Bridge Owner: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Project Description: Dyer Avenue is a direct link to the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City that accommodates over 100,000 vehicles per day between New York and New Jersey. Full closure with detours was not an option and due to the narrow width, neither was staged construction. The existing 7.5” total deck thickness could not be exceeded.

Notable Features of Project: Nighttime deck replacement was necessary to minimize interruption of peak daytime traffic. A precast, full depth, 4-1/4” grid reinforced concrete with a 1.75” overfill was designed to simply span floor beams spaced at approximately 8 feet and opened to morning traffic prior to placement of closure pour concrete. The length of the panel did not coincide with the main bar direction and overhead clearance was limited which demanded a unique lifting strategy. In total, 118 panels were set, replacing nearly 20,000 square feet of deck and then topped with a 1.5” asphalt concrete overlay.

Bridge Owner: New York State Thruway Authority

Project Description: The North Grand Island Bridges carry Interstate 190 over the Niagara River, between the city of Niagara Falls and Grand Island, NY. The twin deck truss structures were opened in 1935 and 1962, and are currently owned and operated by the New York State Thruway Authority. Approximately 110,000 square feet of precast Exodermic® deck panels were installed to replace the deck of the southbound bridge.

Notable Features of Project: The contractor set roughly 2,000 square feet of precast Exodermic® deck panels each night during nighttime lane closures facing stiff penalties for late opening the following morning. Concrete barrier walls, 2’-0” in height, were precast with the deck panels.

Video: Installation Video Courtesy of Cianbro Construction

Bridge Owner: NJDOT

Project Description: The Mathis Bridge over the Barnegat Bay is comprised of over 60 flanking and approach fixed spans, and a double-leaf bascule span, and is only a football field short of 1-mile long. Due to normal deterioration triggered by the structure’s age and damage caused by an encounter with Hurricane Sandy in 2012, many components in the spans are in poor condition and ready for replacement as part of a 3-year $79 million rehabilitation. The eastbound Mathis and parallel westbound Tunney Bridges are important means for daily commuters and a critical evacuation route from the barrier island. Considering the importance of needing both structures during the summer and hurricane months, the contractor will only be permitted seasonal closures to the Mathis Bridge between November and early May. During construction, eastbound traffic will be diverted to the Tunney Bridge.

Notable Features of Project: A precast Exodermic® deck utilizing lightweight concrete was used to accelerate the project and achieve an upgraded live load capacity of the structure to HS-25. Repetitive details allowed about 150,000 square feet or 85% of the total surface area to be accounted for by just two main panel configurations. A 3/4” polyester polymer (PPC) overlay will seal the closure pours and protect the precast panels for extended longevity.

Bridge Owner: PennDOT

Project Description: With no viable detour of I-81 in Antrim Township, PA, it was necessary to keep all four lanes of traffic flowing during peak hours while replacing the NB and SB superstructures over Leitersburg Road. This challenge resulted in an accelerated project to replace both superstructures, consisting of nearly 10,000 square feet of deck in only 48 days using a single lane crossover and partial width staged construction (four stages).

Notable Features of Project: A precast grid reinforced concrete deck was used to accelerate the project and played an imperative role in allowing the owner to set such an aggressive schedule. It took roughly 21 days to complete the first two stages and replace the first superstructure and deck, but the learning curve was short and the Cottle’s Asphalt crew was able to wrap up the remaining stages in even less time while absorbing a 3 day holiday slowdown. The closure pours were high performance concrete reaching 4 ksi in less than 20 hours, allowing the contractor to access the bridge with equipment to place the CIP parapets. The project was completed in a mere 41 days, a full week ahead of schedule!

Bridge Owner: New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA)

Project Description: The nearly 8,000-ft long Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is the busiest of 5 toll structures owned and operated by the New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA), carrying more than 25 million crossings per year. Over 30 years of heavy traffic on the south span deck took its toll, and in early 2013 Kiska Construction Corp. USA was awarded a $93.5 million, 430,000 square foot deck replacement contract. The contract required a durable new deck system and a construction sequence that minimized daily traffic disruptions to commuters, which is where custom engineered grid reinforced concrete deck panels came into play. The plan, developed by Ammann & Whitney along with input from the NYSBA, involved nighttime panelized deck replacement utilizing precast grid panels with full depth concrete.

