Iowa State University Alumni Association| online edition | winter 2004

 


WINTER 2004
Home
Read back issues

Cover Story:
>>Bridges: Designing, Building, Preserving

Feature:
Celebrating 125 Years

Departments:
Getting Started
Letters
Around Campus
Alumni Profiles
Association News
Giving
Sports
Viewpoint


view photo gallery
for this article



BRIDGING THE IOWA RIVER GREENBELT

"When Mike LaViolette was born in 1966, the Iowa Department of Transportation was already beginning to conceive a plan for a bridge that would cross the Iowa River on U.S. 20. Thirty-seven years later, the bridge was completed – and LaViolette (’90, MS ’94 civil engineering) was its resident engineer.

The long journey to construct the $20.5 million Iowa River Bridge was complicated by the environment through which the highway and bridge would pass. The Iowa River Greenbelt is, according to the DOT, a rare, remaining fragment of old-growth woodland; a haven for bald eagles and endangered freshwater mussels; and an area of historic, ecological, and archaeological significance.

So building this bridge was a very big deal. Its design was unique and its construction complex. The process was scrutinized by environmentalists and engineers, not just in the state of Iowa but throughout the country. It was a landmark project.

LaViolette was working at HNTB Corporation in Kansas City as a design and construction engineer in 2000 when the Iowa DOT started construction on the Iowa River Bridge. HNTB, a firm known for its work in transportation and bridges, had been working on the bridge design since 1996.

“The DOT understood how complicated it was going to be to build the bridge, so they wanted to have someone from HNTB on site during construction to make sure the plans were followed, so that’s where I came in,” LaViolette said. “One of the things they made sure I understood when I moved up here was we couldn’t screw this up. It had to go right. The DOT has
other environmentally sensitive projects in the pipeline, but this was one of the first ones that was really scrutinized by everyone, and I do mean everyone.
There was a lot of risk involved.”

To minimize the impact of the bridge’s construction on the greenbelt, a unique launching technique was used in its construction. The idea of launching a bridge– building the bridge on one side of the river and literally rolling it across from one pier to the next – is not new. It’s been done in Europe since the mid-’60s, but it’s the first time a steel bridge of this magnitude had been launched in the United States. The technique allowed engineers to limit intrusion into the river valley and thus preserve native plants and wildlife. Bridge placement, design, and construction methods all fit the DOT’s desire to “tread as gently as possible” through the greenbelt.

Construction of the Iowa River Bridge took less than three years and was completed on time, a fact that surprised LaViolette. The first winter was long,
cold, and snowy, he said, initially slowing down the work. And there had been provisions for a construction shutdown between November and April to allow
bald eagles to roost undisturbed. As it turned out, he said, the eagles weren’t disturbed, so construction was allowed to continue.

Interest was high as the bridge was being constructed. Besides the engineering community, the local community – Hardin County farmers – was watching, too.

“This was the biggest tourist attraction in central Iowa,” LaViolette said. “Every Sunday afternoon, there would be carloads of people driving by to look. It was unbelievable. People had heard about this bridge for 35 years and they wanted to see it. I think on Sundays they would go to church, go out to eat, and go take a look at the bridge.”

Sandra Larson, Iowa DOT Research and Technology Bureau director, understands the interest. The 1988 civil engineering graduate was the state bridge
engineer from 1998 until 2000 and worked with HNTB on the bridge design. The project was her “baby” – one she describes as a great solution to a very
sensitive environmental area.

“I was so proud of this project. Not only was it high profile and unique, we set world records with the type of bridge and the distance it spans from support to support during the launch,” said Larson.

The bridge was completed in November 2002 but sat finished, waiting for the road to connect to it, until August 2003. Its grand opening was on Aug. 22. U.S. 20 is now a four-lane highway from the Mississippi River to Fort Dodge.

“This is a big accomplishment,” LaViolette said. “It’s a big step for the people who live in north central Iowa. Little towns along the highway are now going to have a chance to grow. There were already businesses springing up in anticipation of the highway being there.”

The Iowa River Bridge project has won both engineering and environmental awards and has been listed as one of the top 10 bridge projects in the United States in 2002 by a number of publications.

“The interesting thing about this bridge is that it took more than 30 years from the first environmental studies to starting the design, three years to design, nearly three years to build, and 20 seconds to drive from one end to the other,” LaViolette said. “People who drive across this bridge just don’t realize what a big project it was.”

Project Leadership
Iowa Staters were involved in every phase of the design, construction, and monitoring of the U.S. 20 bridge project.

Iowa Department of Transportation:

Ahmad Abu-Hawash
Chief Structural Engineer, Office of Bridges and Structures
MS Civil Engineering, 1993

Scott Dockstader
Civil Engineer
BS Civil Engineering, 1987

Sandra Larson
Director, Research and Technology Bureau and Former State Bridge Engineer
BS Civil Engineering, 1988

Doug McDonald
Resident Construction Engineer
BS Civil Engineering, 1980

Norm McDonald
Director of Offices of Bridges and Structures
BS Construction Engineering, 1980

Ron Meyer
Consultant Coordinator, Office of Bridges and Structures
BS Agricultural Engineering, 1985; MS Civil and Construction Engineering, 1988

Wayne Sunday
Construction Field Engineer
BS Civil Engineering, 1976

Bob Younie
District 1 Construction Engineer
BS Civil Engineering, 1971

HNTB Corporation:

Mike LaViolette
Resident Engineer
BS Civil Engineering, 1990; MS Civil and Construction Engineering, 1994

Maury Miller
Retired Vice President
BS Civil Engineering, 1958

Jensen Construction:

Dan Timmons
Vice President
BS Construction Engineering, 1981

Mike Turk
Product Engineer
BS Construction Engineering, 1985

ISU Bridge Engineering Center:

Brent Phares
Associate Manager
BS Civil Engineering, 1994; MS Civil and Construction Engineering, 1996; PhD. Civil and Construction Engineering, 1998

Doug Wood
Senior Engineer
BA Architecture, 1978; MS Civil and Construction Engineering, 1990

Read on | The Artistry of the Bow Bridge