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The new Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, North America’s longest cable stay span reaching 1,546 feet over the Cooper River, replaced two bridges along US Route 17 in Charleston, SC. With a total price tag of over $530 million dollars, it was the largest public construction project completed in the State of South Carolina.
WPC was heavily involved with the Quality Assurance/Quality Control program throughout the bridge construction, working closely with builders of the bridge, Palmetto Bridge Constructors. This involvement included drilled shaft inspection, reinforcing steel testing, soil and materials testing, and post-tensioning inspection.
Due to the limited amount of redundancy in the bridge foundation design, QA/QC was critical to insure that the deep foundations were capable of meeting the design requirements. WPC’s SCDOT certified drilled shaft inspectors monitored excavation and concrete placement for each drilled shaft. For selected drilled shafts, bottom inspection was conducted by our inspectors using the mini-Shaft Inspection Device (mini-SID), which allows for visual observation of the shaft bottom. WPC involvement continued with Crosshole Sonic Logging (CSL) testing and analysis to verify shaft integrity. Our professional engineers reviewed the drilled shaft inspection and testing records to determine if each individual shaft was ready for acceptance in the bridge structure.
WPC’s involvement in the QA/QC program continued past the drilled shafts. We also provided the testing and inspection services for the earthwork at the approach abutments, reinforcing steel, and post-tensioning inspection within the bridge structure. Once the bridge was opened, WPC provided vibration monitoring during the demolition of the former Grace Memorial and Pearman bridges.
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