A temporarily welded wire retaining wall system helped restore traffic 12 days after an 8,500-gasoline tanker truck crash killed the driver and destroyed the Interstate 95 northbound bridge. The system that reopened this critical transportation link, which carries 160,000 daily vehicles, included geogrid supports filled with ultra-lightweight foamed glass aggregate fill and precast barriers. The permanent replacement was completed less than a year later. Half-width construction of the permanent bridge within the existing footprint accelerated construction in just two stages. First, the team built the outer half of the permanent bridge replacement on each bound, outside of the operating temporary roadway. Then the team switched traffic to the outer portion of the permanent replacement bridge, removed the temporary roadway and built the inner half of the permanent replacement bridge in its place.

These phases maintained three lanes of traffic in each direction—providing 75% of interstate capacity during construction. The $23.7-million, 23-month project finished below budget and ahead of schedule.