To meet demands for affordability, quick installation, low maintenance, and aesthetics, precast products were selected for the Marquette Interchange Project in Milwaukee. At least two of the four key project components, including the North Leg, West Leg and Clybourn Street/16th Street, will incorporate precast, prestressed girders and wall panels supplied by Waukesha, Wis.-based Spancrete. Started in 2004 and scheduled for completion in 2008, the project is expected to cost more than $800 million and affect approximately 300,000 motorists using the interchange daily.

Spancrete's Green Bay plant is currently providing more than 300 bridge girders, weighing nearly 15,000 collective tons, which will be used for all bridges spanning Interstate 43, as well as a smaller bridge on Clybourn Street. To minimize motorists' inconvenience, the girders are transported and installed during nonpeak traffic hours between midnight and 5:00 a.m.

“Because time and cost-efficiencies are so important to the project, precast bridge girders are the obvious solution,” says Spancrete President John Nagy. “Not only is precast more affordable than steel, it's also virtually maintenance-free.”

In addition, 1,300 Spancrete wall panels will provide an attractive and sturdy erosion-control barrier. A first for WisDOT, the wall components are fabricated with self-consolidating concrete to achieve a flawless finish suitable for such architectural elements as the panels' multiple reveals.