Emergency Repairs at Amtrak’s Niantic River Bridge ■
By Anne Kutscher
On an unusually balmy Sunday, the first day of November 2009, Cianbro Corporation received an urgent call from Amtrak regarding an emergency repair they needed on the Niantic River Bridge in East Lyme, Connecticut. The chain which was designed to operate the bascule bridge had failed as the bridge was being lowered, causing the bascule to come crashing down and jump off the tracks. By 6:00 a.m. on Monday, Joe Orlando from Cianbro’s Portland, Maine office was meeting with Chet Muckenhirn (currently managing the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge project in New Haven, Connecticut) to discuss the plan of action for the repair. Cianbro had another opportunity to shine and to prove to Amtrak that the organization could rise to the challenge of an emergency repair around a live railroad, quickly and smoothly. With assistance from Alan Fisher, Joe designed a temporary structure to jack the bridge up safely. The plans were shipped off to the Cianbro Fabrication and Coating Corporation Facility in Pittsfield, Maine where crews led by Fod Sprague began 24 hour fabrication. While work was underway behind the scenes in Pittsfield, Mark Zagrobelny, Cianbro’s resident expert on mechanical lift bridges, joined forces with Andy Tower, General Fore-
A view of the track and moveable span after repairs
Yards’ office where Tom Popick and Jesse McVaney immediately filed the orders. Meanwhile, Staffer Colleen O’Hare developed a list of the five iron-
workers who would attempt to complete the repair work by Sunday, November 8th. The team of ironworkers consisted of Bill Adams, Chris Banker, Gary Guindon, Jeff Sargis, and Mike Ziolko. By the time
Niantic River Bridge
man in the Bloomfield Regional office, to put together a list of the tools and consumables that would be needed to complete the job. The list of materials was handed over to the Bloomfield Shops &
they arrived on site on Wednesday, the lift device had been fabricated and delivered. All the required equipment, tools, and consumables were on site, thanks to SNE’s Shops and Yards group. Jeff Collins had created a thorough safety plan, with all team members having gone through any necessary training prior to their arrival. On Friday, Amtrak personnel watched with keen interest as our team seamlessly jacked up the bridge and moved it back in order to allow the repair work to begin. Once the bridge was lifted, Cianbro crews went to work on the pintles and pockets that guide the bridge during openings and CIANBRO
closings. We sub-contracted American Engineering and Testing to perform inspections on the links of the chain. They found several links that needed to be repaired. By Sunday evening, all the repairs and inspections were completed on the bridge, and demobilization was scheduled for Monday. The smoothly orchestrated emergency repair job, led by Mike Bissonnette, would not have been possible without the teamwork and expertise of each Cianbro team that took part. By hitting the ball out of the park on this project, Cianbro showcased how the company can respond effectively to Amtrak’s emergency needs, and positioned our firm to discuss a potential Master Repair Service Agreement for Amtrak bridges from Maine to Maryland. Thanks go out to everyone involved in the project for their hard work and dedication.
✔ 1,041 Project Safe Hours
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