All Projects - Accelerating Technology

Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems

Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge over I 76
Location	Interstate 76 just east of the US Route 202 Interchange in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County
State	PA
Contact Person	Andrew Warren P.E. District Administrator District 6 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Phone: (610) 205-6660
Description	The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had a 240-foot long, 42-foot high, 740-ton steel truss railroad bridge built adjacent to Interstate 76 and then rolled into place over a weekend in October 2002. The new bridge is part of a multi-year project to widen US 202, which carries between 70,000 and 105,000 vehicles daily, and to improve key interchanges. The truss was built on steel mats that supported the dead load and large flange beams. To move it, crews erected a steel support tower on I 76's westbound side and a runway system to prepare for rolling out the truss bridge. They raised the truss onto four 330-ton Hillman rollers and used hydraulic winches to pull it to its final position over the expressway. The steel truss structure is only half of the new railroad bridge: the other half is being built in place adjacent to I 76's eastbound lanes and has no impact on traffic.
Photo
Prefabricated Elements	superstructure
Advantages	Minimized traffic disruption.