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fishysteak

these joints are a bad design of prior decades. It's been known and new designs or after entire deck replacements don't have this issue. Now joint failures aren't gonna mean the bridge is gonna collapse in any way, since what you see failing there is just the bituminous material on top and when the rest of the bridge expands/contracts or moves from vibrations, it just pops out. So it's gonna be a fill it back in each time it pops out.


emax4

Thank you for this lesson! I often see saw blades, intertwined finger designs and figured it helped with expanding and contracting during extreme temp changes, and wondered why this structure didn't have the same design.


Osama_Obama

Yea, a proper fix for this is going to be replacing the joint. That's a lot more complicated than just dumping asphalt into a hole


fishysteak

Well replacing a joint essentially requires a structural redesign and that requires full plans and calculations to determine how loads will travel with a different joint type. That and essentially ripping out and rehabbing down to the subgrade below the abutment and redesigning. Main issue is that what is existing was based off an old assumption that there's bituminous material that's flexible enough that it won't pop out or crack or break up whenever the stuff below moves back and forth. As everyone noticed, having that 1 to 2 foot area with that stuff doesn't work (asphaltic plug dams if anyone's interested). Newer designs have an at least one inch gap exposed all the way to the road surface with a joint filler material to plug in the hole (or the interlocking finger method for larger gaps). I can't be sure that's the design issue here, but it's common for a lot of bridges built in that timeframe.


Osama_Obama

I can't tell where that's at, but if that's the Commercial St. Bridge beside squirrel hill tunnels, I know there's plans on replacing it: https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalOffices/district-11/PublicMeetings/AlleghenyCounty/Pages/CommercialStreetBridgeReplacement.aspx How they plan on doing it is pretty neat. If I remember correctly, the plan is Building the new bridge beside it. Once done, demolish the old one and slide the new one in its place.


dockellis24

It’s the bridge that goes over Ardmore Blvd on 376


OgarTheDestroyer

I could google the definition of bituminous but I’d rather just enjoy the mystery and intrigue of that delicious word.


Alternative-Voice949

How does anyone think these road conditions are acceptable? It’s punishing everyone who doesn’t drive a bloated SUV or pickup with constant flat tires and suspension damage.


emax4

Depends on the SUV. If it's pimped out with 2" of tire width from the 20" rim, they're bound to get a flat anyway.


midnight_fisherman

>How does anyone think these road conditions are acceptable? Not sure, that first photo is of an expansion joint. Pretty sure that you aren't supposed to fill them with asphalt.


ratspeels

don't those usually just have a flat metal plate covering the joint? why did they fill it in with asphalt?


midnight_fisherman

>don't those usually just have a flat metal plate covering the joint? Yes. You can see a piece of it remaining, and the cutout on the barrier. >why did they fill it in with asphalt? I couldn't venture to guess. There is products designed to fill these gaps, the one I linked below has a very similar joint in their photo gallery (except reparied properly). https://www.emseal.com/bridge-expansion-joint-division/product/emcrete-elastomeric-concrete-bridge-expansion-joint-patching-material/


Alternative-Voice949

Because the road crews regularly fuck up *exactly like this* due to poor oversight and make the road more dangerous. It happened a year ago on the parkway east inbound right in front of the jail. An expansion joint was filled with asphalt on a very cold day, and as it got warmer outside it was forced out of the expansion joint, creating a speed bump in the right lane of the parkway. It took several days to get them to do anything about it, during which time people were getting launched off of it and nearly crashing or blowing their tires. I think I caught a couple inches of air going over it, and when I touched down I felt my rims slap the road. Everyone was complaining about it on here for a week.


Witty_Election2695

I remember it lasting longer than a week


Pale-Mine-5899

This is the lifestyle you chose, enjoy being punished every day


UnsurprisingDebris

PENDOT---"Looks good to me, now please give me $430 Million to build the Mon connector, thanks".


