Shaving a bridge of more than a hundred years paves the way for a new scale

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Built between 1898 and 1900, the North Washington Street Bridge in Boston was demolished and replaced through J. F. White Contracting Co. through a contract of more than $177 million awarded through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

The 1,089-foot-long, 66-foot wide bridge with flat-beam bridge accesses, a stretch of rotating lattice and a total of 12 sections (two lanes in the direction, with a sidewalk on the side) had been maintained across the city of Boston. The old bridge, which crossed the Charles River, carried more than 38,400 cars and trucks a day.

“After more than a hundred years of service, we are replacing the North Washington Street Bridge with a new bridge for the 21st century,” MassDOT said. “The new bridge will be a complete street over the water that paints for everyone: other people who drive, take the bus, ride a bike, walk, visit, sail and live nearby, whether they are walking down freedom trail for dinner in the North End, taking a bus from Chelsea or Charlestown, taking their children to school or kayaking in the harbor , the North Washington Street Bridge is a key component of life, but it is suffering to meet one’s goals: Central Bay has been closed since 2003, and since the fall of 2017, emergency maintenance underway in the city of Boston has extra limited runways. There are plans for a well-deserved retirement. “

The bridge was reconfigured and repaired several times to increase its service life, adding the permanent closure of its pivot leg in 1961, the removal of the elevated orange line in 1977 and the closure of the Central Bay in 2003.

In its current state, adding emergency repairs, the bridge costs the city between $3 million and $5 million annually to remain operational safely, and MassDOT has decided that the bridge will need to be replaced to ensure long-term security and accessibility. viability.

MassDOT and the Federal Highway Administration budget for the project.

Work began in August 2018 and is expected to be completed in spring 2023. So far, the crews have finished demolishing the old bridge, moving the Paul Revere playground out of the allocation barriers and utilities. towards a transitional application bridge, the removal of the west sidewalk and the structure of a lot of nearly 1000 square feet of long transitority bridge between the existing stretch and Charles River Dam and Locks, in the Boston Harbor aspect of the old bridge, at an 11-foot. 11-foot-wide lane for exercise line MBTA 2 2. Wide traffic lanes for cars and 8 foot structure. wide-looking walk.

As a component of Stage 2, from July 2020 to November 2021, traffic for vehicles and pedestrians veered towards the transitority bridge between July 17 and 19, and the demolition of the old bridge and the structure of a new bridge, with the exception of the southwest corner. next to Prince Park Street and tennis courts, is underway.

<< Once completed, the bridge will offer two inbound traffic lanes and two traffic lanes to pass for general traffic, a lane reserved for incoming buses, the first on a bridge in the Boston area, separating pedestrians and cyclists on either side of the design, panoramic views towards the port and Charles River, and planting a "full street over the water," according to MassDOT. "The design will also allow water flow and situations for boaters by reducing the number of springs in the water from 12 to five and expanding the navigation channel to 141 feet. "

The paintings are also wide sidewalks and an advanced Freedom Trail, seats and lighting.

Boston and MassDOT conducted a joint plan-making procedure from 2004 to 2017 that included coordination with local, state and federal agencies and broad public awareness of the design of the new bridge, adding well-attended public meetings in 2016, 2016, 2018 and some held last June and July.

The plans and design of the new bridge ended before the structure began through architect Miguel Rosales in collaboration with Alfred Benesch.

MassDOT and Boston presented monetary incentives to inspire completion.

The traffic plan includes lane reconfigurations and closures, motorcycle lanes and sidewalks with a well-organized crusade through social media and Internet sites to alert motorists, citizens and businesses in the domain to the long-term structure and impacts of traffic. bridge for demolition and restructuring.

Construction of the transitional bridge began in May 2019 and was completed last April. Open to traffic last summer (July 17), it will remain in place for approximately two years until the new bridge is built. Similar structures have been built for previous MassDOT projects as the Fore River initiative in Medford.

The bridge has two lanes to Keany Square and one exit lane to City Square, which is comparable to the summer 2017 stage, when emergency maintenance was required for the layout of the old bridge. Streets.

The bridge, according to MassDOT, gets rid of Stage 1B (one lane in the direction), rushes the structure for about six months and the demolition of the bridge and the installation of 40 drilled wells; Eliminates the need for a easel adjacent to Charlestown Marina; Reduces the number of significant adjustments for traffic and pedestrians (from five to three), lane closure at night, and desire to use the structurally poor bridge for traffic; and offers a new public playground away from the active structure site

“The maximum allowed noise grades are specified in the contract, which vary by time of day, with the lowest degrees allowed at night,” MassDOT said. “There are additional needs and provisions for dust, hazardous materials, water quality, rodents and other possible effects of construction”

The initial plan to complete the structure in several phases.

