Massachusetts Demonstration Project: Reconstruction of Fourteen Bridges on I-93 in Medford Using Accelerated Bridge Construction Techniques

As part of a national initiative sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration under the Highways for LIFE program, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) was awarded a $1 million grant to demonstrate the use of proven, innovative technologies to deliver a $91.0 million project in less time than conventional construction. This report documents the use of accelerated bridge construction techniques and Design-Build (D-B) contracting to replace 14 bridges on Interstate 93 in Medford, Middlesex County. The bridge superstructures were installed during a 55-hour weekend closure over 10 weekends between June 3 and August 15, 2011. This report describes project/site challenges, construction details, D-B contract administration, fabrication, shipping and installation of prefabricated modular steel elements, traffic operations management, and MassDOT’s extensive public outreach and communication efforts to minimize the impacts of weekend closure on I-93 motorists and adjacent detour routes. Under traditional construction methods, the project would have taken 48 months (4 years) to build all 14 bridges. With five stages of construction and the placement of single-lane closure, the project would have impacted I-93 traffic for the full 48 months. Using accelerated bridge construction and D-B contracting, the project was completed 39 months earlier, with only 550 hours of travel impacts to motorists. The D-B contracting allowed MassDOT to overlap design and construction phases and issue a notice to proceed for construction 17 months earlier than the anticipated issue date. The use of innovations resulted in savings of $1.75 million in construction costs and $8.45 million in user delay costs. The use of accelerated bridge construction instead of traditional staged and cast-in-place construction also resulted in user cost savings of approximately $136 million.

• Record URL:
  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/summary/pdf_2/MA%20I-93%20Fast-14%20Final%20Report_10_09_2014.pdf
• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54360
• Corporate Authors:

  Applied Research Associates, Incorporated

  100 Trade Center Drive, Suite 200
  Champaign, IL  United States  61820

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of Infrastructure
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Mallela, Jagannath
  • Sadasivam, Suri
  • Ullman, Jerry
• Publication Date: 2014-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 109p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge construction; Cost effectiveness; Demonstration projects; Design build; Prefabricated bridges; Reconstruction; Technological innovations
• Identifier Terms: Highways for LIFE
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bridge replacement
• Geographic Terms: Massachusetts; Medford (Massachusetts)
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Highways; I53: Construction of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01577862
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Oct 3 2015 4:11PM