Beaver River Bridge Replacement

Cast-In-Place Segmental Bridge Enables Efficient Construction Over Difficult Terrain

Project Highlights

• 2-miles of roadway and bridge construction will increase travel lanes and improve safety with three travel lanes in either direction with modernized shoulders & medians
• 1.8 million cubic yards of class 1 excavation to prepare the 264-acre site
• Construction of two mainline bridges crossing the Beaver River, CSX railroad tracks and Norfolk Southern railroad tracks
  • Each 5-span bridge is 1,645 ft in length and 70 ft wide
  • Each bridge will carry three 12-foot travel lanes, and on and off-lane ramps with shoulders adequate for emergency pull overs
  • The new bridge structures will be 200 ft above the river, 20 ft higher than the existing structures
  • Due to the height of the bridges and the terrain/structures underneath, cast-in-place segmental construction will be performed
• Construction of a single-span 150 ft bridge over SR 18 and an 80 ft precast culvert extension
• Reconfiguration of the I-76/SR 18 interchange to a half cloverleaf/half diamond ramp system, with traffic lights added at the ramps on SR 18

Challenge

The Beaver River Bridge Replacement project is the largest contract in Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission history, which was seeking a solution to efficiently replace a steel-deck bridge with two modern, wider bridge structures to carry motorists and commercial trucks over the Beaver River and CSX and Norfolk Southern railroad lines. The current steel deck truss bridge is one of the oldest original structures on the PA Turnpike and spans a wide and steep river valley. The Commission required a solution enabling traffic to continue flowing with minimal detours throughout construction.
 

Solutions

A recognized industry leader in design-build, value engineering and accelerated construction delivery methods, Fay is replacing the original steel-truss bridge with a concrete structure by building two parallel cast-in-place segmental bridges. Segmental bridges offer a variety of benefits, including a reduction of the footprint required to construct piers, superstructures that can easily travel over natural hazards and landmarks, and a flexible bridge radius.

Segmental bridges are unusual to Pennsylvania and more common in Israel, where our parent company, Shikun & Binui Ltd., is located. Due to their familiarity with the techniques used, Fay requested experienced individuals from Shikun & Binui Ltd. to aid us during construction.

Additionally, Fay built a culvert for a new stream under the Turnpike. Fay and a subcontractor used a tunnel boring machine (TBM) to finish a 250 ft-long tunnel for drainage. This tunnel was built 40 ft under live traffic on the PA Turnpike westbound of the bridge. The TBM drilled through solid rock, and a conveyor system on rails followed the TBM to gather and remove debris from the tunnel. This operation ran 24/7, which allowed the installation of 72-in reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) to form the culvert.

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Construction

In cast-in-place segmental construction, the concrete superstructure is built directly on the substructure in short segments using a traveling form to mold each segment. Once each segment is completed, the form is disassembled and reattached to the end of the new segment to build the next section.

To support the new bridges, Fay constructed four of the eight piers in the Beaver River and the other four on land. The new bridge abutments were completed simultaneously, while all other work on the structures will start with the westbound (WB) structure and end with the eastbound (EB) structure.

Starting with the WB structure, Fay will build the segmental bridges using a balanced cantilever construction process. Starting on pier tables, workers will use the form travelers to cast 22, 15-ft segments per pier before joining them together in a closure pour. A total of 176 segments will be cast to construct both bridges. This work will be completed at a height of over 200 ft above the river.

The new WB bridge will open to traffic first while the old bridge will continue to serve the EB traffic. Once both new bridges have been completed, the project will conclude with final roadway activities and the demolition of all old bridge structures.

During construction, I-76 will be widened to reconfigure the I-76 and SR 18 interchange, including construction of ramps and one smaller, single-span bridge replacement. The northern section of the new interchange will be completed first, and it will tie into the new I-76 WB roads. After both the new WB and EB bridges are open to traffic, the southern section of the interchange will then be completed, tying in with the new I-76 EB roads. Once the interchange has been completed in full, all roads will be reopened to traffic by November of 2026.

Read more about the construction of this project in an article from the Pittsburgh Union Progress.
 

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