- Rents will range from approximately
struct this $3,200,000 structure as a ing's foundations. Weight of the steel $250 for the efficiencies up to $550
profitable venture, (1) careful cost framing, including joists, was only 12 for the two·bedroom units. In addition,
studies to determine the most econom- Ibs/ sq ft. because of the cost saving methods
ical structural design and (2) the in- The combining of professional office used in their construction, the new
clusion of leased professional office space and apartments is nothing "radi- apartments will have attractive ameni-
space on the first floor to produce cally new"; we designed many such ties for tenants, including heating and
greater rental income. buildings in the 1950's and early air conditioning with individually oper-
Comparison of alte'nate structural 1960's. As rental trends and the apart- ated incremental units.

•
framing systems led to the selection of ment market in general changed, this
a ~teel frame, open-web joist design planning approach became unpopular Arc hitect:
that achieved significant savings over and, subsequently, dormant. In today's The Office of Samuel Paul, Architect
Forest Hills, N.Y.
the reinforced concrete design origi- residential market, however, high rise Struc tural Engineer:
nally contemplated . The floor·ceiling may well be the only practical method Abraham Hertzberg
assembly for the steel system saved left to private builders / developers for New York, N.Y.
Owner/Builder:
middle-income urban housing. Edelman and Jacobs
Samuel Paul is foundin8 partner of The Office of
Samuel Paul , ArchItect , New York, N.Y. When completed in March, 1974, the Brooklyn, N.Y.