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PBES

Innovative Projects

By Elements and Systems: Decks

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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
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
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	Decks
Other Keywords	fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) deck panels
Advantages	Constructibility
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
Other Keywords	fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) deck panels
Advantages	Constructibility
Photo Credits	West Virginia Department of Transportation
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Bent caps; decks
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: Sheet 1 Sheet 2 Sheet 3
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
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
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	Decks
Other Keywords	precast deck panels (lightweight)
Advantages	Minimized traffic disruption, work-zone safety
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	Decks
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
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
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
Other Keywords	full-depth deck panels
Advantages	Minimized traffic disruption, constructibility, work-zone safety
Photo Credits	Washington State Department of Transportation
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
Other Keywords	fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) deck panels
Advantages	Constructibility
Photo Credits	West Virginia 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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Bent caps; decks
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
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
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Total substructure systems; decks
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Bent caps; decks
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: Sheet 1 Sheet 2 Sheet 3 Sheet 4 Sheet 5
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Bent caps; decks
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: Sheet 1 - Square Sheet 2 - Round
Related Document 2	Precast Bent Cap Detail Drawings (PDF, 0.9 mb) HTML Version: Sheet 1 Sheet 2 Sheet 3
Photo Credits	Texas Department of Transportation
Spur Overpass over AT&SF Railroad
Location	Downtown Lubbock
State	TX
Completion Date	1988
Contact Person	Michael Hyzak Bridge Design Engineer Texas Department of Transportation Phone: (512) 416-2184 Email: mhyzak@dot.state.tx.us
Description	Built in 1958, the SPUR (loop) 326 bridge at AT&SF Railway has a total length of 545 ft. and consists of two separate non-composite structures handling traffic travelling in the north-south directions. In 1986, the bridge underwent rehabilitation because of signs of early deck deterioration and a need to widen the roadway width to accommodate increasing traffic. The new deck is made of eight precast full-depth panels, each 6ft. 3 in. x 45 ft. x 8 in. and epoxied into place. The construction time was only a couple of days, a significantly shorter time than if the deck had been cast in place.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
Other Keywords	Precast full-depth deck panels,full-depth deck panels
Advantages	Minimized traffic disruption
Photo Credits	Texas 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	Decks
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	Decks
Other Keywords	Full-depth deck panels, New Jersey barrier railing,full-depth deck panels
Advantages	Minimized traffic disruption.
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
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
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.
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Prefabricated Elements	Decks
Other Keywords	Precast prestressed slab beams
Advantages	Minimized traffic disruption, reducing inconvenience to local commuters.
Photo Credits	Texas Department of Transportation