Notable Features of Project: Precast grid deck systems are common when accelerated construction is needed, and are typically attached to the structure like any other precast concrete deck via headed shear studs and a concrete haunch closure pour over the supports. What is unique about the 1,850 grid deck panels being used on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is the method used to attach them to the supports below, which does not require a concrete haunch closure pour. Details for the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge utilize steel angles shop welded to the bottom of the grid main bars (see photos), which are then field welded to the supports by the contractor. Another benefit to the field welded attachment method is that it will allow the owner to replace deck panels on an individual basis if they are ever damaged.

Bridge Owner: Georgia DOT

Project Description: With no viable detour and heavy peak traffic occurring on weekends for this section of I-20, the Georgia DOT was forced to limit lane closures for deck replacement to a single-lane shut down on weekdays only. To allow for this short closure schedule, precast grid reinforced concrete deck panels (208 of them) were used. The contractor, Massana Construction was able to replace nearly 34,000 square feet of bridge deck in only nine closure periods.

Notable Features of Project: Staged construction with short five-day closures was possible using precast grid reinforced concrete bridge deck panels, with two unique details utilized to connect the panels. One detail used a simple shear key splice, and the other used overlapping shear studs in the negative moment regions over the piers to develop tension in the panels. Rapid setting concrete was used for the closure pour areas over the supports and between panels, allowing traffic to be put back on the bridge less than one day after the pour. There was a $500 per hour penalty for opening the bridge late (after 10 pm on Fridays).

Bridge Owner: New Hampshire DOT and Maine DOT

Project Description: The Memorial Bridge is an iconic structure which carries nearly 20,000 vehicles per day traversing the Piscataqua River between Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH. One of the most important aspects of the replacement project was speed of construction, which was required to limit the impacts to the traveling public. The 10,000 square foot lift span was completely fabricated offsite and floated into place to accelerate the project, which was completed approximately one month ahead of the 19 month pledged delivery schedule.

Notable Features of Project: The owners wanted a solid riding surface, so the new lift span utilized a lightweight Exodermic® deck. Not only was the deck weight critical because it’s a lift bridge, but also due to the construction method used to deliver the project. The strength of the Exodermic® deck also allowed the design engineers to span the deck across floorbeams, eliminating the need for stringers which saved additional weight and cost.

Bridge Owner: Delaware River Port Authority

Project Description: Over 270,000 square feet of 50+ year old grid deck was replaced with a modern grid deck system that is partially filled with lightweight concrete to reduce dead load and facilitate staged construction. With 120,000 vehicles per day passing over the bridge, only single lane closures were allowed during peak hours to minimize traffic disruptions. An additional lane adjacent to the construction lane was closed for contractor access during off-peak hours (9:30am-2:30pm).

Bridge Owner: Allegheny County

Project Description: Using accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques the entire superstructure was replaced over Thanksgiving weekend to minimize disruptions to nearby businesses. Staged construction and long-term closure options were ruled out since it is the only access to five businesses on one side of Montour Run.

Bridge Owner: Connecticut Department of Transportation

Bridge Owner: Washington State Department of Transportation

Bridge Owner: PennDOT

Bridge Owner: New York State Thruway Authority

Bridge Owner: South Carolina Department of Transportation

Project Description: Nearly 7000 square feet of Exodermic® deck panels were set onto the truss and poured with lightweight concrete prior to being barged to the final location.  The Exodermic® panels were shop cambered by Bailey Bridges to fit the roadway crown profile.  The structural efficiency of the lightweight deck system has resulted in savings in the truss design, and reduction of load onto the existing center pier. 

Bridge Owner: Florida Department of Transportation

Notable Features of Project: Due to the limited 72-hour closure window on the Miami River, the toe sections of the bascule structure were preassembled down river from the jobsite, barged in and hoisted into position with the 16,000 square feet of precast Exodermic® deck panels already set on the structure.  The bridge was acknowledged by the Florida Transportation Builders Association with the Major Bridge Award in 2009.