Background

Quebec Bridge Collapse

Case Study

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 Case Study
Narrative
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 A cantilever bridge proposed on St. Lawrence river


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Quebec Bridge Collapse (Courtesy of Practical Engineering in www.youtube.com)

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 Case Study
Narrative (Cont’d)
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 On Aug 29 1907, the bridge collapsed during construction

killing 75 workers.
 The second attempt was made in 1917 and it suffered partial
collapse killing 13 people.
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Quebec Bridge Collapse (Courtesy of Practical Engineering in www.youtube.com)

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 Case Study
Case Study Background
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 Trade competition between Montreal and Quebec.

 Interest in Quebec Bridge as early as in 1850.
 Difficult site
o The St. Lawrence width, 3.2 km at its narrowest span;
o River water: High velocity and high tides;
 Financial constraints
 Harsh winter weather.

 The Canadian Parliament passed an act to make the Quebec

Bridge Company.
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 In 1898, site was selected.

 The Phoenix Bridge company (US based company) helped in
preparation of plans, free of cost.
 The Quebec Bridge Company agreed to give the contract for
construction to the Phoenix Bridge company.
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 Case Study
Case Study Background (Cont’d)
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 The Quebec Bridge Company selected Theodore Cooper as

consulting engineer from list of six engineers.
 Theodore Cooper was renowned bridge engineer at that time
working in New York.
 During 1898-1899, proposals were called and six were
received/submitted for superstructure.
 After review, Cooper commented “I hereby conclude and
report that the cantilever superstructure plan of the Phoenix
Bridge Company is the Best and the Cheapest.” plan.
 Cooper and the Quebec Bridge Company were in favour of
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the Phoenix Bridge Company.

 The contract for superstructure was awarded to the Peoenix
Bridge Company.

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 Case Study
Case Study Background (Cont’d)
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 The initial clear span was 487.7 m (1600 feet) and then
extended, by Theodore Cooper, to 548.6 m (1800 feet) because
of
 Moving the piers away from the deep water;
 Shortens the time for construction;
 Reducing the effect of ice (in winter) on the piers;
 Reducing the cost.
 Making the longest cantilever span bridge in the world.
 The size of pier at the was 9.1 m x 40.5 m.
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 Case Study
Quebec Bridge: Sequence of Events
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 The construction started in Jul 1905.

 During the construction, midpoint deflections were noted by
the workers.
 The predicted holes in the chords didn’t line up.
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 Case Study
Quebec Bridge: Sequence of Events
For Academic use only. No commercial use without prior permission of

 The deflections were observed in some of the compression

members.
 Observed deflection in different chords:

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 Case Study
Quebec Bridge: Sequence of Events
For Academic use only. No commercial use without prior permission of

 Site in-charge McLure reported these deflections to

consulting engineer Cooper in New York.
 During construction, rivet holes did not line up indicating
relative deflection.
 Cooper attributed the relative deflections to unknown
reasons and not the structural faults.
 More deflections were discovered and telegrams were sent to
Cooper about chords 7L and 8L.
 Cooper wired back “How did bend occurred in both
chords..”
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 Site in-charge was sure that bend(s) were not present when
chords were placed/erected.
 McLure reported to Cooper another bend in chords 8L and
9L.
 Look at the pattern of deflections (members with highest
loads were buckling). 9
 Case Study
Quebec Bridge: Sequence of Events
For Academic use only. No commercial use without prior permission of

 The manufacturer guaranteed that all the truss members had

been perfectly straight when they left the yard.

 Cooper didn’t agree about the cause of deflections with the

person in-charge and evolved his own theory.

 Cooper wired another message “..None of the explanations

for the bent chord stand the test of logic. I have evolved another
theory .. These chords have been hit by those suspended beams
during the erection”.
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 McLure reported back to Cooper that there was no evidence.

Observe the attitude of professional engineer.
 However, one member 9L was dropped and used after repair.
 Later it was observed that this member was the triggering
cause of collapse.
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 Case Study
Quebec Bridge: Sequence of Events
For Academic use only. No commercial use without prior permission of

 Another inspection indicated that deflection in chord 9L

increased from 19 mm to 57 mm in less than two weeks.
 One of the foreman decided to stop the work on the bridge;
 Worked stopped and site in-charge McLure moved to New
York to discuss the severity of problem with Cooper.
 Forman changed his mind and resumed his work again on the
bridge.
 Referring to Cooper statement “The moral effect of
holding up the work would be very bad”.
 A message came from the Phoenix Company head office
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to resume the work.

