Bridge Counterweight Rope Tensioning

Burlington, NJ / Bristol, PA

This Burlington County Bridge Commission project on the Burlington Bristol Bridge requires the re-tensioning of Counterweight Ropes at each of the four corners of the vertical Lift Span. This vertical lift bridge over the Delaware River was constructed in the 1930s. Over time, the tension in the individual counterweight ropes have creeped out of acceptable tolerances. The contract work requires gaining access to the rope socket locations on the lift girders, measurement of rope tensions with accelerometers, and adjustment of rope tensions by jacking and shimming the individual ropes at the existing rope support castings in order to more evenly distribute the tension loads carried by each counterweight rope.