The Schuyler Heim Bridge is a new $570 million fixed-height, six-lane bridge running three quarters of a mile over the Cerritos Channel on Terminal Island, California. It has been modernly equipped and designed to accommodate todays increased traffic flow and meet the stringent seismic stabilization requirements that are currently required in Southern California.

Another unique and interesting characteristic of this bridge’s design is the exposed hot-dip galvanized bird deterrent safety rails that have a high, sloped arc radius with an inlayed ornamental characterization depicting birds that are native to the local coastal area. Each of these rail units were strategically installed on only specific sections of the bridge that are directly positioned over the sea water. This was done intentionally as a deterrent from having the birds fly too low when scanning the water for food which would put them directly into the path of oncoming truck traffic. These newly installed 14-foot-high rails now provide proper clearance, aligning the birds with the minimum elevation required to safely fly over the truck traffic without harm. The remaining sections of bridge (that are not directly positioned over the sea water) feature a shorter yet still decorative bicycle rail which primarily serves to help keep pedestrians safe from accidently falling over the concrete base perimeter when traveling over the bridge.

The intricate design and fabrication of these exposed hot-dip galvanized rails required a company who had both the specialized equipment and relative experience to successfully handle their creation. After manufacturing, the material was immediately delivered to the hot-dip galvanizer’s facility in carefully stacked, palletized bundles to minimize any handling damage. The material was then hung on dedicated racks to ensure not only a proper hanging angle, but also optimal kettle cook time in the zinc bath. In addition, some rail sections required the very time-consuming and costly process of progressive dipping because they exceeded the size of the galvanizer’s inherent kettle dimensions. Each rack of material was then cooled to ambient temperature before being thoroughly cleaned and then scheduled for independent inspection by the California Department of Transportation who tested each section of rail verifying they met or exceeded the minimum mil thickness as required per the ASTM A123 specification.

The hot-dip galvanizing industry has an established and distinguished history working in partnership with the worldwide bridge consortium, for they have long depended on hot-dip galvanizing’s metallurgical bond to greatly extend the service life of these critical pieces of societal infrastructure.