11/21/2016
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Sliding girder installer in northern Idaho saves $161,000, reduces bridge closure
COEUR d'ALENE - Foreman Gene Anderson and his three-man District 1 Bridge & Building crew created a sliding girder installer to complete repairs to the 56-year-old Interstate 90 Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge in just three weeks. This saved about $161,000 and shaved three months off the closure.
The work received the department's Excellence in Transportation award Nov. 17 in the Maintenance & Operations category, and was an ITD Best of the Best for 2016 innovations in the Economic Opportunity category.
Here's a picture of the bridge work. Click here for a picture of the sliding/adjustable girder installer.
The repairs extended the life of the bridge to safely serve area drivers (approximately 22,000 each day) until the bridge can be fully replaced. Reducing the duration of the closure allowed general traffic to resume using the bridge much sooner, and also benefited local law enforcement and
emergency responders, who use the bridge as a critical conduit into the homes and businesses of that neighborhood.
ITD's crew completed these repairs at a cost of $39,000 (most of that
was steel) compared to the estimated $200,000 it would likely have cost a
contractor to do the same work.
This innovation, and the resulting repairs, allowed the department to
meet the needs of local businesses, which rely on the bridge for
deliveries. The bridge also allows access to a subdivision and residents
in the area. As the only route under the freeway, school children in
the area traveled under the bridge to get to Fernan STEM Academy, a
kindergarten-through-fifth grade elementary school serving about 450
students.
ITD
crew members stopped work and escorted children walking or bicycling
past the work zone each morning and evening. Crews worked Monday through
Thursday, and the site reopened each weekend to unrestricted use.
"The repair utilized innovation to meet a critical driver safety need in the area, satisfy local commerce and residents, and save significant money for the Idaho Transportation Department, which also means savings for taxpayers," summarized District Business Operations Manager Scotty Fellom.
ITD's D1 Bridge & Building team, left to right: T.J. Gibson, George Lukes, Gene Anderson, Nick Primmer.
The project involved shoring up the girders on the westbound approaches to the bridge. The approach had dropped approximately 3/8-inch, creating an unsafe driving surface.
Anderson and crew came up with an innovative solution. Previous patches had been cosmetic, but this repair required a structural answer. The bridge will be replaced in four years, but a temporary fix was needed to fill the gap.
By devising the girder installer/girder support system, the crew could lift the six girders, each weighing about 300 lbs., into place three at a time rather than one at a time, as a regular contractor would likely have done. This expedited repairs, and also solved a huge safety concern due to the excessive weight of the girders.
"We constantly hear about unsafe bridges and a lack of available funding to do anything about the problem," said Fellom. "The district Bridge & Building crew addressed both issues."