Cangrejo bridge closed due to major structural failure.

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windeguy

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My friend in Colorado is an engineer who was in charge of building roads and bridges in Boulder county, CO.

I asked him why they would demolish the concrete pilings. He said it was probably because they did not properly sample the concrete as it was being poured for proper air content. The result would be substandard concrete that would have to be taken down and done again. Without being there , that was his best guess.
 
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chico bill

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My friend in Colorado is an engineer who was in charge of building roads and bridges in Boulder county, CO.

I asked him why they would demolish the concrete pilings. He said it was probably because they did not properly sample the concrete as it was being poured for proper air content. The result would be substandard concrete that would have to be taken down and done again. Without being there , that was his best guess.
Air entrainment, as it is called, is only one component of concrete workability and longevity but primarily in areas subject to freezing and thawing.
I doubt that is the reason.
They may have been poured in the wrong location or they were not deep enough or they poured the concrete with too much water (very common in DR) or they left out a specified admixture, says for chloride resistance to slow steel corrosion. Or even perhaps the reinforcement was not what was specified in the design.

In any event an engineer should be inspecting the work, verifying it and checking concrete mix tags to verify it meets specified design mix.
And then follow up with test cylinder breaks to confirm minimum design strength is met at the specified time.

I have done many bridges and there are a myriad of factors. You have to be careful that onsite water it not added to make concrete more pumpable or workable for the finishers.

I had a Turkish foreman add double water on dry mix trucks used in the Saudi heat, all because the Filipino driver could not or was afraid to tell him he already added the correct amount.
I noticed something was wrong when they stripped the column forms after 3 days and it had a strange sheen none of the other columns had and I could stick my pocket knife into the column.

Needless to say it was jackhammered down in the next few days after I investigated what happened.
 

aeng

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I was associated with the concrete industry for many years, now retired. There are hundreds of different mix designs according to the project. Here it seems they just add water to make it easier to shovel or pour. Its the Resident Engineers responsibility ... take cubes and test for 28day strength ? However did Brunel build anything hundreds of years ago ? !!!
 

jd426

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Not to cheat and Google it , but I recall reading that Concrete was discovered thousands of years ago, but then the Formula was LOST for many years ? , and rediscovered again .. my memory is not what it used to be .

But, it looks like the Dominicans LOST the Recipe again .. lmao
What a bunch of Pathetic Losers .. even with the President WATCHING ,they still manage to eff up something as Simple as the Pouring of Concrete .
 

cavok

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Several months ago, they also screwed up pouring the curbs in Sosua from the traffic light to Pappaterra and had to take them out. They're just finally getting around to repouring them now. Hopefully, they'll get them right this time. That section of the road in Sosua looks like a real shyt hole.
 
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chico bill

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Several months ago, they also screwed up pouring the curbs in Sosua from the traffic light to Pappaterra and had to take them out. They're just finally getting around to repouring them now. Hopefully, they'll get them right this time. That section of the road in Sosua looks like a real shyt hole.
I think what happened is Corraplata had to come in and do some new water main work there
 

chico bill

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I was associated with the concrete industry for many years, now retired. There are hundreds of different mix designs according to the project. Here it seems they just add water to make it easier to shovel or pour. Its the Resident Engineers responsibility ... take cubes and test for 28day strength ? However did Brunel build anything hundreds of years ago ? !!!
Tons of mix designs. Yes they screw up concrete here to make it easier to use, shameful.
I always had my testing lab take the samples from the pump truck hose into a wheel barrow or the chute after a yard had already passed and then allow no more water addition, except maybe 10 gallons, between ready mix trucks, in the concrete pump's hopper to keep from incurring a blockage in the pump
 

cavok

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I think what happened is Corraplata had to come in and do some new water main work there
I wouldn't be surprised. A typical total lack of planning and one hand not knowing what the other is doing. There's an office close by. Didn't they see the curb going in?
 

JD Jones

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379260735_331637309526700_8140238750823717692_n.jpg
 
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chico bill

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That is one MASSIVE Slab of Concrete they are getting ready to Pour there . Fascinating.
That's the pile cap. Each side will have an abutment poured over drilled piles and the beams will span between, and maybe there could be some columns in the river ?
 

JD Jones

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That's the pile cap. Each side will have an abutment poured over drilled piles and the beams will span between, and maybe there could be some columns in the river ?
I'm betting on "double T" beams for the span, as they are used in industrial buildings and the overpasses in the cities.
 
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