Rehabilitation of TDOT'S SR56 Deck Truss Bridge Crossing Center Hill Lake

Abstract

In the fall of 1949 a new bridge near Smithville, TN carrying relocated SR56 over Caney Fork River was opened to traffic. Begun in fall 1947, the 1,786-feet long structure rose 274-feet above the River bed. The bridge construction and road relocation was necessary to accommodate closure of the newly constructed Center Hill Dam and subsequent 64 mile long 190 feet deep impoundment of the River.The bridge, designed for AASHO H15-44 live load, was constructed by the Nashville District of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. It consists of two 18-panel 771-feet long cantilevered deck trusses each with 8-panel suspended deck truss spans and two 61-foot long deck girder spans at each approach. The Warren type trusses are 24-feet c/c and are 60-feet deep above the 215-feet tall main piers.The bridge was originally constructed with a 24-feet curb-to-curb roadway and 18-inch wide safety curbs. In 1977 the bridge was widened to support a 44-feet curb-tocurb roadway to improve sight distance at the entrance to the newly constructed Edgar Evins Appalachian Craft Center located near the east end of the bridge. Widening was accomplished by adding truss floorbeam cantilevers to support one 611 Structures Congress 2013