Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems
All Projects by Name
Baldorioty de Castro Avenue Overpasses | |
|---|---|
| Location | San Juan |
| State | PR |
| Completion Date | 1992 |
| Description | To ease congestion on a road that carries more than 100,000 vehicles per day, the Department of Public Works provided two overpasses at each of two intersections: two 700-foot-long overpasses and two 900-foot-long ones. To minimize traffic disruption, the project was built in two stages. Piles were driven and footings cast with special forms to facilitate fast connections. Then the precast components were erected and post-tensioned: box piers positioned and post-tensioned to the footings, caps placed, and piers vertically post-tensioned. When the first two piers were in place (starting from the center of the bridge), the 100-foot-long superstructure box beams, seven per span, were set in place. Using two crews, the overpass then was erected simultaneously from the center span toward each end. Each span then was post-tensioned transversely as it was completed. The first bridge was erected in 36 hours, and the others took as little as 21 hours. The project awarded a Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Precast bent caps; precast prestressed deck composite units; precast box piers,precast box piers,prefabricated total superstructure,total superstructure prefabrication,totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption with rapid bridge construction. |
| Photo Credits | Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas de Puerto Rico |
Beaufort and Morehead Railroad Trestle Bridge | |
| Location | Over Newport River between Morehead City and Radio Island |
| State | NC |
| Completion Date | 1999 |
| Contact Person | John Frye P.E. Project Group Engineer Structure Design Unit North Carolina Department of Transportation Phone: (919) 250-4049 Email: jfrye@dot.state.nc.us |
| Description | A design-build project consisting of ballasted, precast prestressed T-girders spanning transverse, precast reinforced concrete caps, supported on composite piles (24-inch steel pie piles protected by 36-inch concrete cylinder pile sleeves), this project replaced 2,298 feet of trestle-span approaches on existing alignment on each side of a single-leaf rolling bascule span. Trestle spans were replaced during weekly track outages of 4-day duration. The bridge was designed and constructed to AREMA standards and to meet NCDOT's highly-corrosive coastal environment criteria. All environmental documentation and permits, design, construction, and construction engineering and inspection were done by the design-build team. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Steel pipe piles, concrete cylinder piles, prestressed girders,precast prestressed cylinder piles,prestressed 'tee' girders,speed of construction |
| Advantages | Speed of construction: The trestle was replaced while serving rail traffic, with individual spans replaced between scheduled trains, Minimized traffic disruption, Improved constructibility. |
| Contract Elements | Lump-sum design-build project |
| Related Document 1 | Photographs (PDF, 0.7 mb) HTML Version |
| Photo Credits | North Carolina Department of Transportation |
Church Street Bridge | |
| Location | New Haven Interlocking and Rail Yard |
| State | CT |
| Completion Date | 2003 |
| Contact Person | Larry D'Addio, P.E., Connecticut Department of Transportation |
| Description | This truss-span bridge is 1,280 ft. long with 8 spans including 320-ft. truss span, 50 ft. high and 60 ft. wide. The Church Street South Extension project provided a new steel truss bridge over the New Haven Interlocking and Rail Yard, directly linking downtown New Haven and the Long Wharf and waterfront areas. To minimize disruption in the rail yard and improve work-zone safety for a crew working over active rail lines, ConnDot required that this portion of the bridge be completed in a single weekend night. The 320-ft long, 850 ton prefabricated truss center span was constructed over several months next to the active rail lines and then lifted into place on an early Sunday morning in May 2003 by a single high-capacity crane owned by Lampson International LLC. The crane, which required more than four weeks to assemble, lifted the entire truss span more the 65 ft. and moved it more than 100 ft. to its final position. Specifying prefabrication saved ConnDOT about a year on its overall contract time and at least $1.1 million. Prefabrication of the center span greatly improved constructability for O&G Industries; the center span could not have been built during the limited working hours allowed by the rail yard. Using prefabrication on this project avoided closure of 4 tracks during bridge construction. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption, |
| Related Document 1 | 850 Ton bridge lifted into place by world's largest mobile crane |
| Photo Credits | Connecticut Department of Transportation |
Cross Westchester Expressway Viaducts | |
| Location | I-287 in Westchester County 10 miles north of New York City |
| State | NY |
| Completion Date | 1999 |
| Contact Person | George A. Christian P.E. Acting Director Structures Design and Construction Division New York State Department of Transportation State Campus Building 5, 6th Floor 1220 Washington Avenue Albany NY 12232 Phone: (518) 457-6827 Fax: (518) 485-7826 Email: Gchristian@gw.dot.state.ny.us |
| Description | Required to maintain six lanes of congested traffic and limit construction on a restricted site during replacement of two major I-287 viaducts in Westchester County, the New York State Department of Transportation accepted the contractor's value-engineering proposal to incorporate precast segmental voided pier sections for each of the 42 piers, which consisted of 8-foot match-cast segments vertically post-tensioned together and to the footings. Piers ranged from 20 to 55 feet in height, and a typical pier could be erected in one day. The proposal also changed the cast-in-place deck to 10-foot-long by 9-inch-thick precast panels, 42 to 50 feet wide to match longitudinal construction stages, supported on pairs of multi-span continuous steel tub girders. Up to 15 panels could be erected in a single shift, with 'in-line' erection methods used where side access was not available. Prior to grouting the panels to the girders, the entire deck was post-tensioned longitudinally in a variable pattern that was designed to provide a zero-tension deck under design live loads. The precast deck and pier construction reduced the contract's original 34-month schedule to 26 months. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Precast segmental match-cast pier units; precast longitudinally post-tensioned deck panels; steel tub girders,full-depth deck panels,precast box piers,totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption by reducing construction time from 34 to 26 months. Improved constructibility by reducing needed access to a site-restricted expressway. |
| Contract Elements | "A+B" bidding and incentive/disincentive provisions. |
| Photo Credits | New York State Department of Transportation |
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport People Mover | |
| Location | Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 2004 |
| Contact Person | Katherine Berkenbile P.E. STOA/Carlos + Law, AE Phone: (850) 432-1912 Email: kberkenbile@gcae.com |
| Description | DFW Airport decided to upgrade its Airport People Mover System in order to accommodate new terminals and increased passenger count. The new People Mover will transport people from the farthest terminals in 11 minutes transport time. The cost per day of casting conventional concrete columns with forms and guy wires for the reinforcing is high due to space that would be used on the airport apron. Instead of closing aircraft terminals and gates, the DFW Airport People Mover Team decided to design and build a precast post-tensioned segmental system of columns. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | substructure |
| Other Keywords | Precast post-tensioned segmental columns |
| Advantages | Allowed the airport apron to remain clear of guy wires. Allowed column construction to happen at night with minimal disruption of airport traffic, Minimized traffic disruption, Improved constructibility. |
| Photo Credits | STOA/Carlos + Law, AE |
Dead Run and Turkey Run Bridges | |
| Location | George Washington Memorial Parkway |
| State | VA |
| Completion Date | 1998 |
| Contact Person | Hala Elgaaly P.E. Special Projects Engineer Federal Lands Bridge Office Federal Highway Administration 21400 Ridgetop Circle Sterling VA 20166 Phone: (703) 404-6233 Fax: (703) 404-6234 Email: hala.elgaaly@fhwa.dot.gov |
| Description | The George Washington Memorial Parkway experiences heavy commuter usage from workers travelling from Virginia and Maryland into Washington D.C. The 1996 average daily traffic for the Parkway was 42,800 vehicles, with 53,500 vehicles/day projected for 2016. Because of its heavy commuter use, the bridges over Dead Run and Turkey Run needed to be kept open to traffic on weekdays during replacement of bridge decks. The Dead Run bridge consists of two structures that each carry two lanes of traffic; the bridge is 305 feet long with a 3-span configuration. The Turkey Run bridge is also two structures that each carry two lanes of traffic, and it has a length of 402 feet in a 4-span configuration. Both bridges have an 8-inch concrete deck supported on steel beams with non-composite action. The non-composite aspect of the original design, along with the use of precast concrete post-tensioned full-depth deck panels, facilitated quick deck replacement and allowed the structures to be kept open during weekday traffic. The construction sequence closed the bridge on Friday evening, saw cut the existing deck into transverse sections that included curb and rail, removed the saw cut sections of the deck, set new precast panels, stressed the longitudinal tendons after all panels in a span were erected, grouted the area beneath the panel and above the steel beam, and opened the bridge to traffic by Monday morning. The construction rate was replacement of one span for one bridge per weekend. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Full-depth non-composite decks,full-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption. Traffic was maintained during weekdays to minimize effect on commuters from Virginia and Maryland into Washington D.C. |
