AASHTO Journal, 14 November 2014
Workers connect south abutment wing wall pieces. Photos courtesy CH2M Hill
Because it used innovative construction techniques that included precast bridge deck sections, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation only needed to close a busy Providence highway ramp for 21 days to replace a bridge leading to Interstate 195.
That compares with an adjacent bridge the agency completed in September 2013 using traditional, in-place construction methods, which took 430 days of work at the site.
RIDOT developed this year’s construction plan with innovative design concepts from the second Strategic Highway Research Program, and said the project went so smoothly it reopened Warren Avenue with its new bridge a week earlier than planned.
The construction closed the Warren Avenue Bridge to traffic on Oct. 17, and while the contractor had up to 30 days, RIDOT was able to reopen it overnight Nov. 8-9. The bridge carries about 8,000 vehicles a day, with 1,000 of them at rush hour.
While the work was under way, it was a focus of an Oct. 30 regional SHRP2 design showcase that drew transportation officials from Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts as well as Rhode Island.
That event, which reviewed three innovative bridge projects in New England, was sponsored by RIDOT, the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Besides reviewing the Warren Avenue work, the event showcased Rhode Island’s Barton Corners bridge project and Maine’s Kittery Overpass Bridge.
Participants were able to tour the Warren Avenue site while wing wall elements were pieced together, just days before the bridge deck was to be lifted into place.
For that project, the SHRP2 design elements – which knocked perhaps a year off site construction and road closures compared with traditional methods – included using two sections of precast superstructure that were knit together by a closure pour. RIDOT provided real-time video of the work, along with an animation of the entire process.
“SHRP2 was designed to be a game changer enabling us to improve the way we do things,” RIDOT Director Michael Lewis said at the showcase. “The SHRP2 program has put a lot of investment in this research. It’s now up to us to put the investment into our state programs.”
“We all have many more needs than resources available,” said Corey Bobba, an FHWA program development team leader in Rhode Island. “That’s why innovation is a necessity in the success of our projects, programs and the transportation system overall. It’s great to see this latest example of innovative thinking on this exciting project here in Rhode Island.”
For more information on SHRP2 bridge and renewal projects, check the AASHTO SHRP2 website and the FHWA GOSHRP2 site.
