Applying 2D Modeling: Real Life Case Studies
Author: Russell Brewer (MTDOT)
The Highway 312 crossing the Yellowstone River at Huntley Montana was subjected to back to back major floods in 1996 and 1997. The 1998 bridge underwater inspection report indicated that scour had exposed the pier footings at pier 3, 6, and 7. Subsequent investigations by the Montana Department of Transportation indicated that scour had penetrated to the bottom or below the base of the footings at piers 6 and 7. In 2006 a scour mitigation project was completed using cabled articulated concrete blocks placed around the footings at piers 3, 6, and 7.
In the spring of 2011 the Yellowstone River and the local tributaries in the area experienced significant flooding. The underwater bridge inspection completed in the fall of 2011, indicated that the countermeasures installed at pier 6 have failed. A bathymetric survey and a SRH-2D model were used to examine the extent of the scour hole and flow characteristics around the pier to determine the factors that contributed to the failure of the installed countermeasures. The presentation will address the site history and the forensic investigation into why the countermeasures failed.
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How to Cite: Brewer, R. (2014) “Yellowstone River at Huntley, MT: Bridge Scour Countermeasure Failure Investigation”, National Hydraulic Engineering Conference 2014. 1(2014).