| Photo Credits | Federal Highway Administration |
Epping 13940 | |
| Location | Mill Street over Lamprey River |
| State | NH |
| Completion Date | August 24, 2004 |
| Contact Person | Peter E. Stamnas, P.E. New Hampshire Department of Transportation Phone: (603) 271-2731 Email: pstamnas@dot.state.nh.us |
| Description | The 115' single span butted box precast elements were placed on an entirely precast substructure. Nine precast footings pieces were leveled using leveling screws and then grouted in place. Full moment connections were created between wing and abutment stems to precast footings by means of grouted splice sleeves. The connections were cured overnight, , the substructure was backfilled and the butted box beams were placed. The joints between beams were grouted and transversely post-tensioned. Finally, the deck surface was membraned and paved, and rail was placed. It took less than eight days from the time the first precast footing was lifted from the trailer to the time when the bridge was opened to traffic. The contract included a 14 day requirement to open bridge to traffic with an incentive/disincentive of $5,000/day. The contractor received a $30,000 incentive bonus. |
| Photo |
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| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Precast prestressed box beams, speed of construction,total substructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Rapid assembly time may preclude the need for a detour., traffic disruption |
Fairgrounds Road Bridge | |
| Location | Between Xenia and Beaverbrook over the Little Miami River |
| State | OH |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | Robert Geyer, P.E., P. S. Greene County Engineer, (937) 562-7500 |
| Description | This is a single bridge 226 ft. long and 32 ft. wide with 3 spans. Located between Xenia and Beaverbrook, this 1961 bridge over the Little Miami River needed a new deck. Greene County selected chose prefabrication and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) for the new deck, which was placed on the existing steel beams and grouted into place. The deck includes 28 full-depth panels, each 32 ft. wide and all but one of the panels 8 ft. long. The panels are covered with variable thickness polymer-modified asphalt. Work started in the spring and completed in June of 2002. Prefabricated elements included full-depth FRP deck panels. Greene County funded this project through federal and state grants, gaining a new bridge that is expected to have a service life longer than the 45-55 years typical for the region. |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) deck panels |
| Advantages | Constructibility |
George P. Coleman Bridge | |
| Location | Yorktown |
| State | VA |
| Completion Date | 1995 |
| Contact Person | George Clendenin P.E. Virginia Department of Transportation Phone: (804) 786-4575 Email: George.Clendenin@VirginiaDOT.org |
| Description | In 1995, the largest double-swing bridge in the United States was dismantled and replaced in record time. A major goal was limiting bridge closure to avoid disrupting traffic of more than 27,000 vehicles a day. Lighter-weight modern materials allowed Virginia DOT designers to widen the new bridge but use the existing foundation. While approach spans were widened, truss spans were prefabricated nearby and then barged to the construction site. Six old spans were removed and six new ones placed in only nine days. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | Prefabricated steel truss spans |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption by constructing truss spans off-site and then barging them into place. |
| Photo Credits | Virginia Department of Transportation |
Governor Malcolm E. Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge (Tappan Zee Bridge) | |
| Location | Hudson River, about 13 miles north of New York City |
| State | NY |
| Contact Person | Thruway Authority Public Affairs Office New York State Department of Transportation Administrative Headquarters 200 Southern Blvd. P.O. Box 189 Albany NY 12201-0189 Phone: (518) 436-2700 (Interchange 23) |
| Description | The 16,000-foot Tappan Zee Bridge carries approximately 130,000 vehicles per day over the Hudson River on the New York State Thruway system. Because it is a critical route for commuters, the New York State Thruway Authority requires that work projects keep all lanes of traffic open for morning and evening rush hour traffic. In 1998, a necessary redecking project for the east deck truss spans began replacement of more than 250,000 square feet of deck in nighttime work, opening all seven lanes to traffic by 6 AM. The project used proprietary full-depth deck panels, 7 ½ in. thick overall. 1200 exodermic panels were required, typically 24 ft. x 12 ft. or 18 ft. x 12 ft. and weighing 18,000-13,000 lbs. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Exodermic deck panels,full-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption: Exodermic deck panels allowed rapid placement of the panels, which provide the durability of reinforced concrete but weigh 35-50% less. |
Howell's Mill Bridge | |
| Location | County Road 1 over Mud River in Cabell County |
| State | WV |
| Completion Date | 2003 |
| Contact Person | Jeff Ball, P.E., West Virginia Department of Transportation, (304) 558-5565 |
| Description | This project provided a full-depth fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) deck on a bridge 245 ft. long and 32.5 ft. wide with 2 spans. When the West Virginia Department of Transportation replaced the entire superstructure for the bridge on County Road 1 over Mud River in Cabell County, project constraints included requirements for accommodation of significant daily traffic. The replacement deck-7,833 sq. ft. FRP deck on weathering steel beams-helped reduce dead load and achieve the shallow superstructure depth required for site constraints. The deck panels were installed in just 3 days, and work completed in July 2003. The deck panels arrived on site in 8-by-32.5-ft. panels with a factory-applied skid-resistant surface that was used as a riding surface during construction. The panels were attached to girders by a shear stud/grout system. Use of prefabricated FRP deck panels ensures a longer-lasting service life for this replacement structure. Immune to chloride ion-induced corrosion, the prefabricated FRP panels are ideal for environments where deicing chemicals are commonly used. The lightweight prefabricated FRP deck panels-at 5,000 lbs, about 20% the weight of concrete panels-were easy to install and required no forms to set or strip. Because the deck panels were prefabricated, quality control and sampling of materials was accomplished at the factory, saving time for the Turman Construction. The easily installed FRP deck panels shortened construction time, making the replacement bridge available to public use more quickly. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) deck panels |
| Advantages | Constructibility |
| Photo Credits | West Virginia Department of Transportation |
I-10 over Lake Pontchartrain | |
| Location | New Orleans |
| State | LA |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | Lynn Marsalone, P.E., (504) 278-7457 |
| Description | This project replaced a bridge span 65 ft long and 46 ft. wide. As part of a project that included construction of several emergency crossovers between existing twin spans, realignment of 9 existing spans, and approach slab repairs, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LA DOTD) removed and replaced an entire 350-ton span. With its 7.5-inch concrete slab cast on precast prestressed concrete girders, the new span was built on a barge on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and then moved to the bridge site. The single span removal and replacement cost only about 8% of the total project cost under this contract, which allowed the contractor a period of 24 consecutive hours of roadway closure for span removal and replacement under an incentive/disincentive clause. Work was completed in the summer of 2002. The superstructure span was totally prefabricated, and crews removed the old span and replaced it with the new one on a single Saturday in much less time than the contract allowed. Prefabrication enabled LA DOTD to minimize closure of I-10, the main artery into New Orleans and the Gulf coast with average daily traffic of 48,032 vehicles. Prefabrication enabled Johnson Brothers' Louisiana Team to complete its work on the span in less than 24 hours and earn the maximum $20,000 incentive award. Prefabrication minimized traffic disruption for users of the bridge. The designated alternate detour for westbound traffic to New Orleans was approximately 100 miles. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption |
| Photo Credits | Federal Highway Administration |
I-45/Pierce Elevated | |
| Location | Downtown Houston |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 1997 |
