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Engineering

Robert Maillart

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Engineering
  • Images
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.asce.org/history/bio_maillart.html

Author: 
American Society of Civil Engineers
Excerpt: 

Born in Berne, Switzerland, future structural engineering visionary Robert Malliart earned a degree in civil engineering from the Federal Polytechnical Institute in Zurich in 1894. Malliart established his own design-construction company in 1902 and moved the firm to Russia in 1912, only to see it fail during the Russian Revolution five years later.
In a two-year span before the move to Russia, Malliart entered five major bridge competitions, although judging bodies typically preferred bridges more conventional than young Malliart’s. Regardless of the design competitions, continued innovative bridge designs produced notoriety for him.

Annotation: 

This page is one in a series of biographies about famous civil engineers. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) follows Malliart from his Russian emigration, through his invention of the deck-stiffened arch bridge, and up to the completion of the Salginatobel Bridge, his longest bridge. A picture and a description of the structure appear after clicking on the Salginatobel's name. Clicking the "resources" link brings up a modicum of recommended reading to spur on any aspiring researchers.

Edgar Cardoso

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Biographical
  • Engineering
  • Library/Archive
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.icivilengineer.com/Famous_Engineers/Cardoso/eng.htm

Author: 
iCivilEngineer
Excerpt: 

Of glance...
Edgar António of Mosque Cardoso was born in the Port in 11 of May of 1913 and formou­se in Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering of the University of the Port in 1937.
Professor University professor of the Upper Institute Technician - University Technique of Lisbon.
Honoris doctor Cause for the Federal University of Rio De Janeiro.
He was Together Engineer in the Autonomous one of the Roads up to 1951.
He is as draftsperson of Bridges that more if notabiliza.

Annotation: 

Biography including a list of completed structures.

The Man who Loves Bridges by Bruce Jackson

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Contemporary (Post-WWII)
  • Engineering
  • Primary Source
  • University
URL: 

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~bjackson/figg.html

Author: 
University of Buffalo
Excerpt: 

Eugene Figg, Jr., loves bridges. His company, the Figg Engineering Group, of Tallahassee, Florida, is the only national engineering firm in America that does nothing but bridges. He loves to talk about the bridges he’s built, how they’re faring, how the people who own them feel about them now.

He’s proud of the ones that came in early and under budget (like the Natchez Trace Parkway Arches, budgeted for $15 million, brought in for $11 million). He’s equally proud of the ones that won major design awards. The National Endowment for the Arts began giving Presidential Design Awards in 1984. A total of 41 awards have been given, only five for bridges, and Figg got three of those: Lin Cove Viaduct in North Carolina (1984), Sunshine Sky Bridge in Florida (1988) and the Natchez Trace Parkway Arches in Tennessee (1995). Figg’s pride in his bridges doesn’t come off like vanity; it’s more like a parent talking to anyone who’ll listen about a child who is doing well in the world.

He was in Buffalo last week for a conference of the Association for Bridge Construction and Design, where he spoke about bridge permitting and community involvement issues, and about the community design charettes for which he has become famous. He also managed to talk with a good number of people involved in the Peace Bridge expansion: Buffalo Development Commissioner Joseph Ryan, Common Council President James Pitts, the Buffalo News editorial board, the Public Bridge Review Panel’s Technical Review Subcommittee, and about 75 people at D’Youville College, a meeting incorporated into one of the New Millennium Group’s informational sessions.

Annotation: 

Transcript of conversation between Figg and Bruce Jackson.

Albert Fink's Doomed Masterpiece

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Engineering
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Non-Profit
  • Primary Source
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.battleforthebridge.org/RRBridge.html

Author: 
Hart County Historical Society
Excerpt: 

The Louisville-Nashville Railroad Bridge, constructed in 1857-1859 as part of the Louisville-Nashville Railway System, spans the Green River and is still used by trains of the current CSX system in its reconstructed form. During the construction of the L&N railroad, the Green River presented a formidable obstacle that had to be surmounted. A well-known construction engineer from Germany, Albert Fink, was hired to design and supervise the construction of a massive structure over the Green River. He planned to support the tracks and all trains over this bridge by constructing an elaborate trusswork of his own design supported by four enormous and intricately detailed stone piers. John W. Key of Woodsonville and his two sons, Abner David Lewis Key and John Martin Key, all stonemasons, were hired to construct the piers.

Annotation: 

Letter dated 1861 from General A. S. Johnston ordering the destruction of the Green River Railway bridge. Also includes construction notes.

structurae: Othmar Herrmann Ammann

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Biographical
  • Engineering
  • Links
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Personal
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.structurae.de/en/people/data/des0001.php

Author: 
Nicolas Janberg
Excerpt: 

Othmar Herrmann Ammann. Swiss-American engineer and designer of the largest bridges of the city of New York. Born on 26 March 1879 in Feuerthalen bei Schaffhausen, Zurich, Switzerland. Deceased on 22 September 1965 in Rye, New York, USA. Associated with the following firms:Formerly: Triborough Bridge Authority. Technical director(s), Port of New York Authority. Founder(s), Ammann & Whitney.

Annotation: 

Includes a biography, bibliography, list of works, and portraits.

