Design and Construction of the Blennerhassett Island Bridge

This presentation will focus on the main span tied arch of the Blennerhassett Island Bridge. The Blennerhassett Island Bridge, part of West Virginia’s Corridor D, is a 100-ft wide, 4008-ft long structure that crosses the Ohio River near Parkersburg, West Virginia. It carries six lanes of traffic and millions of travelers each year. The main span features an 878-ft long network tied arch which at the time of completion in 2008 was the longest-span bridge of this type in the world and introduced the network hanger arrangement to the United States. The inclined and crossing hangers greatly enhance the stiffness and redundancy of the system. This arrangement has since been used on numerous other tied arch bridges. The Blennerhassett Island Bridge project team was the recipient of IBC’s 2008 Gustav Lindenthal Medal. 

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Speakers:

Gregor Wollmann, PhD, PE, is a Senior Structural Engineer with HNTB where he is engaged in the design and construction of major and complex bridges throughout the United States. A native of Austria, Gregor is a graduate of the Vienna University of Technology and the University of Texas at Austin where he received his MS and PhD in structural engineering. He has over 35 years of experience in the analysis, design, construction, and research for all bridge types. In 2019 he was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department at UT Austin.