| Contact Person | Kenneth L. Ozuna P.E. Texas Department of Transportation Phone: (713) 802-5435 Email: kozuna@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | When a 113-span section of IH 45 in Houston's central business district needed replacing, designers estimated that a conventional bridge system would require more than a year and a half of construction. Estimating user delay costs at $100,000 a day, TxDOT opted to speed construction by using precast bent caps on the existing columns. The bridge consists of twin structures, one northbound and one southbound, and each structure was completed in 95 days, a total of 226 spans replaced in 190 days. To connect the precast caps to the existing columns, the precast caps were anchored with post-tensioning bars and hardware. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | partial, pier |
| Other Keywords | Precast bent caps; precast prestressed deck panels; precast prestressed I-beams,precast deck panels with topping slab,precast pretensioned partial-depth deck panels,speed of construction |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption: construction time was reduced from an estimated 1.5 years to 190 days, with user delay costs estimated at $100,000/day. |
| Related Document 1 | Cap-to-Column Connection Detail Drawings (PDF, 0.5 mb) HTML Version: |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
I-5/South 38th Street Interchange | |
| Location | Tacoma |
| State | WA |
| Completion Date | 2001 |
| Contact Person | Joseph Merth P.E. Washington State Department of Transportation Phone: (360) 705-7166 Email: merthjo@wsdot.wa.gov |
| Description | To reduce construction time and minimize traffic disruption, the Washington State Department of Transportation chose precast stay-in-place deck panels in the design of this two-span, 325-foot replacement bridge over I-5 in Tacoma. The new post-tensioned box girder bridge uses precast tub girder segments. With no need to construct and remove conventional deck forms, lane closures on I-5 were greatly reduced. Leveling screws were used to adjust camber on the 3-1/2-inch-thick precast pretensioned panels, and all 766 panels were placed within a week of limited nighttime I-5 lane closures. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Precast stay-in-place deck panels; precast post-tensioned tub girders,full-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption by reducing construction time. |
| Photo Credits | Washington State Department of Transportation |
I-95/James River Bridge | |
| Location | Richmond |
| State | VA |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | Dina N. Kukreja P.E. Virginia Department of Transportation Phone: (804) 786-5172 Email: Dina.Kukreja@VirginiaDOT.org |
| Description | Minimal impact on motorists was a project goal for replacement of the superstructure of the I-95 James River Bridge, which carries approximately 110,000 vehicles per day through the city of Richmond. After considering alternatives, Virginia DOT opted for night-only construction, most of which occurred between 7 PM and 6 AM Sunday through Thursday nights. During nighttime construction, one lane of traffic was kept open in each direction. For most spans, bridge preconstructed composite units (PCU's), which include an 8-¾-inch deck over steel plate girders, were precast at a nearby casting yard and then transported to the work site. Work crews cut out the old bridge span and removed it, prepared the gap for the new PCU, and set the new PCU in place. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | Preconstructed composite units consisting of precast 8-¾-inch deck over steel-plate girders,prefabricated total superstructure,total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption by facilitating replacement of the bridge superstructure without ever closing the highway to rush hour traffic. |
| Contract Elements | A system of incentives for early completion and disincentives (charges) for failure to restore all traffic lanes by specific hours of the day. |
| Photo Credits | Virginia Department of Transportation |
IH70/Lake St. Louis Boulevard Bridge | |
| Location | IH70 over Lake St. Louis Bridge in St. Charles County |
| State | MO |
| Completion Date | 2003 |
| Contact Person | Ghanshyam Gupta, P.E., Missouri Department of Transportation, (573) 751-4676 |
| Description | To reduce congestion on the IH70/Lake St. Louis Boulevard Bridge in St. Charles County, the Missouri Department of Transportation opted for widening it and then accepted a contractor's value-engineering proposal to rebuild the bridge using prefabrication, replacing the four-span bridge with two spans. Although costs increased, the proposal offered both short- and long-term benefits. Work on the new bridge completed in late 2003. The new bridge used precast deck and beam sections and puzzle wall abutments, which allowed a design with fewer spans. With the prefabrication redesign, MoDOT reduced construction time by several months. By reducing the number of spans, geometrics of the interchange improved, increasing its safety and efficiency. Fewer spans also result in lower maintenance costs. By eliminating the need for formwork, which would have reduced clearance on IH70 but was required for a widening in place of the old bridge, the value-engineering proposal using prefabrication greatly improved work zone safety by reducing the amount of time workers had to operate in low-clearance conditions. With prefabrication facilitating faster construction, bridge users were spared several months of inconvenience, and IH70 users were spared a period of reduced vertical clearance. Motorist safety increased because falsework towers were not needed in the outside shoulders. Additionally, the new structure is more aesthetically appealing. |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | precast deck panels (lightweight) |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption, work-zone safety |
IH80/Carquinez Strait Bridge | |
| Location | IH80 across the Sacramento River between Crockett and Vallejo |
| State | CA |
| Completion Date | 2003 |
| Contact Person | California Department of Transportation |
| Description | This single bridge is 3,465 ft. long with 3 spans. This new Carquinez Strait bridge carries IH80 across the Sacramento River between Crockett and Vallejo and is an important link between Sacramento and the Bay Area. It is the first suspension bridge in the US with concrete towers. The bridge has two batter-leg concrete frame towers with classic draped cables and vertical suspender ropes to support the steel box girder deck. Each tower is supported by 12 drilled shafts that terminate in pile caps below sea level. The high cap position and deep water precluded use of conventional cofferdams, so the contractor provided a prefabricated, float-in cofferdam system. Designed as thin precast concrete shells in the shape of the specified pile caps, the cofferdams had corrugated block-outs in the bottom to allow the drilled shaft to fit up into the cap while remaining water-tight during the float-in. While the drilled shafts were installed, the cofferdams were cast on a barge deck and launched. Crews then cut the drilled shaft casings off underwater and floated the cofferdams into place. After sealing the cofferdams to the shaft casings, crews dewatered the cofferdam to allow extension of the drilled shaft reinforcing cages and then cast the pile caps. Construction completed in late 2003. This project used prefabricated cofferdams that functioned as float-in pile-cap shells. For the California Department of Transportation, use of prefabricated cofferdams expedited construction of the bridge and will increase the service life of the IH80 crossing. For the contractors, FCI Constructors and Cleveland Bridge California, use of prefabricated cofferdams greatly improved constructibility and work-zone safety. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | pier |
| Other Keywords | Cofferdam system,precast bent caps |
| Advantages | Constructibility |
| Photo Credits | FCI Constructors, Inc. |
Illinois Route 29 over Sugar Creek | |
| Location | 1 mile east of Springfield, in Sangamon County |
| State | IL |
| Completion Date | 2001 |
| Contact Person | Tom Domagalski P.E. Illinois Department of Transportation Phone: (217) 785-2913 Email: domagalskitj@nt.dot.state.il.us |
| Description | This project required redecking an existing five-span bridge 77.13 meters long. The bridge consisted of a simple-span unit at 12.48 meters, a two-span continuous unit with both at 18.25 meter, and another two-span continuous unit at 12.95 and 12.88 meters. The existing steel beams were reused and made composite with the precast deck panels. The bridge was 11.4 meters wide. The concrete deck panels (f'c = 35 MPa) were 195 millimeters in depth, 11.3 meters in width, and typically 2.5 meters in length. A total of 29 panels were laid across the length of the bridge. Panels used shear keys between the panels and were post-tensioned longitudinally with 25.4-millimeter-diameter high-strength steel bars at 462-millimeter centers. |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Full depth, full width, precast post-tensioned concrete deck panels,precast concrete New Jersey parapets,full-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic delays by speeding up the construction time, Minimized traffic disruption. |
Keaiwa Stream Bridge | |
| Location | Route 11 near Pahala |
| State | HI |
| Completion Date | 2000 |
| Contact Person | Paul Santo P.E. Hawaii Department of Transportation Phone: (808) 692-7611 Email: paul_santo@exec.state.hi.us |
| Description | A record rainstorm in late 2000 caused major damage to the only route on the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii. The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation chose to replace the 80-foot Route 11 bridge near Pahala with a longer structure to prevent future damage from flooding. The new 7-span, 230-foot concrete bridge, using precast prestressed concrete planks with cast-in-place concrete topping, was in operation within seven months. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | beams |
