Plate girder bridge geometry
The complete 250-ton, 224-foot bridge was modeled in Tekla Structures for TrueNorth Steel.
LocationBig Stone City, South Dakota
Client and fabricatorTrueNorth Steel
Structural steelApproximately 250 tons
Modeling and detailing effortApproximately 400 hours
Project overview
Structural steel detailing for a 224-foot bridge in Big Stone City.
The 2nd Avenue Grant County Bridge is located between Tioga Street and Walnut Street in Big Stone City, South Dakota.
The steel plate girder bridge has an overall length of 224 feet and incorporates approximately 250 tons of structural steel. TrueNorth Steel delivered the bridge in cooperation with SDDOT, BNSF and R.R. Schroeder Construction.
Our team fully modeled and detailed the structure using Tekla Structures.
Project team and technical details
- Specific location
- 2nd Avenue between Tioga Street and Walnut Street
- Bridge length
- 224 feet
- Structure type
- Steel plate girder bridge
- Engineer
- HR Green
- General contractor
- R.R. Schroeder Construction
- Project partners identified by fabricator
- SDDOT and BNSF
- Primary scope
- Bridge steel modeling and detailing
- Detailing platform
- Tekla Structures
Detailing scope
Structural steel detailing scope.
Elevation and camber layouts
Girder positions and the bridge profile were developed with elevations and camber controlled along the full structure.
Welded and bolted connections
Connection conditions were modeled and represented in fabrication drawings against the coordinated bridge geometry.
Customized shop and erection drawings
Drawing content and presentation were adapted to TrueNorth Steel’s specialized requirements during approximately 400 detailing hours.
Technical complexity
Establishing accurate elevations and camber along the full bridge length.
Camber over a 224-foot length
The bridge could not be represented as uniform horizontal building levels. Its elevation layout had to maintain the designed girder profile throughout.
Connection accuracy within the bridge profile
Welded and bolted conditions needed detailed drawings that preserved the relationship between connection requirements and modeled geometry.
Fabricator-specific drawing output
Specialized drawing requirements had to be incorporated while retaining consistency with the complete Tekla bridge model.
Our approach
Drawing output adapted to the fabricator’s requirements.
TrueNorth Steel had specialized requirements for the project drawings.
Using Tekla Structures, our team adjusted the drawing content and presentation to match those requirements while maintaining consistency with the coordinated bridge model.
Approximately 400 hours were dedicated to modeling and detailing the complete steel package.
One complete model supporting fabrication and erection drawings.
The entire bridge structure was developed as a detailed Tekla model.
Tekla Structures enabled the team to define the bridge geometry, members and connection conditions while also adapting the drawing output to TrueNorth Steel’s specific requirements.
The model served as the basis for the project’s fabrication and erection documentation.
Welded and bolted connections represented with precision.
The bridge incorporated a variety of welded and bolted connections.
Each condition required clear and detailed representation in the drawings so that the fabrication information reflected the modeled geometry and connection requirements.
The detailing scope included:
- plate girder geometry,
- elevation layouts,
- bridge camber,
- welded connections,
- bolted connections,
- fabrication drawings,
- erection drawings.
Project result
A fully detailed bridge package delivered from one coordinated model.
The completed scope included the Tekla model together with fabrication and erection documentation for approximately 250 tons of structural steel.
The project combined bridge-specific geometry, camber control, multiple connection types and customized drawing requirements within one coordinated detailing process.