Institute for Transportation

This paper summarizes the performance of the Pole Creek metal-plate-connected wood truss bridge constructed in the Fall of 1992 in rural Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. This two-lane bridge consists of two simple spans. Span 1 is a bolt-laminated transverse deck supported by multitruss girders; span 2 is a stresslaminated truss system. A monitoring program on the Pole Creek bridge, initiated shortly after construction, has provided information on seasonal variations in lumber moisture content, stressing bar force, static-load
test behavior, and overall condition, After 3 years, the monitoring program indicates that the Pole Creek bridge is performing adequately with no structural deficiencies.