| Other Keywords | 4-foot-wide by 11-inch-thick precast prestressed concrete deck planks,precast deck panels with topping slab, precast pretensioned partial-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption by reducing construction time and limiting lane closures.; Minimized environmental disruption because deck topping did not require shoring or falsework in the streambed, and minimized traffic disruption because precast planks were fabricated during pier construction. |
| Photo Credits | Hawaii Department of Transportation |
Kouwegok Slough Bridge | |
| Location | Unalakleet |
| State | AK |
| Completion Date | 2000 |
| Contact Person | Elmer Marx, P.E.; Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, (907) 465-6941 |
| Description | This is one bridge 378 ft. long and 25 ft. wide with 3 spans (25-ft center span and 114-ft end spans). Located in Unalakleet on Norton Sound in Alaska, this bridge is typical in style of bridges built in remote location within the state. Its substructure consists of pipe pile extensions that support a precast concrete pile cap beam, and its superstructure consists of rolled wide flange beams that support prefabricated full-depth concrete deck panels. Materials had to be delivered by a barge that could not operate until after July 1st because Norton Sound was frozen. The new bridge was open to traffic in August 2000, 55 days after materials were unloaded from the barge. Prefabrication for this bridge included precast concrete pile cap beams and full-depth deck panels. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Constructibility |
| Photo Credits | Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities |
Lavaca Bay Causeway | |
| Location | Between Port Lavaca and Point Comfort, over the Lavaca Bay |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 1961 |
| Contact Person | Bruce Bayless P.E. District Engineer Yoakum District Texas Department of Transportation Phone: (361) 293-4300 Email: mbayles@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | Completed in 1961, the bridge that carries SH 35 across Lavaca Bay is the longest bridge in Texas, spanning 11,900 feet. The bridge contains two 26-foot roadway slabs and a raised 6-foot median, making the four-lane highway a total of 63 feet wide. Precasting occurred on the shore near the construction site. Precast girder, slab, diaphragm, center median, curb, sidewalk, and parapet wall units were precast on shore, barged into position between bents, and then lowered into place hydraulically. Each roadway slab weighed 150 tons. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | Girder/slab/diaphragm/center median/curb/sidewalk/parapet walls precast and later prestressed as a single unit, precast monolithic beams,precast prestressed deck composite units,prefabricated total superstructure,total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Constructibility |
| Contract Elements | "Lavaca Bay Causeway" |
| Related Document 1 | "Texas' Longest Bridge Dedicated" |
Lewis and Clark Bridge | |
| Location | SR 433 across the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington State |
| State | WA |
| Completion Date | 2004 |
| Contact Person | Jerry Weigel, P.E., Washington State Department of Transportation, (360) 705-7207 |
| Description | This full-depth precast deck replacement was for a steel truss bridge 5,478 ft. long and 34 ft. wide with 34 spans. A joint project by the Oregon and Washington Departments of Transportation to widen and replace the deteriorating deck on this historic 1929 steel truss bridge allowed full closures between 9:30 pm and 5:30 am for only 120 nights, plus 4 weekend closures. Alternative plans to replace the bridge deck would have required replacing it lane by lane (4 years), full closure of the bridge for several months, or full closure every weekend for 6 months. The contractor was able to meet scheduling constraints by using prefabricated deck panels-a large transport device moved the new panel to the top of the bridge, removed the old panel that crews had just cut out, and then lowered the new panel into place before taking the old panel off the bridge. Work will be completed by December 2004. The majority of the existing bridge deck was replaced with precast concrete deck panels made of lightweight concrete with a modified concrete overlay supported by two longitudinal steel stringers with intermediate transverse stringers. The bridge also used prefabricated widening sections supported by a single longitudinal steel girder. In addition, the project included precast approach slabs. Oregon and WS DOT extended the life of the bridge by an estimated 25 years. In addition, prefabrication allowed inspection of the new deck before installation without use of specialized equipment. For Max J. Kuney Company of Spokane, use of prefabricated elements and systems reduced workers exposure to traffic during construction and improved the constructibility of the bridge. Use of prefabrication allowed the bridge to remain open for normal weekday operation, particularly important for traffic related to the Port of Longview. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | full-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption, constructibility, work-zone safety |
| Photo Credits | Washington State Department of Transportation |
Linn Cove Viaduct | |
| Location | Grandfather Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway, milepost 304.6 |
| State | NC |
| Completion Date | 1983 |
| Contact Person | Gary S. Jakovich Federal Highway Administration Phone: (703) 404-6236 Email: gary.jakovich@fhwa.dot.gov |
| Description | The Linn Cove Viaduct is 1,243 feet long and contains 153 superstructure segments, each weighing 50 tons, along with 40 substructure segments weighing up to 45 tons. The road is at an elevation of 4,100 feet and was designed as an S-shape to wind around the scenic mountains. To avoid placement of heavy equipment in a sensitive environment, the bridge was built in one direction from the south abutment to the north almost entirely from the top down. The only exceptions to the top down method were construction of the initial span on falsework and construction of a temporary timber bridge that enabled the micropile foundation drilling machine to prepare several of the foundation sites ahead of the superstructure erection. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Elevated roadway,speed of construction |
| Advantages | Minimized environmental disruption. Precasting each segment of the bridge allowed construction workers to assemble the bridge with little impact to the most environmentally sensitive section of Grandfather Mountain. This bridge also proved that a design could be environmentally sensitive in addition to being utilitarian and economical. |
| Related Document 1 | Linn Cove Viaduct Details: Plan and Elevation, Sub-footing and Footing Layout, Temporary Support, Typical Segment, Construction Notes (PDF, 3.2 mb) HTML Version: |
| Photo Credits | Hugh Morton of Eugene Figg, Jr. |
Main Street over Metro North Railroad | |
| Location | Tuckahoe |
| State | NY |
| Completion Date | 2000 |
| Contact Person | George A. Christian P.E. Acting Director Structures Design and Construction Division New York State Department of Transportation State Campus Building 5, 6th Floor 1220 Washington Avenue Albany NY 12232 Phone: (518) 457-6827 Fax: (518) 485-7826 Email: Gchristian@gw.dot.state.ny.us |
| Description | Replacement of a through-girder bridge over a busy commuter railroad in the village of Tuckahoe presented challenges for NYSDOT: maintaining two way traffic, conducting all work between 2 and 4 AM on weekends to limit disruptions for rail commuters and adjacent stores, maintaining utility lines while relocating them on the new bridge, and raising the railroad vertical clearance five inches without affecting the street profile. NYSDOT chose a commercial system of precast prestressed concrete/steel composite superstructure modules that allowed for smaller beams than conventional construction, which helped attain the increased vertical clearance and had a short installation time. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | Precast prestressed concrete and steel composite superstructure units,precast prestressed deck composite units,prefabricated total superstructure,total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Improved constructibility by allowing staged construction over a busy commuter railroad, Minimized traffic disruption. |
| Photo Credits | New York State Department of Transportation |
Maritime Off-Ramp at I-80 and I-880 | |
| Location | Oakland |
| State | CA |
| Completion Date | 1997 |
| Contact Person | Alfred R. Mangus, P.E. California Department of Transportation 1801 30th Street Sacramento, CA 95816 (916) 227-8926 Al_Mangus@dot.ca.gov |
| Description | The Maritime Off-Ramp at the intersection of I-80 and I-880 in Oakland, North America's first curved welded steel orthogonal isotropic bridge, provides access to the Port of Oakland through a U-turn from westbound I-80. The ramp is 2,356 ft long and has a 250-ft radius horseshoe shape. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) chose steel bridges to minimize traffic delays during bridge erection. Designers selected a closed cell structure for the horseshoe shape of the bridge as the most economical shape to resist torsional forces. The substructure includes reinforced concrete "T" bents with a single column with spiral reinforcing ties. Two special bearings connect the superstructure to each "T" bent. The contractor fabricated 13 full-bridge-width orthogonal isotropic sections 7 ft 0 in deep by 35 ft 6 in wide up to 37 ft 6 in wide, with lengths ranging from 123 to 219 ft per section. All sections shipped with a steel orthogonal isotropic deck and with installed steel barrier rails. All fabricated steel totaled 5,014 tons. Installation included special heavy-lift hydraulic platforms to move the bridge sections. Each of the 13 bridge sections was moved three times: from the fabrication facility to the barge, from the barge to the staging area beside the freeway, and from the staging area into its final location. The sections were staged on the east side of the freeway and crossed over during night erection during a 10-hr window beginning at midnight on a Saturday. The contractor faced stiff fines for each minute exceeding the time limit. Installation of three of the sections required closing half of the freeway lanes, below which approximately 500,000 vehicles cross per day. The segment over the westbound lanes was erected around midnight on one Saturday night, and the segment over the eastbound lanes was erected the following Saturday night. Unique seismic detailing includes use of rubber dock fenders as seismic shock absorbers to reduce forces between completed bridge sections. Poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene (PTFE) spherical bearings allow for rotation and expansion of members and can resist high lateral forces, including seismic forces. A central shear key provides additional lateral capacity. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | Orthotropic steel superstructure,total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption |
