The design-build Veterans Memorial Bridge in Martin County, Fla., included construction of two miles of new alignment for County Road 714, reconstruction of intersections and a 3,100-ft-long, high-level fixed-span concrete bridge structure featuring dedicated bike lanes and barrier-separated, 6-ft-wide sidewalks.

Facing environmental concerns that prohibited the use of barges, which would have had to traverse a protected mangrove island, the team of Archer Western and RS&H used a temporary trestle and an overhead beam erector to construct most of the bridge. While the procurement, fabrication, installation and removal of the trestle added to the already tight schedule, the use of the overhead beam erector minimized the amount of trestle needed, compressed the superstructure erection schedule and minimized wetland impacts. The main channel section, a four-span continuous post-tensioned unit with spans of 250 ft, is comprised of spliced 78-in. Florida I-Beams, with 90-ton haunched segments resting on the pier caps and 134-ft drop-in segments spanning between them to cross the mangrove island and navigation channel. The segments, which were delivered by trestle, were rolled over the island on a temporary launching truss, then hoisted by the overhead lifting truss and shifted into position.

Award of Merit, Highways and Bridges — Veterans Memorial Bridge, Stuart, Fla.

Key Players

Contractor Archer Western Contractors, Tampa

Owner Florida Dept. of Transportation, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Lead Designer RS&H, Jacksonville, Fla.