engineering

Linn Cove Viaduct

Linn Cove Viaduct is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Linn Cove Viaduct rather than just read about it. In short: The Linn Cove Viaduct is a 1,243-foot-long (379 m), concrete segmental bridge which snakes around Grandfather Mountain in western North Carolina. Completed in 1983 at a cost of $10 million, it was one of the last major construction projects on the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs 469 miles (755 km) linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Key takeaways

Linn Cove Viaduct belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Linn Cove Viaduct to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Linn Cove Viaduct from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Linn Cove Viaduct is a 1,243-foot-long (379 m), concrete segmental bridge which snakes around Grandfather Mountain in western North Carolina. Completed in 1983 at a cost of $10 million, it was one of the last major construction projects on the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs 469 miles (755 km) linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Built mostly along the spine of the Blue Ridge, the parkway was fully completed and opened for through traffic in 1987.

History

Construction of the parkway began in 1935 with the initial plan calling for a viaduct given the effects that a traditional cut-and-fill road would have on Grandfather Mountain. Towering almost 6,000 feet (1,800 m), this mountain is the most rugged peak on the Blue Ridge and geologically the most ancient mountain on the North American continent. Conservationists who hoped to preserve the area as a mountain park/recreation area were behind the viaduct concept as they stressed the danger of irreparable damage by lumbering and other exploitation, along with the need to preserve the view of the mountain as it then existed. By 1966, the parkway was essentially complete except for the 7.7-mile (12.4 km) section that circled around Grandfather Mountain despite the concerted efforts of the government to acquire the needed property, a task which eventually took 40 years.

Design and construction

The viaduct was designed by Figg and Muller Engineers, Inc., with construction beginning in 1979. Some 1,243 feet (379 m) long and a little less than 40 feet (12 m) wide, the viaduct rests on seven piers. What made its construction noteworthy was keeping heavy construction equipment off the ground. This included the preliminary geotechnical exploration/evaluation work begun in 1975 where crews hiked to the site and drilling equipment was lowered to each bore-hole location by helicopter. Building the bridge from its south side, this was done by connecting 153 segments one at a time using a custom crane that moved along the viaduct as it was being built. Each segment, nominally 8.5 feet (2.6 m) long and weighing 50 tons, was precast at a facility onsite and moved on a carriage to the crane. All but one of these segments were slightly curved as the viaduct needed to be shaped in a "S-and-a-half" figure to follow the contours of the mountain. The only work done on the ground involved drilling the footings for the piers which also were built in a segmental manner. The viaduct has received numerous design awards to include the 1984 President's Design Award, which states, "... construction of the roadway by pre-cast, segmental concrete elements set from above on segmental piers is elegant, economical, and new… results in an elegant curving ribbon that caresses the terrain without using it as a support. It gives the motorist the sensation of driving tantalizing on air while the earth goes by."

Environs The National Park Service operates the Linn Cove Visitor Center at the viaduct's south end which also features a bridge museum and provides access to the Tanawha Trail which runs from Beacon Heights to Julian Price Memorial Park.

See also List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in North Carolina

References

Further reading Hall, Karen J. (2007). Building the Blue Ridge Parkway. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5287-3. Muller, Jean M; Barker, James M. (1985). "Design and construction of Linn Cove viaduct" (PDF). PCI Journal. 30 (5): 38–53. doi:10.15554/pcij.09011985.38.53. OCLC 14255188. INIST 8744157. Klinedinst, Gary; Hall, Ken; Barker, James M. (1986). Design and construction of the Linn Cove Viaduct. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Research, Development, and Technology; National Technical Information Service distributor. hdl:2027/ien.35556021380654. OCLC 14178564.

External links Media related to Linn Cove Viaduct at Wikimedia Commons Linn Cove Viaduct – Blue Ridge Parkway Association Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NC-42-A, "Blue Ridge Parkway, Linn Cove Viaduct, On Grandfather Mountain, Asheville, Buncombe County, NC", 40 data pages

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Linn Cove Viaduct

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Linn Cove Viaduct claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Linn Cove Viaduct before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Linn Cove Viaduct ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Linn Cove Viaduct

In research: Linn Cove Viaduct appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Linn Cove Viaduct in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Linn Cove Viaduct is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Blue Ridge Parkway, Bridges completed in 1987, Buildings and structures in Avery County, North Carolina, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Linn Cove Viaduct outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Linn Cove Viaduct in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Linn Cove Viaduct means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Linn Cove Viaduct out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Linn Cove Viaduct in simple terms?

Why does Linn Cove Viaduct matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Linn Cove Viaduct?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Linn Cove Viaduct.