| Photo Credits | Caltrans |
Market Street Bridge | |
| Location | Wheeling |
| State | WV |
| Completion Date | 2001 |
| Contact Person | Benjamin Beerman, P.E., West Virginia Department of Transportation (304) 558-2830 |
| Description | This bridge is 180 ft. 6 in. long with a single span 177 ft. long. The project was a deck replacement. The structure has fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sidewalks and a half-inch wearing surface of polyurethane concrete and granite chips. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) deck panels |
| Advantages | Constructibility |
| Photo Credits | West Virginia Department of Transportation |
Mississippi River Bridge | |
| Location | US 14/61/WIS 16 over the Mississippi River |
| State | WI |
| Completion Date | 2003 |
| Contact Person | Stephen Flottmeyer, P.E., Wisconsin Department of Transportation, (608) 785-9075 |
| Description | This bridge is 2,573 ft long and 50 ft. wide with 475-ft steel arch center span with a totally prefabricated superstructure system. To provide safer and more efficient access to downtown La Crosse and into Minnesota, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) decided to build a new bridge across the Mississippi River, changing US 14/61/WIS 16 from a two-lane to a four-lane facility. WisDOT opted to use a central prefabricated tied arch section and float it into place before connecting it to the permanent bridge piers. The arch was installed on December 17th, 2003. The bridge elements were fabricated 90 miles from the site in pieces manageable for shipping and erection. They were then assembled entirely off site on barges. The 475-ft long and 87-ft high center-span steel arch superstructure was finally floated into place. The prefabrication allowed WisDOT to keep the main channel of the Mississippi River open to all river traffic during construction per Coast Guard requirements. It also allowed the contractor to work on both the river piers and the arch simultaneously, speeding the construction schedule. Contract specification did not allow temporary falsework structures in the Mississippi River during navigation season. Erecting the tied arch on barges allowed Lunda Construction Company crews to work during favorable weather without interference with river navigation. Use of prefabrication minimized impact on the community, speeding construction of the bridge and limiting disruption of river traffic. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption, constructibility |
| Photo Credits | Wisconsin Department of Transportation |
NASA Road 1 over I-45 | |
| Location | Houston |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | John P. Vogel P.E. Bridge Design Engineer Houston District Texas Department of Transportation 8100 Washington Avenue Houston TX 77251-1386 Phone: (713) 802-5235 Fax: (713) 802-5350 Email: jvogel1@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | For replacement of this four-span, two-lane, freeway overpass, the existing profile grade could not be raised. Designers chose box beams, which provided a shallow structure depth and eliminated most deck formwork. Careful control of pile leads for plumb during 24-inch pile driving in soft clay allowed placement of piles without templates to within 2 inches of plan location. High-performance concrete was used to pour shear keys between the beams and the concrete wearing surface, and use of a concrete wearing surface readily accounted for differential beam camber. Bridge railing was slip-formed as soon as the composite concrete wearing surface achieved strength. All construction occurred during short-duration, partial, phased road closures. The existing low-clearance bridge was demolished and the new bridge completed in 10 days. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Precast piles/columns; precast prestressed beams,precast concrete piles/columns,precast prestressed box beams |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption: Trestle piles could be driven in the soft Houston clay faster than shafts could be drilled and columns poured. |
| Contract Elements | Calendar-day definition of working day, incentive/disincentive contract, milestone completion of project phases, delayed start time to allow for fabrication of precast elements. |
| Related Document 1 | NASA Road 1 over I-45 Bridge Layout (PDF, 0.3 mb) HTML Version |
| Related Document 2 | Keys to Project Success |
| Related Document 3 | High-Performance Mix Designs |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
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. |
Northeast 8th Street Bridge | |
| Location | NE 8th over IH 405 in Bellevue |
| State | WA |
| Completion Date | 2004 |
| Contact Person | Jerry Weigel, P.E., Washington State Department of Transportation, (360) 705-7207 |
| Description | This bridge is 328 ft. long and 121.5 ft. wide. When the Northeast 8th Street bridge over busy IH405 in Bellevue needed to be replaced, the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) chose a total prefabrication design that allowed it to stage the bridge beside the highway during construction and then move it into place. The south half of the new bridge was constructed in a temporary location south of the old bridge, and then traffic eastbound traffic was shifted onto the new portion while the north half of the old bridge was removed and rebuilt. Next, traffic was shifted onto the new north half, and the old south portion was demolished. Finally, the new south half was jacked off its temporary piers and rolled into place. The contractor moved the 2,200 ton structure in about 12 hours. Completed in 2004, the longer and higher total prefabrication bridge will accommodate widening of IH405 and accessibility conveniences for a new interchange just south of it. Choosing prefabrication over conventional reconstruction allowed WSDOT to avoid taking the bridge out of commission for up to a year or reducing its capacity by one-half for even longer. Atkinson Construction customized techniques to accommodate prefabrication requirements to minimize traffic disruption for downtown Bellevue. The total prefabrication construction caused relatively few disruptions to area drivers, with most closures limited to nights and select weekends and resulted in a wider, safer bridge with more lanes of traffic. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption |
| Photo Credits | Washington State Department of Transportation |
Pelican Creek Bridge | |
| Location | Chichagof Island |
| State | AK |
| Completion Date | 1992 |
| Contact Person | Mike Higgs, P.E., Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, (907) 465-8896 |
| Description | This bridge has precast decked double-tee girders with precast caps and steel piles. It is one bridge 178 ft. long and 18 ft. wide with 3 spans. A small fishing community on Chicagof Island in southeast Alaska needed a new bridge quickly after buying a fire truck that was too heavy for their old timber bridge. Construction requirements included staying out of the sensitive creek bed and completing work within a short time defined by the Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities chose a totally prefabricated bridge with all material, including rock for the approach fill, barged to the work site. The contractor floated in barges at high tide and anchored them in the creek. Crews drove steel piles from barges, drove a large wheeled crane onto the barges, and then used the crane to install first caps and then decked double-tee girders, post-tensioning the diaphragms. No heavy equipment was lodged in the creek bed. All construction completed in approximately 5 weeks in 1992. Alaska DOT regularly uses decked bulb-tee girder bridges consisting of precast, prestressed girders cast with an integral deck to form a "T" shaped beam. The maximum span length is 145 ft. The superstructures are often installed in 1-2 days for a typical highway bridge. Prefabrication provided ADOT with a new bridge with a longer service life and lower maintenance costs, and it facilitated safe construction in a sensitive environment. Total prefabrication improved constructibility for Trucano Construction crews and reduced labor costs. Residents of the island got a new bridge quickly constructed and strong enough to support their civic vehicles. |
| Photo |
![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Minimized environmental disruption, constructibility |
| Contract Elements | Superstructure Detail Sheet |
| Photo Credits | Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities |
Reedy Creek Bridge | |
| Location | Main entrance to Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park in Orlando, FL |
| State | FL |
| Completion Date | 1997 |
| Contact Person | James S. Guarre P.E. Phone: (206) 431-2300 Email: guarre@abam.com |
