90 80 6
OHIO STATE EDITION
A Supplement to:
422
6 80 24
6
4
71
76
199 30 30 75
68
30 77
71 23 22 68
4
70 70
70
22 71
75
77
27
March 26 2016
22 74
50
50 25
Vol. XVIII • No. 7
35
52
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Ohio Connection: Ed Bryden, Strongsville, OH • 1-800-810-7640
Project Linking Ohio, Ky. Reaches 80 Percent Completion By Irwin Rapoport CEG CORRESPONDENT
Built in 1922 to link Ironton, Ohio, and Russell, Ky., the Ironton-Lawrence Bridge spanning the Ohio River levee, six rail lines and city streets is being replaced by the Ohio Department of Transportation via an $81.4 million contract that was awarded to the Brayman Construction Corporation. The work began on March 5, 2012, which has the new bridge placed between Second and Jefferson streets in Ironton and the U.S. 23 viaduct south of Russell. The current bridge is slated for demolition after the construction of the new bridge is completed. The demolition will occur between the summer and fall of 2017. The project is being funded by ODOT’s major new bridge program. In 1982, the State Bridge Commission transferred control of the bridge to ODOT. Since then, the bridge has undergone several repair projects and in-depth inspections. The bridge, under federal definitions, was deemed “functionally obsolete and structurally deficient” and identified for replacement in 1999. “The low ratings are due, in part, to the bridge’s structural integrity and the roadway deficiencies providing access to the bridge,” according to the Web page for the project. “In 1991, the legal load limit was reduced to 65 percent, and currently, its General Appraisal condition rating is a 4P. In 1999, a strain gage monitoring system was installed by the University of
The work began on March 5, 2012, which has the new bridge placed between Second and Jefferson streets in Ironton and the U.S. 23 viaduct south of Russell.
Cincinnati’s Infrastructure Institute to calculate the level of stress on selected bridge members.” A project study was launched beginning in 1999, and from that point forward, ODOT worked with the cities of Ironton and Russell and consultants from Baker & Associates to develop and design the project. “The decision to relocate it came out of involvement from both cities in which Ironton want-
ed a downtown approach and Russell wanted it at the viaduct,” said Kathleen Fuller, ODOT District 9’s public information officer. “After completing the Environmental Impact Statement and selecting a preferred alternative, the Federal Highway Administration authorized a Record of Decision for the project in 2003. However, the project was rejected for award at the time of bid letting in January 2006 due to
the unanticipated price escalation that put construction cost 10 percent above the state’s estimate and 22 percent over the allocated budget. In 2006, the bridge construction was tagged at $99 million, but cost savings were realized through the redesign process in which there were changes to the size and scope of the bridge, including going from a single-tower design to the twotower structure and the elimination
of a sidewalk. “In an effort to lower the cost, the project was returned for value engineering and redesign, and by late 2006,” said Fuller, “ODOT had enlisted the services of URS Greiner, which used some of the elements from the original design by Baker & Associates, to redesign the project.” The new bridge is being built as a two-lane, three-span cable-stayed bridge with reinforced concrete edge girder superstructure on the main span. Approximately 10,300 vehicles per day use the existing bridge, and the new bridge will carry a similar number. ODOT studied three other bridge types: suspension (traditional and self-anchored); Trusses (deck and thru); and Arches (true and tied). “Although some of these were advanced for further study and given consideration, the cablestayed design was selected due to construction cost, aesthetics, constructability, maintenance, serviceability and inspection,” said Fuller. The three spans that form the main span will measure 370, 900 and 370 ft. (112, 274 m) each, for a total length of 1,640 ft. (499 m), with a width of 32 ft. (9 m) The navigational clearance will be 805 ft. (259 m) The main span will consist of two Delta-shaped towers that are cast-in-place, reinforced concrete. The height will be 300.72 ft. (91 m) from the top of the towers to the river at normal pool, and 216.2 ft. (65 m) from the top of the towers to the deck at the base of the towers. see BRAYMAN page 2