Laboratory and Field Evaluation of the 24th Street Bridge

The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) replaced the 24th Street Bridge in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which crosses over Interstate 80/29. The design includes prestressed, precast deck panels that are longitudinally post-tensioned on composite steel girders. The 24th Street precast deck panels represent a step forward from previous applications of similar systems in Iowa and strive to further improve the accelerated bridge construction design concept. The testing and evaluation for this structure consists of two primary components: a laboratory component and a field component. The laboratory testing program was intended to help answer specific design and construction questions of the Iowa DOT for the final design. The main focus of the field-testing program was to evaluate the structure both during and after construction. Results from laboratory testing and field testing are presented herein.