Yadkin River Bridge Project Delivers Timely Replacement of Aging Structure
Leading a $136-million contract, the joint venture of Flatiron/Lane replaced the severely deteriorated, 60-year-old Interstate-85/Yadkin River Bridge. Besides being narrow and unsafe, the existing bridge was only designed to carry 10,000 vehicles per day; but it has carried 80,000 daily, including heavy tractor-trailer traffic. As a result, construction, which began in late 2010, proceeded with a heightened sense of urgency.
The design-build project—located in Davidson and Rowan counties—widened a three-mile stretch of interstate to eight lanes from four and added six new bridges, including the 2,900-ft-long dual bridges spanning the Yadkin River. Constructing the lengthy bridge structures through environmentally sensitive areas was a challenge. Flatiron/Lane mitigated any potential impacts by using a single trestle, instead of the two trestles originally envisioned by the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation. The contractor increased the median width to 70 ft from 46 ft and used the single work bridge in the center median.
Crews completed the dual bridges in roughly 14 months, and the NCDOT opened the new Yadkin River bridges to traffic in March 2012. The contractors achieved substantial completion for the remainder of the project in July 2013—eight months ahead of schedule.
Key Players
Contractor Flatiron-Lane, a Joint Venture, Morrisville, N.C.
Owner North Carolina Dept. of Transportation, Raleigh
Engineer STV/Ralph Whitehead and Associates, Charlotte
