Tom Warne Report, 24 August 2012
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has introduced a new process by using a giant automated machine to move finished bridges into position and cut overall road closure time by two months. MnDOT first used the machine called a Self-Propelled Modular Transporter on August 18 over I-35E in St. Paul at the Maryland Avenue Bridge site. Crews have been working there all summer to build the bridge deck and structure on the west side of the road.
The bridge has two 105-foot spans, constructed about 1,000 feet away from the crossing. The SPMT uses 352 wheels to move the spans into place and took about 2 hours for each one. Minnesota’s pilot demonstration of SPMT technology cut about two months off road closures in St. Paul. Crews in Arizona and Utah have used the technology to cut highway construction road closure times in half.
“With traditional construction methods, the Maryland Bridge would have been closed for twice as long, nearly four months,” said MnDOT Commissioner Tom Sorel. “Instead, the closure will be reduced to about 60 days.” MnDOT crews have additional work to complete before the bridge opens to traffic in mid-September.
This Self-Propelled Modular Transporter was used to replace a bridge over I-35E in St. Paul with fewer road closures.