Schoharie Creek
Schoharie Creek in New York, USA flows north 93 miles (150 km)[1] from the foot of Indian Head Mountain in the Catskill Mountains through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice impounded north of Prattsville to create New York City's Schoharie Reservoir and the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project.
Two notable bridge collapses have occurred on the Schoharie Creek. In 1987, two spans of the New York State Thruway collapsed. On August 28, 2011, the covered Old Blenheim Bridge collapsed due to flooding from Hurricane Irene.
The Erie Canal crossed over the creek by an aqueduct at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site.
Bridge collapses
New York State Thruway
Coordinates: 42°55′51″N 74°16′41″W / 42.93083°N 74.27806°W On the morning of April 5, 1987, after 30 years of service, two spans of the New York State Thruway bridge over the Schoharie Creek near Fort Hunter collapsed. Five vehicles fell into the flooded river, ten of the occupants died.
A subsequent investigation of the collapse determined the cause to be scour.[2][3][4][5]
Old Blenheim Bridge
The Old Blenheim Bridge, one of the longest and oldest single-span covered bridges in the world, formerly spanned the creek. The bridge was destroyed on August 28, 2011 by flooding resulting from Hurricane Irene.
See also
- List of rivers in New York
- List of bridge disasters
- Bridge scour
References
- ↑ "The National Map". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved Feb 11, 2011.
- ↑ "Lessons from the Collapse of the Schoharie Creek Bridge". Cedb.asce.org. 1987-04-05. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
- ↑ http://www.pubs.asce.org/WWWdisplay.cgi?0700417
- ↑ Boorstin, Robert O. (July 1, 1987). "Floodwaters Called Cause Of Bridge Collapse". The New York Times.
- ↑ "Lessons from the Collapse of the Schoharie Creek Bridge". Eng.uab.edu. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
External links
- The Collapse of the Schoharie Creek Bridge
- The "Waste of Film" Page, page 1 (Dead Link) - Includes information on the detour used while the Thruway replacement spans were built.