Test Findings Implicate URS Design For Tampa Toll Road Pier Problems
Fundamental design flaws in the concrete foundations of an elevated reversible-lane toll road in Tampa have been cited for the problems that have delayed completion of the $350-million Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway. The owner, Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, sent the designer URS Construction Services, a division of San Francisco-based URS Corp., a letter of indemnification on Aug. 27 asking for a remediation plan.
On April 13, a pier collapsed, dropping 11 ft and causing two sections of roadway to buckle. On July 6 inspectors discovered that another pier had settled 1.3 in. Acceptable design margins allow bridge piers to sink no more than 1 in. during construction (ENR 8/2, p. 13). The authority hired Ardaman & Associates, an Orlando-based engineering firm, to oversee testing of the existing piers and the locales of future piers for the project.