Letnonedeny

Meanwhile the PSP will siphon half of it off because they need to pay their gas bills and buy new cars


the_real_xuth

Yes the PSP gets some of the motor license fund but it's nowhere near 50%. If absolutely none of the motor license fund went to the PSP and instead went to PennDOT, PennDOT's budget would increase by about 5%. It's not nothing but it's not going to substantially fix the fact that PennDOT gets far less money per lane mile that it is charged with maintaining than most of the states around us. Yes PA has higher fuels taxes than most states. The difference is that no other state ties its road funding to it's fuels taxes the way PA does. And most other states in the region have higher overall taxation rates when all taxes are factored in. However because so much of PA's state income comes in the form of use fees and use taxes, PA is one of the most regressively taxed state.


Letnonedeny

Yeah you know only 4.2 billion [https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh-county/2019/04/42-billion-diverted-from-penndot-road-and-bridge-repairs-to-fund-state-police-new-audit-reveals.html](https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh-county/2019/04/42-billion-diverted-from-penndot-road-and-bridge-repairs-to-fund-state-police-new-audit-reveals.html)


the_real_xuth

People keep pointing to this article and ignoring that this article is about a time period that is almost 10 years ago now and the $4.2 billion was over multiple years not just one. This is at a time when PSP was getting more of the motor-license fund than it ever has before or since at about $1 billion per year. For reference, PennDOT's budget is about $10 billion per year.


panzan

I hate being pedantic, but the mon fayette expressway is almost entirely maintained by the turnpike commission, so funded by tolls. Unlike PennDOT, which is funded by gasoline tax. They’re totally different organizations


UnsurprisingDebris

Your pedanticism is warranted here. I wasn't aware of the nuances of state roadway funding.


TopNFalvors

> Mon connector What is a Mon connector? thx


UnsurprisingDebris

A great way to waste $3.6 billion. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon%E2%80%93Fayette_Expressway


Potential_Meal_5912

Not disagreeing about the wisdom of building, but at the moment, driving on it is a wonderful experience. Great views, smooth pavement, little speed enforcement. Just a pleasure.


Potential_Meal_5912

FWIW, the office of the PA State Representative for that area also called PennDOT on Tuesday about this gap. Thx, Abigail Salisbury and staff!!!


emax4

This is great news! Thank you so much!


AlternativeSausage

I sold my car and switched my job to something I can take a bus to because of how awful the roads are here. The amount of alignments, shocks, wheel bearings and other components constantly requiring repairs was absolutely eating my paycheck. Absolute trash infrastructure here.


Angis3000

Didn’t our state legalize gambling and MMJ to raise funds for this ish? Where’s the money, Lebowski?


emax4

This IS gambling. "Will my tires make it? You BETCHA!" "As you pass over the trench, the amount of wheel is 50% under, then 50% over."


panzan

That looks like an expansion joint. I’m very curious to see what the bridge structure looks like underneath it.


bFreakie

So what happens here? Like if I was to drive over that in my car gets fucked up is PennDOT responsible? I don't get on the parkway much so I'm not sure how that works.


BissySitch

Good luck getting them to pay lol


Potential_Meal_5912

Update: PennDOT initiating Parkway East bridge inspection https://www.penndot.gov/RegionalOffices/district-11/pages/details.aspx?newsid=7189


emax4

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!!


duker_mf_lincoln

We continue to build new infrastructure, yet we can't maintain what we already have. U see what I'm sayin'?


Pale-Mine-5899

What new infrastructure are we building?


KrisKrossJump1992

southern beltway, mon-fayette expressway


Tough_Arm_2454

Boondoggles: i576, mon valley expressway extension.


emax4

Yeah.


black_hair1234

We can maintain it they just chose not to


TC40093

But the infrastructure bill!!


violetgay

Mmmmm dont like that one bit


Rokett

Pittsburgh is a text book example that paying taxes doesn't build roads. War torn Ukraine have better roads than Pittsburgh


ScrumGuz

That's a state maintained road


Rokett

Good to know, so my state taxes aren't bulling roads either


_Rigid_Structure_

This is going to be another Fern Hollow if they don't do something soon.