Study of Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Movements during a New York City Marathon

Abstract

Series of measurements of the motion of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge during the November 7, 2004, New York City Marathon were made to evaluate the level of vibrations during the race. This paper presents details of the testing protocols and recorded data analyses as related to the bridge and the runners’ level of vibration perception. From the analysis of the recorded data, the excited local mode of the bridge deck within the range of the runners’ step frequency was identified. In addition, the computed bridge global response using observed runner density and estimated weight showed excellent agreement with the bridge measured response. It was also found that based on the analyses of the recorded data, the bridge deck vibration level during the marathon was within the acceptable range for the runners.