by Louis J. Ruzzi, P.E., PennDOT District 11-0 Bridge Engineer, Pittsburgh area; John Myler, PennDOT Assistant Construction Engineer, District 11-0; and Bala Sivakumar, P.E., Vice President, Director-Special Bridge Projects, HNTB

Webinar Documents

• PennDOT SR 30 over Bessemer Avenue Bridge Replacement in One Weekend - pdf of presentation
• Q&A Session
• News - August 25, 2016 - pdf of presentation

Description: The Pennsylvania DOT replaced the SR 30 over Bessemer Avenue Bridge in a 57-hour closure over a weekend in May 2016. The ABC elements in this project are precast concrete abutment caps, modular decked beams, and precast concrete approach slabs. Each modular decked beam consists of two steel I-girders with composite deck. Traffic barriers were cast with the decks in two of the six modular decked beams that form the single-span superstructure. The six modular decked beams were connected with ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) deck joints. The contractor was able to complete the work despite heavy rains during half of the weekend. This presentation includes design and construction details as well as lessons learned.

Demolition of old bridge

Prep of existing abutments

Erection of precast cap on existing abutment

Erection of modular decked beam element

Placing UHPC in deck closure joint

New bridge in 57 hours