Accelerated Bridge Construction
Highway and rail owners are constantly seeking a new and improved way of doing business in the bridge construction arena. This new way of doing business, for highway owners, referred to as accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is in response to two major issues associated with traditional methods of performing bridge construction. First, the bridge infrastructure is aging and is subsequently in need of rehabilitation and replacement. Second, traffic demand has grown tremendously without a corresponding increase in capacity. The result is an increasingly high level of congestion. Construction projects, especially large construction projects simply compound traffic problems during lengthy construction periods. The traveling public demands high quality, longer-lasting bridges, but they want any construction-related activity completed quickly.
The benefits of ABC methods include not only reduced closure time and a compressed construction schedule, but enhanced quality and increased safety for facility users and construction workers as well. Accelerated construction is a means to achieve the reconstruction or replacement of major bridges while minimizing delay and community disruption. However, accelerated construction is not simply "building things faster." Rather, it includes a range of techniques, processes, and technologies to achieve the desired result of reducing congestion due to construction while improving quality. Accelerated bridge construction methods include the following:
Innovative Construction Methods
- Incremental Launching
- Superstructure Roll-In
- Superstructure Float-In
- Superstructure Lift-In
- Superstructure Placement utilizing self-propelled modular transports (SPMTs)
Prefabricated Bridges and Components
- Precast Bent Caps
- Precast Columns
- Precast Deck Panels
- Precast Barriers
- Prefabricated Trusses
The concept of fabricating entire bridge spans off-site and moving them into place with barges or self-propelled modular transports (SPMTs) is not new to Modjeski and Masters. We have used some of these ABC methods for decades, even before they became the subject of recent FHWA and other transportation agency endorsements.
Contact us to learn how we can help your agency.
