Mike Hart, vice president and Mid-Atlantic regional general manager for project contractor Cianbro Corp., told ENR that "generally if you read the report in its entirety...we feel it substantiated what we said before--we did this work per the contract specifications and per our client's direction." Hart says his comment also refers to work done by Cianbro's subcontractors. He adds that Cianbro plans to issue a detailed statement regarding the review team's report later in the week of Feb. 14.
At issue is the deck of the three-lane westbound bridge, which was completed in 1973. It sits parallel to the 53-year-old bridge that carries traffic eastbound. Traffic volume averages about 65,000 vehicles daily, more than triple the level of 30 years ago. Phase one of the rehabilitation contract, awarded in 2001 to Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, called for new concrete overlays on 95 spans totaling about 12,400 ft., plus complete deck replacement on 21 spans covering 3,900 ft. Cianbro was the only bidder on the phase one contract, which initially was $33.5 million and then increased to $43.5 million. Phase two will deal with the westbound bridge's other eight spans, which extend for 6,700 ft.
Overlay work started in 2002, but the following year cracks started to appear in some of the repaved sections. Cracks became more widespread in 2004 and prompted Flanagan to recruit a team of outside specialists, led by former Transportation Research Board Executive Director Thomas B. Deen, to find out what went wrong. As the team dug into the issue, tests it requested turned up a second problem--concrete deterioration on sections of the deck's underside. So far, no connection has been found between the overlay and underside problems, state officials say.
Flanagan, who also chairs the Maryland Transportation Authority, the state DOT unit that operates the bridge, said that the overlay and deck underside problems "are not safety issues. These are durability issues."
In its report, the review panel recommended that the state: weigh full-depth deck replacement, at least for some sections of the bridge; prequalify design firms, contractors and materials suppliers; and consider using rapid-set, latex-modified concrete. Deen said he didn't expect that full-deck replacement would be needed on...
Post a comment to this article
Report Abusive Comment