#Game Changer Trend – Accelerated Bridge Construction
September 2nd, 2015 | By: America's Infrastructure Report Card
Accelerated bridge construction We all know the feeling of frustration when traffic slows to a crawl as you see the telltale signs of traffic cones and reduced lanes up ahead. Large bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects mean that disruptive construction zones can last months into years. Accelerated bridge construction is a design and construction method that uses prefabricated materials and other strategies to minimize traffic disruptions and reduce onsite construction time. As many components of the bridge as possible are constructed ahead of time so that road closures are required only when moving the elements into place. For projects that do not require custom engineering, movable bridges and accelerated bridge construction can greatly decrease construction disruptions without sacrificing quality. Standardized approaches streamline the activities required to get bridge replacement systems designed and built in less time -sometimes installed in hours or days, rather than weeks or months. Keep the Work Off the Road – Kittery, Maine The Kittery Route 1 Overpass bridge was over 70 years old and located in a tourist destination area. Using accelerated bridge construction saved the Maine DOT in construction costs and shaved significant time off the project. The precast concrete elements were delivered on time, and the town of Kittery was pleased with the results. The closure of Route 1 lasted less than a month, and the closure of Route 236 lasted only 11 hours. Overall, it took less than a year between when the project was advertised and final construction was complete. Slide Into Place – Phoenix, Arizona In the Gila River Indian Community south of Phoenix, they employed a “bridge slide,” the first of its kind in Arizona, to place the pre-manufactured sections of bridge in position. It was done with minimal traffic disruptions and shrunk the construction period from four months to nine days. The previous 140-foot bridge was built in 1961 and the location sits over a riverbed, which had been known for water spilling over the bridge decks during flood events. During construction, the old structure remained open to traffic almost the entire time. At the final stage of the project, the old structure was demolished and two girders and bridge decks were slid together to form the new bridge. Jointless Construction – Defiance, Ohio The Federal Highway Administration worked with officials in Defiance County, Ohio, on a form of accelerated bridge construction that uses geosynthetic-reinforced soil. Rather than drilling a deep foundation, the reinforced soil method builds up the substructure in a faster, simpler way, described as akin to building a layer cake. For this type of bridge, there is a smooth transition from the roadway to the superstructure, resulting in a jointless bridge system. With this approach, the County’s first project, the Bowman Road Bridge, was built in just six weeks saving about 25 percent compared to their conventional bridge construction. They not only succeeded in building a bridge for less money and time, but the County went on to rebuild 25 additional bridges in this same manner. Every day, new Infrastructure #GameChangers are changing how we build and use infrastructure. ASCE collected these game changing trends in energy, freight, transportation and water infrastructure into an interactive, web-based report at ASCEGameChangers.org. Find out more here, share these trends on social media using #GameChangers, or submit your own #GameChangers project!Arizona’s Growth Makes Infrastructure a Smart Investment
May 14th, 2015 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
Arizona has been growing, and it’s going to keep growing. Today the state has about 6.6 million people, but Arizona’s population by 2035 could be as high as 10.5 million people which is a lot more people who will be using the water infrastructure and traveling on the same roads. With such explosive growth, comes opportunities and challenges to keep up. The opportunities – new businesses arriving, increased productivity, and new jobs for workers – are there, but so are the challenges – congestion, having to expand existing infrastructure, and keeping up with maintenance for new and old assets. Arizona’s benefited from keeping ahead of it’s growth challenges in the past by adding new aviation facilities, growing the interstate network, and adding transit options that have outperformed their ridership estimates. Look at what has happened in just Maricopa county as the greater Phoenix area has grown:
Investing in infrastructure has been well-timed and helped ease the growing pains of the state, especially in the Phoenix, but what about the future? To review the condition and needs of the state’s infrastructure both now and for the future, ASCE released the 2015 Report Card for Arizona’s Infrastructure on Wednesday as part of national Infrastructure Week. The Report Card assessed nine categories, giving the state an overall grade of “C.” While faring better than the nation’s infrastructure as a whole, the report reveals that the state’s infrastructure needs attention both for today and the future to keep up with growth. Here is a short video that explains the challenges facing Arizona’s infrastructure:
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The state anticipates a significant population increase in the coming decades, so maintaining and modernizing infrastructure will be crucial to meet the needs of Arizona’s communities in the future. The Report Card offers five key solutions to raise the grades and prepare Arizona for the future:
- We need infrastructure every day so we have to keep it working with good maintenance.
- Investing in infrastructure has allowed Arizona to grow, and investing in smart projects will keep it growing.
- Every community’s leaders should order an infrastructure health check-up.
- Borrowing from infrastructure funds just means you’ll pay more tomorrow.
- Planning for Arizona’s future starts today with sustainable choices, innovative investments, and resilience.
Tags: Arizona, growth, infrastructure, invest, roads, smart, water
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