AASHTO Journal, 5 September 2014
MoDOT Bridge Inspector Jamie Johnson (left) discusses bridge completion with Columbia Area Engineer Charles Sullivan.
A new innovative bridge technology is being used by the Missouri Department of Transportation to replace a 57-year-old bridge in Columbia. The Route B Bridge over Business Loop Interstate 70 carries up to 22,000 vehicles a day between Columbia’s Central Business District and its Northeast suburbs in North Central Columbia.
The innovative bridge designs used in the project were developed through the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) and the Every Day Counts program. MoDOT estimates this work saved several weeks of construction compared to more traditional methods.
“MoDOT is committed to improving the safety and reliability of our bridges with the least amount of disruption and the most economic use of resources,” Bill Stone, Research Administrator, MoDOT.
The new technology uses abutments consisting of layers of engineered soil and geosynthetic fabric with a block facing that will support an adjacent box beam superstructure topped with concrete. The concrete blocks and beams were fabricated (or pre-cast) off site. The existing bridge was closed, demolished, and replaced with a shorter and wider structure on nearly the same alignment.
MoDOT is receiving technical and financial assistance through the SHRP2 Implementation Assistance Program, sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and AASHTO. SHRP2 Solutions include procedures, technologies, and tools that can be integrated in existing processes to save lives, money, and time. The goal of using this SHRP2 product is to replace bridges in weeks instead of months to reduce congestion and save money.
“FHWA and SHRP2 had a very positive impact on our project by impressing upon all parties involved that flexibility is a key component in getting a good quality project,” said Derin Campbell, County Engineer, Boone County.
The project was awarded the second week of June, the bridge closed Friday, July 11, and should open for traffic in the next two weeks. In addition, I-70 below the bridge remained open to traffic except for 30 hours during the old bridge demolition.
On Thursday, August 28, federal, state and local transportation officials, contractors, consultants, block fabricators, professors and students met in Columbia to learn more about the new technology, discuss the pros and cons of the process, and see firsthand how the construction had advanced. Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques are as varied as the methods used to deliver. MoDOT officials stressed their desire to give contractors incentives and opportunities to innovate to find ways to build bridges faster.
The SHRP2 design tool kit includes standard plans and details for designing bridges that are light, simple, and easier to design, fabricate, transport, and erect. The tool kit features concepts for innovative foundation systems, substructure and superstructure systems, subsystems, and components, and training materials.
Using this tool kit, local contractors can use standard equipment to apply accelerated bridge construction methods to renew typical bridges. The designs can be incorporated into project plans with minimal additional design effort, making the benefits of faster project delivery and reduced disruption available to thousands of bridge renewal projects.
For more information on this bridge and other similar projects, including time-lapse video of construction, please visit the AASHTO SHRP2 web site at http://shrp2.transportation.org/pages/Renewal.aspx.
For more about SHRP2 Solutions visit http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/GoSHRP2 or http://shrp2.transportation.org.
The Every Day Counts initiative is designed to identify and deploy innovation aimed at reducing the time it takes to deliver highway projects, enhance safety, and protect the environment. For more information, visit http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/everydaycounts/.
