[INDUSTRY NEWS]
Suspension Rope on George Washington Bridge Replaced for First Time in History The George Washington Bridge – one of the most recognizable bridges and the world’s busiest crossing connecting 106 million vehicles annually, recently celebrated its 80th anniversary. Late December the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s board authorized $15.5 million for repairs, part of the more than $1 billion that the project will eventually cost. Agency officials
Agency Officials estimate the project will
create 3,600 jobs. The suspension wire will be replaced in
stages; the project is expected to take eight years to complete. The next phase of repair planned for 2013 will be to clean up the massive anchorages tying down the bridge’s foundation as well as replace broken wires and replace the dehumidifiers in the anchor chambers. The bridge’s main cables are still in pretty good shape and will be cleaned up by scraping
working to succeed in a difficult business environment thanks to onerous and ineffective regulations, exploding debt, and the threat of higher taxes.” During the tour, Congressman Fitzpatrick
performed a break test on a sling using a Chant 600,000 lb. capacity wire rope testing machine. “This was really interesting,” commented Fitzpatrick while examining the broken end of the sling. “I wasn’t aware this industry even existed.” In addition to Congressman’s Fitzpatrick’s
George Washington Bridge, spanning the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey. Photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections.
visit, Chant Engineering also welcomed a new lead for their Calibration Division. Sharon Mathis joins Chant with over 20 years of Sales and Customer Service Experience in the Engineering, Manufacturing and Related Services Industries. Phil Chant, Vice President of Chant
Engineering, said “The Calibration Department has expanded to over 350 worldwide customers and with the addition of Sharon in a full time role, we will be better positioned to continue providing quality service. We are pleased to have Sharon as part of our growing team.” Prior to joining Chant, Mathis was
overall plan is to clean the bridge’s four main cables and also replace, for the first time in history, all of the 592 vertical suspender ropes that hold up the roadway. Spanning the river to link New York City
and New Jersey, the George Washington Bridge was designed by Othmar Ammann in 1923. The Port Authority, with Ammann as chief engineer, began construction in October of 1927 using wire produced by the Roebling Company of New Jersey. The Bridge opened to traffic in 1931. Port Authority officials said the repairs are
long overdue. Normally bridges have their wires replaced every 70 years or so. According to the Port Authority, no more than three of the suspender ropes with each 283 wires stretching from the bridge’s main cables to the roadway can be replaced at the same time – removing more than that could destabilize the span. Each of the bridge’s suspender ropes weigh 1,500 to 10,000 pounds each, depending on their length.
off their zinc-paste wrapping and adding a type of dehumidifier to the main cables. To pay for these repairs, Port Authority
Officials said they would use revenue from tolls and fares.
Pennsylvania Congressman Tours Chant Engineering Headquarters and Performs Break Test; Chant Welcomes Mathis to Team Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick toured the Chant Engineering Co. headquarters to see first-hand an American business success story. With five straight years of record growth, Chant continues to expand and hire new employees. Congressman Fitzpatrick wanted to see first-hand and meet the key personnel driving this growth in today’s challenging economic environment. “Meetings with small-business job
creators right here in Bucks County are essential to my understanding of the problems facing our economy,” said Fitzpatrick. “American entrepreneurs are
responsible for nationwide business development and account management for a technical firm. As Calibration Manager, Mathis will lead the Calibration Division efforts by enhancing Client Support to existing customers, streamlining calibration service schedules and attracting new customers. Chant Engineering Co. is a global
diversified engineering company that designs, manufactures, services and calibrates testing machines, systems and related accessories for worldwide industrial and military customers. As a nationally recognized calibration facility, Chant has precision calibration equipment traceable back to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Currently, Chant is capable of calibrating testing machines up to 3.3 million lbs. with load cells that have the capacity to calibrate to 1.5 million lbs. in tension and 3.3 million in compression. For more information on Chant Engineering, visit
www.chantengineering.com.
WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2012 7
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