Drone view of completed paving awaiting striping.
Assembled off-site, the new prefabricated steel-member decks were surfaced with a pre-cast concrete to create a sub-flooring prepared to accept the eventual asphalt layer. Once moved to the job site, the decks were systematically stored and placed in unison next to the bridge where rebar and sidewalks were installed. Once lifted, positioned and secured on the viaduct, steel side rails were installed, and concrete was applied to the non-expanding joints to keep the slabs together. After all decks were in place, a tack coat to make the asphalt adhere better was installed and the roadway surface. The asphalt was laid in tandem echelon formation and completed with traffic striping. As a result of a previous drone inspection using high-resolution imag- ery flown by Maser Consulting’s UAS Division, while the deck struc- ture was open, other repairs were made to the upper and lower sections of Pier 8, one of the main bridge supports and the cleaning and painting of all existing steel members. Conclusion As most people freely drive over a bridge any time during the day or night, they aren’t thinking about the immeasurable effort it takes to keep our critical infrastructure safe and viable for everyone to use. Which is exactly as it should be. While the COVID pandemic wreaked havoc on the health and welfare of our global populations, it conversely created a window of opportunity for the Bridge Commission to make some
timely, proactive determinations to facilitate this project’s timeline that proved to be in everyone’s best interest. Not only was the project’s progression seamless, it was completed ahead of the anticipated timeframe by half-a-day and the Bridge was completely re-opened by about 6 p.m. Sunday evening.
In preparation for the asphalt installation, the steel curb, steel bridge railing and sidewalks were protected with plastic sheeting while the tack truck applies a tack coat to make the surface materials adhere properly.
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csengineermag.com
november 2020
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