| Description | The bridge over Reedy Creek in Osceola Parkway serves as the main entrance to Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom. Owned by a private entity, it was designed to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) standards and bid as a conventional contract. The winning contractor and engineer reworked the initial design using precast concrete components on the same alignment. Design constraints included the following: the bridge had to be a low-profile structure certifiable by FDOT; it had to be constructed entirely from the top with no impact to the creek bed below; design and construction had to yield a low-maintenance structure; and certain utility lines had to be carried at the center of the alignment between the two bridges. The 1,000-ft. long bridge consisted of five structures, each 200 ft. long with expansion joints at ends and at abutments. The eastbound and westbound bridges were separated by 14 ft, which carried the utility lines on suspended steel framing. Each 200-ft. structure had five 40-ft. spans designed as a continuous structure. Precast components included pile caps and deck panels. All the pile caps were of the same cross section, made in different lengths as needed, and simply reinforced and set on a slope to provide the transverse grade. Most of the deck panels were haunched panels--thicker at the ends. The haunched panels were prestressed with strands designed to provide eccentricity in the middle region while coming close to the neutral axis at the ends. Remaining panels were prismatic, with some of them having width varying from one end to the other, and all were simply reinforced. The shallow precast pile caps supporting the precast deck panels resulted in a total depth just under 5 ft. with the deck itself only 2 ft. 5 in. deep. Except for touch-up painting of the steel piles, all work was completed from the top with no activity on the creek bed below. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Advantages | Minimized environmental impact, minimized environmental disruption |
| Photo Credits | BERGER/ABAM Engineers, Inc. |
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge | |
| Location | On I-580 between Richmond and San Rafael |
| State | CA |
| Completion Date | 2004 |
| Contact Person | Inyang, P.E., California Department of Transportation, (510) 231-7828 |
| Description | This precast superstructure system with precast caps hells and piles includes 2 bridges 3,624 ft. and 2,843 ft. long and 44 ft. wide. These 1956 bridges connect Marin and Contra Costa Counties in California. When heavy traffic and exposure to the marine environment necessitated replacement of the existing structures on the same alignments, the California Department of Transportation selected prefabrication. Allowing two lanes of traffic on both structures at all times during the day, the construction sequence closes one structure for 10 hours maximum at night. Crews install new piles outside the travel lanes of the existing bridge, install new precast prestressed bent cap shells on the piles, and pour concrete and then prestress the caps. Then crews start from the abutment using a barge-mounted crane to sequentially replace the superstructure. Two spans totaling 100 ft of existing superstructure are lifted out, and a new span is installed. Crews then install a 25-ft transition span to close the offset between new and old bents, and by morning traffic is running again. After installing four new spans, crews stress them together to make a 400-ft. continuous unit. Work on the westbound bridge will complete in Fall 2004, and work on the eastbound bridge will complete in Spring 2005. This project uses 500-ton 100-ft precast superstructure system, precast prestressed cap shells, and piles. The use of prefabrication provided the California Department of Transportation with a new bridge that meets seismic codes with minimal traffic disruption. By fabricating off site, Tutor Saliba/Koch/Tidewater JV was better able to control quality and safety. Prefabrication enables users to access the bridge constantly, with limited disruption only at night. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption, constructibility |
| Photo Credits | California Department of Transportation |
Richville Road Bridge | |
| Location | Manchester |
| State | VT |
| Completion Date | 2001 |
| Contact Person | Lee Krohn, Town of Manchester, (802) 362-1313 |
| Description | This single-span bridge 69 ft. long and 32 ft. 8 in. wide has a concrete deck on steel girders. The superstructure of the Richville Road Bridge in the Town of Manchester, Vermont, was in poor condition, but the existing abutments were in good enough shape to be reused with only minimal repairs. The Town limited bridge closure time to 14 days and then compared chose bridge prefabrication after comparing costs. Bridge designers chose total superstructure prefabrication with the Inverset SystemTM constructed off-site and transported to the site on trucks and lifted into place by a crane. Each of three prefabricated units consisted of two rolled beams with a precast reinforced concrete bridge deck. In place, the three units provided a complete superstructure except for the sheet membrane, paving, curb, and railing. Richville Road was closed for only the specified 14 days. Use of total superstructure prefabrication saved the Town of Manchester approximately $20,000 over conventional construction plus a temporary bridge. Use of prefabrication enabled Dubois & King, Inc., to meet the Town of Manchester's 14-day closure requirement. In addition, the contractor received the American Consulting Engineers Council of Vermont's 2001 Grand Award for Engineering Excellence in Transportation for design of the bridge. Because of the prefabrication, bridge users avoided a lengthy detour with its resulting traffic disruption, travel costs, and time delays. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption |
| Photo Credits | Vermont Department of Transportation |
Route 57 over Wolf River | |
| Location | Fayette County |
| State | TN |
| Completion Date | 1999 |
| Contact Person | Edward P. Wasserman P.E. Tennessee Department of Transportation Phone: (615) 741-3351 Email: Ed.Wasserman@state.tn.us |
| Description | The Wolf River Bridge in Fayette County, Tennessee, crosses sensitive wetlands and carries the only east-west route through its geographic region. For the 20-span replacement bridge, the Tennessee Department of Transportation chose staged construction, maintaining one lane of traffic with timed signals. TDOT designers selected precast prestressed beams to facilitate speedy construction and allowed optional stay-in-place precast prestressed concrete deck forms. TDOT and the contractor developed details for precasting bent caps in two pieces to suit staged construction. Construction of the 1,408-foot long, 46-foot wide bridge was completed in eleven months without putting any equipment in the surrounding wetlands. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | partial, pier |
| Other Keywords | Precast bent caps; precast prestressed concrete stay-in-place deck forms; precast prestressed I beams; steel pipe piles,precast deck panels with topping slab,precast prestressed I-beams,precast pretensioned partial-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized environmental disruption by eliminating the need to place equipment in surrounding wetlands, and minimized traffic disruption of an important east-west corridor. |
| Contract Elements | "A" plus "B" format was used. The "A" portions of the bids reflected prices for construction items. The "B" portion required the contractor to identify the number of calendar days needed to complete construction, which was then multiplied by a pre-determined price per day established by the owner. |
| Photo Credits | Tennessee Department of Transportation |
Route 7 over Route 50 | |
| Location | Fairfax County |
| State | VA |
| Completion Date | 1999 |
| Contact Person | Nicholas J. Roper P.E. Virginia Department of Transportation Phone: (703) 383-2117 Email: Nicholas.Roper@VirginiaDOT.org |
| Description | Replacement of the Route 7 over Route 50 bridges in Fairfax County required VirginiaDOT to replace approximately 14,000 square feet of deteriorating bridge deck. VirginiaDOT opted to use precast deck panels to satisfy community concerns about reductions in the level of service. Operating only at night, crews saw cut sections of the existing deck, lifted and removed them by crane, and immediately installed new deck panels that matched the deck cavity. They then placed a rapid-setting concrete overlay that supported full traffic after only three hours of curing. The bridge was completely open to traffic during the day. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Precast deck panels (lightweight) |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption by reducing construction time and minimized equipment needed and dead load on the existing structure. |
| Photo Credits | Virginia Department of Transportation |
Route 9/Metro North Pedestrian Bridge | |
| Location | Croton-on-the-Hudson |
| State | NY |
| Completion Date | 1998 |
| Contact Person | George A. Christian P.E. Acting Director Structures Design and Construction Division New York State Department of Transportation State Campus Building 5, 6th Floor 1220 Washington Avenue Albany NY 12232 Phone: (518) 457-6827 Fax: (518) 485-7826 Email: Gchristian@gw.dot.state.ny.us |
