Overview
The project involved design of a multi-use path bridge over Dardenne Creek with trail connectivity in St. Charles County. Its close proximity to the Mexico Road vehicular bridge and numerous utilities in the area made construction a challenge. The vehicular bridge limited hydraulic analysis and led to the use of a similar span arrangement and skew. The bridge consisted of four 75-ft long pre-engineered bowstring trusses made of weathering steel with a concrete deck. Soft soils required substructure to be founded on footings with steel h-piles. The hammerhead interior bents ranged from 11-ft to 25-ft tall. The east wall abutment is 16-ft high to minimize bridge length and accommodate a trail running under the bridge adjacent to the creek. A modular block retaining wall at the east approach allowed connectivity to the trail below. About 400-ft of approach trail was also designed and constructed as part of the project. Trail profile and bridge details were selected to be in compliance with ADA requirements.
