Kristin Higgins, P.E., State Bridge Engineer and Structures Program Manager, Vermont Agency of Transportation; Eddie He, P.E., Technical Director, AccelBridge; John Whittaker, Project Manager, Kubricky Construction Corp.; and Q&A Panel members Todd Sumner, P.E., Project Manager, VTrans; Scott Burbank, P.E., Director of Structures, VHB; Ryan Barnes, P.E., Senior Structural Engineer, VHB; John Gonyea, Chief Estimator, Fort Miller Co., Inc.

Description: In 2019 the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) rehabilitated four bridges along I-89 in the town of Colchester, Vermont. The contract required the bridges to be rehabilitated during six weekend closures over a period of eleven weeks. Construction was phased to maintain two-way traffic via crossovers on this segment of I-89, the busiest in Vermont. Rehabilitation of the bridges included replacement of the deteriorated bridge decks with new precast deck panels, steel repairs, and replacement of the bridge backwalls, approach slabs, and sleeper slabs. Work on a bridge typically involved two weekend closures. The first weekend was for preparation works such as rehabilitating abutments and sleeper slabs on the approach. The second weekend was for the main tasks of demolishing and replacing the bridge deck and approach slabs. Decks of all four bridges were replaced successfully, each within a weekend closure. The use of match-cast joints and compressing the precast deck with girder jacking makes AccelBridge^TM installation straightforward, with simplified construction, reduced field labor, and improved construction speed.

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