Bridge offers students hands-on lessons
Using the most experienced staff obviously is a must when inspecting a structure as significant as the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge . However , New Mexico State University also uses this bridge – and others in the state – as real-life classrooms for co-op students in its bridge inspection program .
The program , run through the Civil Engineering Department of NMSU ’ s College of Engineering , offers students a unique , hands-on experience , said David Jauregui , NMSU ’ s department head of civil engineering who directs the program .
“ The program has grown over the years ,” Jauregui said . “ At this time we have two crews that go out to the bridges , each headed by a professional engineer . Under each professional engineer , there are two co-op students working on sixmonth assignments , and over the course of those six months they will see between 100 and 125 bridges throughout the state of New Mexico .”
The undergraduate students perform on-site bridge inspections . Graduate structural engineering students conduct load capacity ratings . Students examine many types of bridges such as steel , reinforced and prestressed concrete , and timber . Because the Gorge Bridge requires biennial routine inspections during September in odd-numbered years , competition is tougher for students applying to be in the program during that timeframe , Jauregui said .
Ken White , professor emeritus at NMSU who spent 37 years as a faculty member and has inspected the Gorge Bridge for more than four decades , said both groups of co-op students participated in this year ’ s project , including spending time in the underbridge inspection vehicle bucket over the open gorge . Students assess everything related to bridge safety ,
including the deck , superstructure , substructure , approach roadway , waterways underneath structures , guardrails , and other features . All students are involved with gathering information and writing final reports that go to the New Mexico Department of Transportation .
“ Students really get a complete , hands-on treatment of concepts that they see in class , which sometimes can be quite abstract ,” Jauregui said . “ Here they get to put that knowledge into practice in a real-world mobile laboratory .”
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Facts
• Construction on the bridge started in 1963 and was completed in 1965 ; it was dedicated on September 10 , 1965 .
• In 1966 the American Institute of Steel Construction awarded the structure “ Most Beautiful Steel Bridge ” in the “ Long Span ” category .
• The bridge has appeared in several films , including Natural Born Killers , Twins , She ' s Having a Baby , Wild Hogs , and Terminator Salvation .
• Because of its huge tourism draw , local vendors set up each day along the highway near the bridge to sell jewelry , souvenirs , and food .
• The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River , within the Río Grande del Norte National Monument , is approximately 74 miles long as it passes through the 800-foot-deep gorge . The river flows from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado approximately 1,900 miles to the Gulf of Mexico .
• The area is a popular destination for whitewater rafting , hiking , fishing , and camping . The gorge is home to numerous species of wildlife , such as big horn sheep , river otters , and the Rio Grande cutthroat trout .
Source : Wikipedia , U . S . Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management , various news sources
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