Bridge deck displacement tester - GIF

[bob47907]

In my first student job on campus, I worked in an electronics lab in the Civil Engineering school. We built some of the early computer-interfaced data collection systems for bridge monitoring. Some were 100 channel, 12 bit strain-gage systems to monitor bridge movement over time.

Bossman said that a fully loaded semi running about 70 would lift you off the deck when it hit the expansion joint. So, yes; bridges are truly a dynamic structure.
Good times.