 Cooper & McLure were not ware about the resumption of
work at the Quebec Bridge.
 Cooper wired to the Phoenix Company head office “Add no
more loads to the bridge until after the consideration of facts”
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 Case Study
Quebec Bridge: Sequence of Events
For Academic use only. No commercial use without prior permission of

 A telegram was sent to the Phoenix Company head office

rather than the site.

 McLure assured that he would wire the information to the

site on his way to home, but he neglected to do that.

 The message from Cooper at the Phoenix Company head

office was ignored in the absence of the chief engineer.

 As soon as the chief engineer came, a meeting was called at

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3:30 PM to discuss the matter but ended at 5:15 PM to postpone

the mater until next morning.

 Almost at the same time (5:30 PM), back at the construction

site, the Quebec Bridge collapsed and thunderous roar was
heard 10 km from the site. 12
 Case Study
Role of Engineers Involved
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 Role of Theodore Cooper:

 Most experienced;
 Operating from New York and the site was in Quebec;
 Sick and 60 years of age;
 Consulting engineer to the Quebec Bridge project;
 Inspector for steel fabrication and erection;
 Never visited the site once construction started;
 Site in-charge McLure was also appointed by Cooper
himself;
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 McLure ignored to send telegram to stop the work.

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 Case Study
Royal Commission Report
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The Governor General of Canada formed a Royal Commission

to investigate the cause of the collapse:

 “The collapse of the Quebec Bridge resulted from the

failure of the lower chords in the anchor arm near the main
pier. The failure of these chords was due to their defective
design.”

 “We do not consider that the specifications for the work

were satisfactory or sufficient, the unit stresses in particular
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being higher than any established by past practice. “

 “The specifications were accepted without protest by all

interested.” tended to hasten the disaster.”

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 Case Study
Royal Commission Report (Cont’d)
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 “A grave error was made in assuming the dead load for the
calculations at too low a value and not afterwards revising this
assumption.

 “This error was of sufficient magnitude to have required the

condemnation of the bridge, even if the details of the lower
chords had been of sufficient strength, because, if the bridge
had been completed as designed, the actual stresses would have
been considerably greater than those permitted by the
specifications. This erroneous assumption was made by Mr.
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Szlapka and accepted by Mr. Cooper, and tended to hasten the

disaster.”

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 Case Study
Royal Commission Report (Cont’d)
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 “The loss of life on August 29, 1907, might have been

prevented by the exercise of better judgment on the part of
those in responsible charge of the work for the Quebec Bridge
and Railway Company and for the Phoenix Bridge Company.”

 “The failure on the part of the Quebec Bridge and Railway

Company to appoint an experienced bridge engineer to the
position of chief engineer was a mistake. This resulted in a
loose and inefficient supervision of all parts of the work on the
part of the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company.”
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 Case Study
Royal Commission Report (Cont’d)
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 “The work done by the Phoenix Bridge Company in making

the detail drawings and in planning and carrying out the
erection, and by the Phoenix Iron Company in fabricating the
material was good, and the steel used was of good quality. The
serious defects were fundamental errors in design.”

 “The professional knowledge of the present day concerning

the action of steel columns under load is not sufficient to enable
engineers to economically design such structures as the Quebec
Bridge. A bridge of the adopted span that will unquestionably
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be safe can be built, but in the present state of professional

knowledge a considerably larger amount of metal would have
to be used than might be required if our knowledge were more
exact.”

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 Case Study
Major Videos
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 Please see following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk1xEctDK0k
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 Case Study
Group Discussion
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 Start group discussion and debate on the

questions/statements provided in separate questionnaire.
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 Causes of Failure

Causes of Failure

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 Causes of Failure
Causes of Failures
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 Discuss possible theories of failures:

 Develop different test hypotheses for the causes of failure
and in your opinion how one such hypotheses was ruled
out?
 The failure’s major contributing factors and how they
interrelate?
 In your opinion, what was the triggering mechanism for
collapse?
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 Role of Engineers

Role of Engineers

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 Role of Engineers
Role of Engineers
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 Discuss possible theories of failures:

 Discuss the role of following three engineers and fix the
responsibility.
o The consulting engineer Theodore Cooper.
o The Phoenix Bridge Company Chief Engineer John
Deans.
o Site in-charge Norman McLure.
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 Lessons Learned

Procedural Aspects

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 Procedural Aspects
Lessons Regarding Procedural Aspects
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 Discuss different procedural flaws in this case study and

what can you suggest to prevent similar disaster happening
again.
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 Lessons Learned

Ethical Aspects

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 Ethical Aspects
Lessons Regarding Ethical Aspects
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 Discuss ethical aspects by looking at the role of professional

engineers and owner (s) of the facility.
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 Case Study
Lessons Learned
For Academic use only. No commercial use without prior permission of

 In your opinion, what is the major learning point from the

collapse of Quebec Bridge?
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