Abraham Burton Cohen

Abraham Burton Cohen (March 9, 1882 – February 11, 1956) was an American civil engineer notable for his role in designing innovative and record-breaking concrete bridges such as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Tunkhannock Viaduct, the world's largest concrete structure when completed. Cohen was an active member of the American Concrete Institute and earned ACI's Wason Medal for Most Meritorious Paper in 1927.^[1]

Biography

Cohen was born in Chicago and died in East Orange, New Jersey. He earned a degree in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1905 and an honorary doctorate in 1949.^[2] Cohen spent a majority of his career with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad before leaving in 1920 to form his own consulting practice in New York City. As a consulting engineer, he designed a number of concrete spans in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Binghamton, New York, and elsewhere. At least two of these, the Tunkhannock Viaduct and Scranton's Harrison Avenue Bridge, are on the National Register of Historic Places.^[3] He died on February 11, 1956.^[2]

Cohen, A. B. "Correlated Considerations in Design and Construction of Concrete Bridges." In American Concrete Institute Proceedings, vol. 22, No. 2 (Feb. 1926).
Cohen, A. B. "Progress and Development of Concrete Work on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad." In American Concrete Institute Proceedings, vol. 10, No. 4 (Apr. 1914).
Cohen, A. B. "Reinforced-Concrete Flat-Slab Railway Bridges." In American Concrete Institute Proceedings, vol. 14, No. 6 (June 1918).
Cohen, A. B. "Repairs to Spruce Street Bridge, Scranton, Pennsylvania." In American Concrete Institute Proceedings, vol. 43, No. 11 (Nov. 1946): 241-248.
Cohen, A. B. "Supervision and Inspection of Concrete." In American Concrete Institute Proceedings, vol. 32, No. 9 (Sep. 1935): 40-45.

^ American Concrete Institute, "ACI Membership Information - Awards," accessed 2009-05-07.
^ ^a ^b "A. B. Cohen Dies. Civil Engineer: Planner of Thruway Bridges Also Worked on Removal of Rail Grade Crossings". New York Times. February 12, 1956. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10C14FB395C15738FDDAB0994DA405B8689F1D3. Retrieved 2010-07-04. "In 1910, he was placed in charge of a program calling for the removal of practically all the road's grade crossings. This lasted ten years. The work ..."
^ U.S. Department of the Interior, Historic American Engineering Record. HAER No. PA-498, "Harrison Avenue Bridge (South-East Scranton Viaduct)", 1998. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.