| Description | Building a pedestrian bridge in the village of Croton-on-the-Hudson involved site restrictions, a requirement for aesthetic design, and the need to limit disruption on a heavily traveled highway and a major commuter railroad. NYSDOT chose two commercial prefabricated composite superstructure spans with concrete parapets to bridge the 4-lane highway, service road, and five sets of railroad tracks. Twelve-inch diameter precast piles support 3-section piers made of precast boxes stacked vertically and post-tensioned to a cast-in-place concrete footing. Ramps are 35-foot-long precast concrete units and 20-foot precast stair sections, supported directly on precast columns with cast-in-place seats. Precast concrete's many available architectural treatments enabled meeting project aesthetic goals. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Precast prestressed concrete/steel superstructure units; precast box pier units; precast prestressed cylinder piles; precast ramp sections; precast stair sections; precast crash walls;concrete cylinder pile,precast box piers,precast prestressed deck composite units,prefabricated total superstructure,total superstructure prefabrication,totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Improved constructibility and minimized disruption of traffic by reducing the staging area required and reducing construction time, Minimized traffic disruption. |
| Photo Credits | New York State Department of Transportation |
SH 249/Louetta Road Overpass | |
| Location | Houston |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 1994 |
| Contact Person | Mary Lou Ralls P.E. State Bridge Engineer Bridge Division Texas Department of Transportation 125 E. 11th Street Austin TX 78701-2483 Phone: (512) 416-2183 Fax: (512) 416-3144 Email: mralls@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | In the early 1990's Texas State Highway 249 was upgraded from a four-lane, at-grade road to a limited-access freeway. Consequently, two overpass structures were built at Louetta Road to carry three lanes in each direction, plus shoulders and ramp transitions. The superstructure consists of simple-span pretensioned trapezoidal-shaped 54-inch U-beams as well as precast pretensioned deck panels supported on the U-beams' top flanges with a cast-in-place composite concrete topping. The bridges are three spans each, nominally 130 ft. per span. At the interior bents, each beam is supported by a single post-tensioned pier. All beams and piers were designed and fabricated using high-performance/high-strength concrete. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | partial, substructure |
| Other Keywords | Precast pretensioned partial-depth deck panels, precast post-tensioned piers, pretensioned U-beams,precast prestressed U-beams |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
SH 36 over Lake Belton | |
| Location | Near Waco |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 2004 |
| Contact Person | Lloyd M. Wolf P.E. Design Branch Manager Bridge Division Texas Department of Transportation 125 E. 11th Street Austin TX 78701 Phone: (512) 416-2279 Fax: (512) 416-2557 Email: lwolf@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | Because of fluctuating water surface elevations on the lake and uncertainties about performance of underwater precast column joints, designers chose a cast-in-place twin-column arrangement for replacement of the Lake Belton bridge. Twin bridges will be 3,840 feet long with 62 identical precast interior bent caps. The hammerhead bents will be some of the highest-moment-demand cap-to-column connections used yet with precast caps in Texas, presenting new design challenges. TxDOT bridge designers are developing design procedures extended for high-moment-demand connections. TxDOT has funded a 2002 Research Implementation Project to adapt and implement guidelines for multi-column bent cap connections to single-column, high-moment-demand connections and to continue development of specifications addressing grout placement, segregation, and durability. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | partial, pier |
| Other Keywords | Precast bent caps; precast prestressed deck panels; precast prestressed U-beams,precast deck panels with topping slab,precast pretensioned partial-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Constructibility: A primary source of water for Waco and an important flood control resource for the area, Lake Belton's water level is highly variable, as much as 48 ft, reaching as high as the bottom of the bridge's beams on occasion. Using precast components limits construction dependence on the lake level. |
| Related Document 1 | Interior Bent with Precast Cap and High-Moment Connection (PDF, 1.1 mb) HTML Version: |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
SH 361 over Redfish Bay and Morris-Cummings Cut | |
| Location | Aransas County |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 1994 |
| Contact Person | Lloyd M. Wolf P.E. Design Branch Manager Bridge Division Texas Department of Transportation 125 E. 11th Street Austin TX 78701 Phone: (512) 416-2279 Fax: (512) 416-2557 Email: lwolf@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | This project required construction of two bridges over Redfish Bay (2,020 ft.) and the Morris-Cummings Cut (415 ft.), posing the challenge of over water work on the Texas Gulf Coast. The design included precast piling as well as a precast double-tee superstructure with 44 identical bent caps, which the contractor requested to precast. Bent caps were fabricated in Corpus Christi and used epoxy-coated reinforcing to protect against corrosion in the marine environment. They were transported by barge to the bridge site and then lifted into place over epoxy-coated reinforcing steel hairpin bars embedded in the piling to form the connections. The interface between pile and the bottom of the cap was sealed, and concrete was placed through the slot in the top of the cap to complete the connection. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | partial, pier |
| Other Keywords | Precast bent caps; precast piling,precast concrete piles/columns,precast deck panels with topping slab,precast pretensioned partial-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Constructibility: Using precast caps limited the amount of time required for over water work on the Texas Gulf Coast. Minimized Traffic Disruption: Using precast caps reduced project duration by about 40%. |
| Related Document 1 | Precast Bent Caps for SH 361 over Redfish Bay and Morris-Cummings Cut (PDF, 0.5 mb) HTML Version: |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
SH 66 over Lake Ray Hubbard | |
| Location | Near Dallas |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | Lloyd M. Wolf P.E. Design Branch Manager Bridge Division Texas Department of Transportation 125 E. 11th Street Austin TX 78701 Phone: (512) 416-2279 Fax: (512) 416-2557 Email: lwolf@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | After 40 years of service, the narrow two-lane crossing of SH 66 over Lake Ray Hubbard had become a congested route for commuters in the suburbs east of Dallas and needed to be replaced. In 2000, construction began on a pair of conventional prestressed concrete I beam bridges with lengths of 10,280 and 4,360 feet. After the project was let for construction, the contractor asked to precast the substructure bent caps as an alternative to the original design of cast-in-place multi-column bents to reduce the amount of time the workers would need to operate near power lines. TxDOT designed a precast bent cap option that included a cap-to-column connection and a specific construction procedure that allowed early placement of caps and prestressed beams based on achieved cap concrete and cap grout connection strength. The connection design included reinforcing steel dowel bars that protrude from the columns into the precast caps via open plastic ducts that are grouted after cap placement. On this project a total of 43 bent caps will be precast. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | partial, pier |
| Other Keywords | Precast bent caps; precast prestressed deck panels; precast prestressed I-beams |
| Advantages | Work zone safety: reduced amount of time required for work near power lines and reduced work time overwater (80% of work on caps was done on the ground).; Minimized traffic disruption: Using precast caps produced a saving of 5-7 days per cap, distributed across activities associated with formwork, curing, steel, inspection, and bearing seats.; Improved constructibility. |
| Related Document 1 | Precast Bent Cap Column (Square and Round) Drawings (PDF, 0.6 mb) HTML Version: |
| Related Document 2 | Precast Bent Cap Detail Drawings (PDF, 0.9 mb) HTML Version: |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
SH 66 over Mitchell Gulch | |
| Location | SH 66 over Mitchell Gulch between Franktown and Castle Rock |
| State | CO |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | Wes Goff P.E. Phone: (303) 757-9116 Email: wes.goff@dot.state.co.us |
| Description | Originally designed as 3 box culverts, the Colorado Department of Transportation accepted a value-engineering proposal for this replacement bridge to minimize traffic impact. The alternate structure has a single span with side-by-side precast slab girders welded onto precast abutments and wings welded to driven-steel H piles. Piles were driven in advance outside the existing bridge. Railing was precast into the outside girders. Except for the steel H-pile supports, the entire bridge substructure was composed of precast concrete elements. Each abutment consisted of a lower and upper backwall unit. Each of the four wingwalls for the bridge was a separate precast piece. The precast substructure units were attached in the field by welding together embedded plates precast into the elements. The bridge superstructure consisted of eight precast deck girder units each 5'-4" wide, 1'-6" deep, and 38'-4" long. The deck girders were placed on the completed abutments and then transversely post-tensioned and grouted together. The outside deck girders were constructed with integrated bridge railing to avoid the need for a separate railing installation operation in the field. Construction detours as a result of this project were reduced by the value-engineering proposal from an estimated two-to-three months to less than 48 hours. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | total |
