AASHTO Journal, 22 June 2012
A deteriorated bridge over a busy stretch of Route 9 in Wellesley, Mass., was replaced in just 62 hours to become the state’s fastest bridge replacement ever.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation set out to replace the almost 80-year-old bridge, a vital structure to the community. The bridge carried Cedar Street over Route 9, just west of the Route 9/Interstate 95 interchange. Cedar Street carries 16,000 vehicles per day over Route 9, and the bridge served as a pedestrian route for children walking to and from schools on both sides of the bridge.
MassDOT decided to once again use the accelerated bridge construction technique it had used the previous year for the Phillipston bridge project after seeing its success. MassDOT also used a design/build team to cut down on project delivery time, while implementing an incentive/disincentive contract for crews. Work began on the $3.71 million bridge during Independence Day weekend with the hope of finishing the entire process in 72 hours. This schedule was tight, as the Phillipston bridge project took roughly 112 hours to complete.
Even with the tight deadline, MassDOT completed the entire project — from demolition of the old bridge to opening up the new one — in just 62 hours, 50 fewer hours than MassDOT’s Phillipston bridge project. More than 100 members of the community were on hand to watch the new bridge move to its new home, while a citizen who had watched the original bridge built in 1936 became the first person to walk across the new bridge, immediately after it was moved into place.
A short video of the MassDOT’s rapid bridge replacement project is available at bit.ly/MassPOTWvideo.