Railroad right-of-way and a need for rapid, single-operation construction drove the choice of prestressed concrete girders for Utah Department of Transportation’s EXPRESSLink project, adding six lanes to a critical Interstate 15 stretch and replacing four bridges
Sources: Hanson Structural Precast, Salt Lake City; CP staff
Railroad right-of-way and a need for rapid, single-operation construction drove the choice of prestressed concrete girders for Utah Department of Transportation’s EXPRESSLink project, adding six lanes to a critical Interstate 15 stretch and replacing four bridges. Hanson Structural shipped 92 girders, 95- to 195-ft. long, totaling 16,546 ft., plus 50,600 sq. ft. of precast concrete deck panels for the $135 million project. The 195-ft. members are a record for Utah and near the upper end of prestressed girders, subject to land transport, for a U.S. project. Hanson Structural’s peer operator in Calgary, Con-Force Structures, has logged prestressed bulb tees in the 215-ft. range.
This was a fast-paced project with a bridge to be built over a very busy railroad yard, notes Hanson Structural Precast, Mountain Division General Manager Reed Bradley. Due to the tracks, unusually long spans between piers had to be constructed. Concrete girders were chosen because they could be placed in one rapid operation, minimizing the impact to the railroads and the traveling public.
EXPRESSLink’s design-build contractor Kiewit/Clyde enlisted Hanson Structural Precast to fabricate the girders with high strength concrete and large amounts of prestressing strand. The four-mile job is scheduled for fall 2010 completion.