| Other Keywords | Precast railing, precast retaining walls,totally prefabricated bridges |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic impact, improved work-zone safety by reducing work-zone time from several months to a weekend. |
| Related Document 1 | Construction Photos (PDF, 0.4 mb) HTML Version |
| Photo Credits | Colorado Department of Transportation |
Troy-Menands Bridge | |
| Location | Between the City of Troy and the Village of Menands in Rensselaer and Albany Counties |
| State | NY |
| Completion Date | 1995 |
| Contact Person | Timothy Conway P.E. Regional Structures Engineer Region One New York State Department of Transportation Phone: (518) 473-0497 Email: TConway@gw.dot.state.ny.us |
| Description | The Troy-Menands Bridge carries Route 378 over the Hudson river in Rensselaer and Albany Counties. The structure supplies access to local businesses in both counties as well as area colleges, and more than 36,000 vehicles cross it daily. Work of any kind on this structure is usually confined to off-peak hours for one-lane closures night-only hours for multiple-lane or total closures. When the badly deteriorating bridge deck needed to be replaced, the project was challenged to avoid impacting the travelling public to a significant degree. An around-the-clock detour was not feasible because of potential congestion for alternate crossings, especially during peak hour flows. New York State Department of Transportation's Region One Office opted to use precast deck panels, offering two precast options, and to require the contractor to complete the work during the hours of 10 pm to 6 am, closing only three of the four lanes. The contractor chose exodermic precast concrete deck panels using lightweight concrete, which increased the load-carrying capacity of the floor beams of the structure and made the panels more manageable and maneuverable during construction. The contractor was required to remove a portion of the deck, prepare it for the precast panel, install the new panel, and fill the joints with joint material. After a short learning period, the contractor was able to install six panels--just over 900 square feet of deck area--per night. Traffic was never delayed during the morning rush hour, and the contractor was never fined for late openings. Today the deck is still in very good shape some seven years after completion. |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Exodermic deck panels,full-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption: Work occurred at night when traffic volume was low, with lanes open to full traffic by morning commuting hours. |
| Contract Elements | The contract assessed penalties for failing to open the bridge to traffic by 6 am of $10,000 per hour. |
US 27 over Pitman Creek | |
| Location | Somerset |
| State | KY |
| Completion Date | 1993 |
| Contact Person | Steve Goodpaster P.E. Director, Division of Bridge Design Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Phone: (502) 564-4560 Email: Steve.Goodpaster@mail.state.ky.us |
| Description | The 700-foot bridge carrying US 27 over Pitman Creek in southern Kentucky is heavily used by vehicle and truck traffic and provides a major north-south road for the area. When the bridge deck needed to be replaced, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet opted to do the work at night, keeping two lanes open during the day and one lane open at night. Using proprietary full-depth deck panels allowed modular construction, greatly minimizing traffic impacts as well as providing some weight savings by lightening the dead load on the truss. Project work was performed at night, with traffic routed to one lane at 6:00 pm and opened back to two lanes at 6:00 am. The slab between floor beams (25 feet) was removed and replaced with the full-depth deck panels. Using high-early-strength concrete allowed the joints between deck panels to be poured and opened to traffic next morning. |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Full-depth deck panels, New Jersey barrier railing,full-depth deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption. |
US 290 Ramp E-3 | |
| Location | Austin |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 1996 |
| Contact Person | Gregg A. Freeby P.E. Design Branch Manager Bridge Division Texas Department of Transportation 125 E. 11th Street Austin TX 78701 Phone: (512) 416-2192 Fax: (512) 416-2557 Email: gfreeby@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | After the contract had been let and work started, it became clear that formwork for the proposed cast-in-place cap would interfere with traffic and require closing of the ramp for an estimated 7 days. With TxDOT's approval, the contractor instead precast the straddle bent cap at the work site and lifted it into position. When it was in place, workers post-tensioned bars and grouted the cap-to-column connections. The time necessary for closure of the ramp was reduced from an estimated 7 days to 4 hours. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | pier |
| Other Keywords | Precast bent cap,precast bent caps |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption: The time necessary for closure of the ramp was reduced from an estimated 7 days to 4 hours. |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
US 59 under Dunlavy, Hazard, Mandel and Woodhead Streets | |
| Location | Houston |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 1995 |
| Contact Person | John P. Vogel P.E. Bridge Design Engineer Houston District Texas Department of Transportation 8100 Washington Avenue Houston TX 77251-1386 Phone: (713) 802-5235 Fax: (713) 802-5350 Email: jvogel1@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | In the mid-1990's, widening of US 59 from six to ten lanes, including two high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, required replacement of bridges connecting streets in four Houston neighborhoods. Project challenges included neighborhood displeasure with proposed disruptions during on-site construction and restrictive clearances beneath the bridges. To maintain freeway traffic under the bridges and allow city street traffic over US 59 while removing and replacing the bridges, TxDOT provided attractive tied arch bridges, structures that suspend a thin slab from two tied arches 45 feet apart. The existing bridges were used as work platforms for erecting the arches, and the slabs were precast in segments and then bolted to erection beams to eliminate the need for falsework under the bridge during construction. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | full |
| Other Keywords | Precast prestressed deck panels |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption and improved constructibility: Restrictive clearances beneath the bridges made construction of falsework difficult without closing US 59. |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |
Wells Street Bridge | |
| Location | Chicago |
| State | IL |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | Thomas Powers, P.E.; Chicago Department of Transportation, (312) 744-3591 |
| Description | This bridge with 3 spans (111-ft. center span) is a steel through truss in the city center. Part of a large project to rebuild Chicago's Wacker Drive involved rebuilding an 1899 steel bridge for the Chicago Transit Authority's elevated trains. The original specification required rebuilding the bridge in section on weekends in one month; however, the bridge owner approved the contractor's value-engineering proposal to pre-build the bridge and then moved it into position over a single weekend. The center span was constructed near the site and moved on a special hydraulic carrier about 75 ft. west and 5 ft. north, where it was placed on new foundations and connected to two shorter spans on either side. In spite of stiff contractual penalties for any delay ($1,000/minute), work was completed over a weekend in May 2002 with 2 hours to spare. The 425-ton, 111 ft. long and 25 ft. high center-span superstructure was prefabricated. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) avoided significant disruption to travelers commuting into the city from the north. CTA would have had to provide additional, costly shuttle services. Prefabrication allowed Walsh Construction to operate in a more controlled environment and to avoid the major shoring effort that would have accompanied rebuilding the existing structure while keeping it open for weekday traffic, thus limiting company liability for financial penalties. The use of prefabrication reduced disruption to vehicle drivers from 6 months to a single weekend; it reduced disruption to transit users from four to six weekends to a single weekend. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | total superstructure prefabrication |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption |
| Photo Credits | Chicago Department of Transportation |
Wesley Street Bridge | |
| Location | Ragsdale Creek in Jacksonville |
| State | TX |
| Completion Date | 2002 |
| Contact Person | Steven Hall P.E. Texas Department of Transportation Phone: (903) 586-9878 Email: shall3@dot.state.tx.us |
| Description | One of only two routes into or out of a populated housing community, Wesley Street crosses Ragsdale Creek in Jacksonville, Texas. When the bridge required replacement, TxDOT opted for accelerated construction to facilitate opening the bridge to traffic. Work on the project began in October 2001 and completed in January 2002. |
| Photo | ![]() |
| Prefabricated Elements | superstructure |
| Other Keywords | Precast prestressed slab beams |
| Advantages | Minimized traffic disruption, reducing inconvenience to local commuters. |
| Photo Credits | Texas Department of Transportation |




















































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