Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems
Linn Cove Viaduct | |
|---|---|
| Location | Grandfather Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway, milepost 304.6 |
| State | NC |
| Completion Date | 1983 |
| Contact Person | Gary S. Jakovich Federal Highway Administration Phone: (703) 404-6236 Email: gary.jakovich@fhwa.dot.gov |
| Description | The Linn Cove Viaduct is 1,243 feet long and contains 153 superstructure segments, each weighing 50 tons, along with 40 substructure segments weighing up to 45 tons. The road is at an elevation of 4,100 feet and was designed as an S-shape to wind around the scenic mountains. To avoid placement of heavy equipment in a sensitive environment, the bridge was built in one direction from the south abutment to the north almost entirely from the top down. The only exceptions to the top down method were construction of the initial span on falsework and construction of a temporary timber bridge that enabled the micropile foundation drilling machine to prepare several of the foundation sites ahead of the superstructure erection. |
| Photo |  |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Elevated roadway,speed of construction |
| Advantages | Minimized environmental disruption. Precasting each segment of the bridge allowed construction workers to assemble the bridge with little impact to the most environmentally sensitive section of Grandfather Mountain. This bridge also proved that a design could be environmentally sensitive in addition to being utilitarian and economical. |
| Related Document 1 | Linn Cove Viaduct Details: Plan and Elevation, Sub-footing and Footing Layout, Temporary Support, Typical Segment, Construction Notes (PDF, 3.2 mb) HTML Version: |
| Photo Credits | Hugh Morton of Eugene Figg, Jr. |
Email Notification
EDC Innovation Box
To learn more about this EDC initiative, contact your local FHWA Division Office
Home
Project Delivery
Accelerating Technology
Contact Us