“The MassDOT contractor has proposed a plan to reduce the number of stages of the structure and the final touch time of the contract through the structure of a transit vehicle and a pedestrian bridge and is in use,” said Kristen Pennucci, Communications Director at MassDOT. << The most demanding situations were the temporary relocation of all utilities to a separate transitional bridge in view of a critical time period, so as not to delay the project schedule and uninterrupted service to customers, which was achieved. Another was to download all mandatory permits Work began on the west side with removal of the existing bridge sidewalk and partial removal of the LoveJoy Bridge below (next to the Converse structure), to begin the structure of the transitority and vehicle application bridges. "

Many cranes were used to demolish the existing bridge and install the new structure.

“Manitowoc cranes, such as the Manitowoc 4100 Ringer, were used for demolition operations, while Manitowoc 999 Series 3 cranes will be used to install the basic elements of the bridges and, in all likelihood, a Manitowoc 4600 Ringer to install a new permanent steel structure. Pennucci said. ” These cranes have brought flexibility and power in the wear and tear of these activities on such a giant scale. “

The demolition of the old bridge began in June, first the rotating vain was removed, then efforts focused on the superstructure, the central pillar that held the rotating vain and the rest of the granite and concrete piles that held the constant shafts.

The heaviest effort of the demolition was the removal of the superstructure and the pillars Effort a 24/7 operation that included affects at the stop, with demolition shifts between 0700 and 10 pm and the rest of the time used to position barges and other devices for the next day’s work.

Environmental monitoring performed through an external controller in accordance with all applicable, state and federal authorizations and regulations.

Proactive dust shields included water to minimize emissions and cut sections of the tray with a rain saw. To protect the marine surroundings of the Charles River/Boston Harbor, controlled demolitions have been made and some activities have been limited due to fish lifts.

“The existing bridge was originally built between 1898 and 1900 and underwent a primary overhaul in 1950,” said Colin O’Hearn, PE, Atlantic Coast Decommissioning Project Manager / Senior Estimator. “The existing rotating farms and technical beams were all original. The existing batteries in the water were built with granite blocks on concrete soles. We used a Manitowoc 4100 chime on a barge to remove giant sections of the existing rotating beam. One time As the farm got rid of, we got rid of the existing concrete pad and silt from the existing bridge.

“Once they got rid of the platform and spars, the plate beams were removed with the ringtone,” he added. “As soon as the concrete pillars in the water were opened after the metal was removed, we started hammering and once the pillars were underwater, we used underwater kits for hydraulic hammers. We used our multibeath sonar, performing bathymetric lifts as demolition progressed to ensure that all base elements were removed within the limits provided by MassDOT. “

O’Hearn noted that the demolition was over earlier than planned.

“Originally, JFWhite provided us with a seven-month schedule,” he said. “After some delays in opening the transitional bridge, we were asked if we could speed up the schedule to 12 weeks. With. “

Stage 3, from November 2021 to August 2022, will focus on the demolition and structure of the southwest corner of the bridge next to Prince Street Park and tennis courts, with vehicle and pedestrian traffic changed to the east side of the new bridge. from September 2022 to February 2023, you will see the removal of the transitority bridge and the final touch of sidewalks, landscaping, backs and barriers.

Lead removal and asbestos coverage measures have also been implemented. .

Most paintings take place during the day (from four to . m. 3 p. m. ), with night paintings between 10 p. m. and four a. m.

Construction of the new bridge began in early October, a ship will be installed for the new batteries, followed by the installation of drilled wells and superstructure works.

Busy days have 60 J. F. White and on-site subcontractors, Trevi Icos for drilled wells, Regis Steel Corporation for Rebar Steel, Saugus Construction Corp. for steel installation. Prime Coatings Inc. for bridge representation and Aptus Group USA for plumbing services.

Hull Bay Steel Structures manufactured the metal structure used for the bridge.

Concrete, metal and asphalt calculations generated by bridge demolition and other excavation operations are still being calculated, and quantities of new fabrics – concrete, metal, asphalt and others – have been finalized.

For demolition, ACD used: cranes: a Manitowoc 4100 ring crane on a barge of 70 feet by 180 feet and a Lima 2400B service cycle crane with dumpster; padel rackets – Cat (335, 328, 349, 374 and 390) and Komatsu PC1250; Hydraulic hammers NPK (GH-40 and GH-50); barges of other sizes; ACD bought a Krypto Klaw bucket for concrete foundations more efficiently.

The device is maintained through ACD master mechanics on site.

“We had a full-time mechanic on site to make sure all the appliances worked efficiently,” O’Hearn said. “Our workshop is less than 10 miles from the site, so we were also able to mobilize more mechanics if needed. As the maximum of the appliance is constantly greased, we have not noticed any effect of salt water.

Sterling Equipment. ACD’s corporate rental device has a spud barge, hardware barge and flexible floats. ACD also has a 400 hp boat pusher, paint canisters and a Scully equipped with a multi-row sonar.

J. F. White uses and will use: cranes, excavators, bulldozers, loaders, finishers, rollers, barges and tugs, and other structure devices. J. F. White buys and rents appliances from local and regional distributors. Ceg

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