Bradfield, John Job Crew

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Biographical
  • Engineering
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • University
URL: 

http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P000958b.htm

Author: 
Rosanne Walker, Bright Sparcs, University of Melbourne
Excerpt: 

Civil engineer.
Born: 26 December 1867 Sandgate, Queensland, Australia. Died: 23 September 1943 Gordeon, New South Wales, Australia.
John Job C. Bradfield was associated with a great range of engineering works including the Cataract and Burrinjuck Dams, the Sydney Underground Railways and Brisbane's Story Bridge. He was, however, best known as one of the original designers of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. For his thesis on the design and construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city railway system, Bradfield was awarded the degree of Doctor

Annotation: 

Features career highlights and related links.

Othmarr Ammann's Glory

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Engineering
  • Government
  • Journal (Free Content)
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues99/oct99/object_oct99.html

Author: 
Valerie Jablow, Smithsonian Magazine
Excerpt: 

It was called the most beautiful bridge in the world. At the time of its 1931 opening, it certainly was the longest single span. To honor the engineering feat it represented, a stamp with its picture was issued, and the bridge became the subject of music, even a children's book.

Yet, a section of suspension cable for the George Washington Bridge in the collections of the National Museum of American History can only hint at such glories. Three feet in diameter and ten feet long, the massive cylinder weighs an ungainly 34,000 pounds. From its ends protrude 26,474 individual steel wires, compacted under 400 tons of pressure. Before computers, this experimental section helped engineers model the effects of compression on the finished bridge's cables. Today, it represents an engineering marvel, whose creation spanned half a century of depressions, politics and the passions of two of America's greatest bridge designers.

Annotation: 

This Smithsonian Magazine article chronicles the tribulations of Othmarr Ammann, Gustav Lindenthal, and the construction of the George Washington bridge. The piece focuses primarily on the political side of the project, including the emergent tension between Ammann and Lindenthal, rather than the architectural details. However, author Valerie Jablow does talk about the tendency towards longer, narrower one-span bridges that Ammann furthered. Still, the article is useful for those more interested in the urban development aspects of bridge building than the scientific aspects.

University Heights Bridge

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Engineering
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Personal
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/university-heights/

Author: 
Steve Anderson
Excerpt: 

Between 1901 and 1903, the New York City Department of Bridges presented plans for a new swing bridge at 207th Street (Fordham Road) before the Board of Estimate. Gustav Lindenthal, the commissioner of the newly created New York City Department of Bridges, favored a lift bridge, then a new development in bridge engineering. The city was not eager to spend on this expensive design, and when the opportunity was presented to make use of the original Broadway Bridge span (which was about to be replaced by a dual-deck swing span), the city seized it. In August 1903, the War Department approved plans for the bridge, provided that allowances were made for navigable vessels at Fordham Landing, and the Board of Estimate subsequently approved the bridge.

Alfred P. Boller, who designed the Madison Avenue, 145th Street and Macombs Dam swing spans, created the design for the University Heights Bridge. In November 1903, work began on dredging and building the center pier on which the draw span was to rest. The center pier and side piers were constructed of masonry. The steel draw span, which was originally constructed over the Harlem River Ship Canal in 1895, was lifted from its pier, floated down the river and lifted onto the new center pier in June 1906. New machinery was installed to control the draw span.

Annotation: 

This NYCBridges page gives a full history of the University Heights Bridge, from its inception as a footbridge in 1881 to its modern-day conditions. The story includes details about Gustav Lindenthal and Alfred P. Boller, both of whom were involved in the major changes to the bridge in the early 20th century. A useful resource anyone researching the history of New York bridges, even those in need of some structural details.

Ralph Modjeski

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Biographical
  • Engineering
  • Images
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Museum
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.polishamericancenter.org/Modjeski.htm

Author: 
Polish American Cultural Center
Excerpt: 

Ralph Modjeski, considered "America's greatest bridge builder", was born in Bochnia, near the city of Krakow, Poland on January 27, 1861. He immigrated to America at the age of 15 with his mother, famous Shakespearean actress, Helen Modjeska, in July, 1876. Even though Modjeski seemed destined to become an accomplished concert pianist, he went on instead to become a highly successful civil engineer and "one of the twentieth century's most famous designers and builders of bridges". In 1929, Modjeski was awarded the John Fritz Gold Medal, the highest American engineering medal, with a citation for his genius in combining strength and beauty. He was also honored by the Pennsylvania state legislature in 1966 by a resolution citing him as one of America's "greatest inventors".

Annotation: 

Features a biography, major accomplishments, and essay " The Polish Bridge Builder" by Kaya Mirecka Ploss, PhD.

Mid-Hudson Bridge

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.
  • Contemporary (Post-WWII)
  • Engineering
  • Government
  • Images
  • Links
  • Modern (18th-20th Century)
  • Secondary Source
URL: 

http://www.nysba.net/bridgepages/MHB/MHBpage/mhb_page.htm

Author: 
William Sullivan, Bridge Manager, New York State Bridge Authority
Excerpt: 

Take a virtual walk across the Mid-Hudson Bridge!! Discover various facts about the bridge. Find out about attractions in the area of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Learn about how the bridge was conceived, designed, and built.

Annotation: 

Features bridge history, statistics, and a virtual tour across the bridge.

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