I’m Grady and this is Practical Engineering. In today’s episode, we’re talking about the I-95 bridge collapse. The details in the intro are really all the details we know at the moment. A tanker truck crashed below the bridge, eventually leading it to collapse.
Practical Engineering is a YouTube channel about infrastructure and the human-made world around us. With a focus on civil engineering and public works, Practical Engineering highlights the innovative structures and projects that meet humanity’s basic needs.
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It's a niche branch of engineering, full of creative solutions and unexpected stories. So I want to take you on a little tour of the hidden engineering behind them. I’m Grady, and this is Practical Engineering. Floating bridges are basically as old as recorded history.
It’s got some very clever engineering under the hood, and a lot of lessons in its creation that, I think, apply to other challenges we face today. I’m Grady, and this is Practical Engineering.
Each month, millions of people tune in to Practical Engineering to see Grady Hillhouse’s idiosyncratic online video series about infrastructure and the human-made world.
I’m Grady, and this is Practical Engineering. In today’s episode, we’re trying to answer the question of why construction projects always seem to go over budget.
On January 28, 2022, about an hour before dawn, the four-lane Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collapsed without warning. Five vehicles, including an articulating bus, fell with the bridge, and another car drove off the abutment after the collapse, not realizing the bridge was gone.
I’m Grady, and this is Practical Engineering. Power plants could just vent steam into the atmosphere, but generally, they don’t do that. For one, it wouldn’t be good for the environment. The heat, moisture, and noise would affect wildlife and the weather. For two, it would waste a lot of water.
Once you know the base soil’s grain size distribution, there are a number of engineering methods to find a material that will both allow water to flow while still holding the soil back.
