Franklin Avenue Bridge Construction Update
Friday, May 20, 2016 at 3:10PMCrews are working extended hours to meet the aggressive schedule of
removing and replacing the bridge deck before Labor Day.
Large sections of concrete have been sawed and removed from nearly
half of the bridge deck. The typical size of each concrete section
being removed measures 12 feet by 28 feet and weighs more than 25
tons.
As panels are removed, they are lowered onto barges in the river
below and transported by trucks to a crushing yard. They then
separate the concrete from the steel and recycle.
Cranes are positioned along the bridge to assist in deck panel removal.
In total, there are five cranes onsite - each focusing on a different
section.
Crew members assist as a crane is used to remove a deck panel.
To support the new deck, new deck beams have been fabricated. They
are made offsite and transported to the bridge site.
With the deck panels removed, crews can place the new deck beam using
a crane.
In the context of constructing bridges, ABC stands for "Accelerated
Bridge Construction." The ABC period on the Franklin Avenue bridge
began after crews closed the bridge to traffic on May 8.
A growing trend across the United States, ABC aims at reducing the
duration of traffic impacts. For example, this bridge should only be
closed to traffic for 17 weeks rather than up-to-two years that it
might otherwise take.
To achieve the goal of being complete by Labor Day, 366 deck panels
were manufactured ahead of time. They are ready to be floated down
the river on barges and lifted into place by cranes.
