historic context of maryland highway bridges built between 1948 ...

Appendix DNotes From August 25, 2003 Interviews With Former J. E. Greiner Company EmployeesINTERVIEW 1Interviewee: S. Murray Miller, Geotechnical EngineerLocation: URS Corporation, Hunt Valley, MarylandEducation: B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins UniversityCompany History: started with Greiner in 1953Background and General InformationMr. Murray has had ―every conceivable type‖ of association with bridge construction in his 50+years at URS/Greiner Corporation. Although he works ―mostly with bridge foundations,‖ Mr.Murray also has experience with site selection, geotechnical investigations of sites, foundationreports, working with contractors to accommodate field problems, and supportive excavation forfoundation work, including accommodations for working in water, sheeting, and shoring. Healso works with contractors during the design process to monitor and correct lateral squeeze,settlement of piles, negative friction of piles, and tension considerations. After a bridge is built,it still requires diligent monitoring due to daily wear and tear, as well as shifts in the soil. Forexample, approaches can shift and squeeze the movable parts on a bridge.Maryland 157 Over Bear CreekMr. Murray worked on this project with Wilson Ballard, Sr., a former partner and chief engineerwith Greiner. Described by Murray as one of the ―muckety mucks,‖ Ballard ―left to form hisown firm, while his son Wilson Ballard, Jr., started, ―or cut his teeth‖ at Greiner. The elderWilson had his son start out at Greiner rather than his own firm; the younger Wilson eventuallytook over for his father and ―made a bundle of money.‖ Allegedly, father and son designed thisbridge.I-95 Over Baltimore & Ohio Railroad TracksA “great project… terrific bridge… a lot of people that like steel bridges think this is reallysomething to see.”S. Murray MillerFor this project, Greiner was the overall consultant to the state of Maryland. Mr. Miller workedon the K-truss design for the bridge. The panels of this bridge have a K configuration becausethis design offers an ―advantageous way to handle stresses.‖ The bridge is very long and the―dumbest looking thing because it spans over a railroad yard that does not exist.‖ The bridge hashuge abutments and long spans, although there is very little under the bridge to necessitate longspans. This bridge was very expensive, due to the length of its spans. The longer the bridgespan, the deeper a bridge must be to ensure proper support; ―a bridge will sag under its ownweight.‖ ―The depth of girder and truss is a function of span.‖ The deeper the bridge, the moreexpensive it is to construct. At the time the bridge was built, the railroad did not want to make adecision on the future layout of the tracks, so they were built to accommodate a much largerrailroad yard. Mr. Miller did reiterate that the Maryland Transportation Authority suffered in\15-SEP-11\\ D-1