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Slide-in bridge technology allows a quicker fix

Started by Brandon, August 29, 2014, 12:53:54 PM

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Brandon

Slide-in bridge technology allows a quicker fix

QuoteThe Michigan Department of Transportation's "US-131 Bridge Slide Time-Lapse"  video, which can been seen above, shows the latest in bridge replacement technology being utilized by MDOT in which a new bridge is constructed next to the old span, and then slid into place.

Watch the video.
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andy

There was recently a much larger slide at Madison IN/Milton KY discussed at https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9984.0

The goal wasn't a quicker replacement, but minimum closure days: 10 days of closure.  This was missed when a bearing slipped days before the final slide.  Still successful, because the total closure was only 3 or 4 weeks, not 2 years.




Henry

I like this idea! Too bad not many state DOTs have tried it yet.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

Big John

On the US 41/Wis 29 project, the WI 29 bridges over County Hwy J were put in this way.

Jardine

The Union Pacific Railroad bridge over the Missouri River at Omaha, Nebraska was replaced in a similar procedure in 1916 (m/l)


Wood piers were built on either side of the existing stone piers, and the new bridge was built upstream.  When it was done, the new bridge was slid onto the stone piers, the old bridge was slid onto the downstream wooden piers, and was disassembled there. Then all the temporary wood piers were removed.

qguy

PennDOT did this with a large through-truss railroad bridge over I-76 (Schuylkill Expwy), just south of the PA Turnpike and US 202 interchanges, in the early 00s, but the bridge was slid lengthwise instead of crosswise.

The span on the right, shown here (https://www.google.com/maps/@40.081509,-75.388344,3a,75y,293.77h,87.8t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1shTEtARjLXvr1ui9dPgQ2Nw!2e0), was jacked from right to left over the roadway, to meet the span on the left which was constructed in place.

nexus73

#6
SR 38 by the Elkton Tunnel's west end had it's bridge approach done with this method.  Having a tunnel to deal with necessitated the sliding into place move.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

KEVIN_224

The slide-in method was recently done with Exit 30 of I-84 (Marion Avenue) in Southington, CT early in summer. Except for the "2014" stamps on the bridge corners, you can barely tell the bridges are brand new!

Jardine

Another variation on this was the replacement of the 1880s C&NW railroad bridge across the Missouri River at Blair Nebraska.

The existing bridge was inadequate for the weight of the heavier trains and steam locomotives and in the 1920s pilings were driven under each of the 3 330' spans sequentially.  Each span was disassembled and a new span was built while NOT interrupting regular railroad service across the bridge!!

The temporary pilings held the tracks up while the old spans were taken out and the new ones erected!  The old spans were reassembled in Wyoming, and I believe when reused they were rebuilt shorter to improve their  load carrying capability.

As a rule of thumb, shortening a span 50% will increase the load carrying ability by up to 4X.

AsphaltPlanet

Rapid Bridge Replacement is almost becoming the norm in Ontario for replacing structures.  Several structures across the province have been built this way.  The most notable examples though are located along the Ottawa Queensway.  The MTO has been replacing one two structures per year in order to facilitate a lane widening that is proposed in the future.

Some good pictures of a rapid replacement are available here:
http://www.thekingshighway.ca/PHOTOS/Hwy417photos3.htm
AsphaltPlanet.ca  Youtube -- Opinions expressed reflect the viewpoints of others.

froggie

VTrans plans to do this next year at the I-91/US 5/Exit 11 interchange in Hartford (near White River Jct).

Pete from Boston


Quote from: Henry on August 29, 2014, 01:39:36 PM
I like this idea! Too bad not many state DOTs have tried it yet.

Really?  I remember this being done on a county-owned bridge in NJ around 1985.  I'd expect that it'd be widely embraced by now.

thenetwork

IIRC, CDOT did this for two bridges in the Denver area in recent years:  One was a bridge for the light rail extension over 6th Avenue / US-6 and I want to say they also did this with the Pecos Street bridge over I-70??

AsphaltPlanet

AsphaltPlanet.ca  Youtube -- Opinions expressed reflect the viewpoints of others.

jeffandnicole

While a slide-in bridge reduces the time an overpass can be taken out of service, if the overpass is such that it can't be taken out of service for any length of time, then it still won't be much of an option.  In some cases, the best that can be done is overnight or a weekend closure, but it appears a slide-in bridge takes a bit longer to execute.

NJ generally does contra-flow traffic patterns in construction zones now when replacing overpasses, but it's all case-by-case.  You can find construction examples including the slide-in, the temporary structure, lane shifts, the prefab replacement, the 1 lane alternate traffic pattern, and the complete closure of an overpass as well.  There's no one-size-fits-all approach.


roadman

Quote from: Henry on August 29, 2014, 01:39:36 PM
I like this idea! Too bad not many state DOTs have tried it yet.
MassDOT is increasingly using this technique, especially for replacing smaller bridges.  They call the procedure "heavy lift".
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"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

SteveG1988

The Delair railroad bridge between Philadelphia and Delair NJ had a non movable span converted into a lift span via a slide in truss. It was not kept open through the process in 1959.




Roads Clinched

I55,I82,I84(E&W)I88(W),I87(N),I81,I64,I74(W),I72,I57,I24,I65,I59,I12,I71,I77,I76(E&W),I70,I79,I85,I86(W),I27,I16,I97,I96,I43,I41,

Jardine

And, conversely, (and very interestingly) the Meridian Bridge at Yankton, SD, over the Missouri River had a lift span converted to a fixed span.

:wow:

getemngo

MDOT is in the process of doing this again, with the M-50 bridge over I-96. (It's very narrow and doesn't currently have the left turn lanes it needs.) Doesn't seem to have kept the I-96 lane closures away, but it's nice to be able to use the bridge instead of it being closed all summer.
~ Sam from Michigan

jakeroot

This is how WSDOT built the Skagit River Bridge replacement....it's very difficult to tell, but right around 0:45, the slide-in begins:



Here's the video detailing how the process was to work:


TEG24601

This is similar to what Portland did to replace the Sellwood Bridge.  They moved the old bridge South, reconnected it with temporary structures to the existing approaches, then built a new bridge in the footprint of the old bridge.
They said take a left at the fork in the road.  I didn't think they literally meant a fork, until plain as day, there was a fork sticking out of the road at a junction.

froggie

Also mentioned in the Vermont thread, but VTrans is using the slide-in method to replace the I-91 bridges over US 5 at Exit 11 in White River Junction.  The new northbound span will be slid into place this weekend:

http://www.i91wrj.vtransprojects.vermont.gov/documents/Weekly%20preview%208_24_15_8_31_15.pdf

peterj920




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