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Events in November 2025

  • A One-Sided Approach – The Longitudinal Launch of Pretty Rocks Slide Bridge

    Category: Monthly Webinar A One-Sided Approach – The Longitudinal Launch of Pretty Rocks Slide Bridge

    –
    November 20, 2025

    Justin Sieg, Project Director, KWH Constructors, Inc.
    Chris Sweetgall, P.E.,     Project Manager, KWH Constructors, Inc.
    Devin Altman, P.E., Senior Bridge Engineer, Project Manager, Jacobs

    Earn 1-hour Certificate of Attendance (https://abc-utc.fiu.edu/webinars/certificates-of-attendance/)

    Click to Register

    Announcements: This portion of the IBT/ABC-UTC Monthly Webinar will provide you with the latest happenings related to Innovative Bridge Technologies and ABC in the US and abroad to keep you informed. (10 minutes)

    Featured Presentation:  A One-Sided Approach - The Longitudinal Launch of Pretty Rocks Slide Bridge (35 minutes)

    Description:

    Denali Park Road within Denali National Park has had 47 miles of the 92-mile road closed to vehicular traffic since 2021 due to landslide activity at the Pretty Rocks area in Polychrome Canyon.  To reopen this road, a single-span 475-foot-long Warren Truss bridge was designed to span the landslide zone.  The challenge faced in designing the truss was incorporating an installation method that would be effective given the access restrictions. Steep rock faces, drop-offs, and lack of vehicular access meant that conventional steel erection procedures could not be used.  The CM/GC team originally planned for a two-sided progressive cantilever with a high line, but when geotechnical conditions precluded this, the team pivoted to a one-sided approach and selected a hybrid launch methodology.  The truss was erected as a progressive cantilever in two directions, and a temporary launch truss was then constructed inside it.  This temporary truss was launched across the slide and used to pull the main truss into its final position.

    Presenters:



    Justin Sieg
    Project Director
    KWH Constructors, Inc.
    jsieg@kwhconstructors.com

    Justin Sieg is a Project Director for KWH Constructors, Inc.  He has 16 years of experience in construction engineering and project management in complex bridge and water infrastructure projects. He is experienced in complex steel truss erection, moveable bridge installation – new and rehabilitations, and long span cast-in-place box girder retrofit and emergency stabilization.  He received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.



    Chris Sweetgall, P.E.
    Project Manager
    KWH Constructors, Inc.
    csweetgall@kwhconstructors.com

    Chris Sweetgall is a Project Manager at KWH Constructors, Inc.  He has 18 years of experience in construction, specializing in engineering-intensive projects. His technical focus includes structural steel erection, crane operations, incremental bridge launching, and bridge temporary works.  At KWH, he oversees structural steel installation operations and serves as Engineer-of-Record for complex steel erection projects. Chris holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from Columbia University and maintains Professional Engineer licensure in Alaska, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.



    Devin Altman, P.E.
    Senior Bridge Engineer & Project Manager
    Jacobs
    devin.altman@jacobs.com

    Devin Altman is Senior Bridge Engineer and Project Manager for Jacobs out of the Corvallis, Oregon office. He has over 20 years of bridge industry experience working on a wide range of projects including design, load rating, rehabilitation, complex analysis, and construction engineering services on a wide variety of bridge structure types, including simple and complex steel bridges, located in the USA and Internationally. Devin earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from The Evergreen State College, and his Master of Engineering degree in Structural Engineering and Construction Engineering Management from Oregon State University.

    Presentation Photos/Graphics:



    1) Initial Truss Erection – 142.5′ on Temporary Supports and 47.5′ Cantilevered 


    2) Truss Erection – 142.5′ on Temporary Supports, 90′ Cantilevered East, 142.5′ Cantilevered West 


    3) Launch Truss erected inside Main Truss


    4) Launch Truss extended to Receiving Tower


    5) Combined Truss being pulled across the slide 


    6) Main Truss in final position

    Question & Answer Period: Submit your questions when you register for the webinar and also in the question box during the webinar. (15 minutes)

    Certificate of Attendance: Each site registered for this webinar will receive an email for your response. Just click the first link in the email to obtain a certificate. For multiple participants at a site, the point-of-contact registrant for that site also clicks the second link in the email, logs in, and clicks “Attendees” to provide first name, last name, and email address for each participant at that site; each participant will then receive an automatic email with link to print an individual certificate. Accessing the second link in the email will also allow participants to print certificates for past webinars that were attended by simply clicking the webinar title. Please let Arslan Khan at FIU know if you have questions or need assistance with receiving your certificate. Arslan’s email address is arskhan@fiu.edu.

    For More Information: Please visit our website (abc-utc.fiu.edu) for more information. You can also contact us by sending an email to abc@fiu.edu.