Transportation
VIEWPOINT: Advancing New England’s Bridge and Rail Infrastructure Networks
In 2023, Skanska was awarded two contracts totaling $66 million to replace Route 3 Bridge in Duxbury, Mass. and eight bridge decks across Massachusetts.
The following Viewpoint is written by Robert Coutts, vice president of operations at Skanska USA Civil Northeast
Having spent more than four decades working in heavy civil infrastructure in New England, I’ve come to believe that building bridges depends as much on relationships and coordination as it does on engineering know-how. Across the region, aging infrastructure has accelerated the pressure to create long-term solutions that will support our rapidly growing local communities. With 6.8% of the bridges in the U.S. currently classified as “in poor condition,” there’s growing demand for experienced construction teams that can deliver durable, resilient infrastructure while simultaneously navigating the complex intricacies of ensuring these projects don’t interrupt the daily commuter flow.
At Skanska, we’ve built a legacy across the New England region by doing just that. Our bridge and rail portfolio spans decades and includes some of the most challenging infrastructure projects in the Northeast. This work has required not only technical precision, but consistent, ongoing coordination with key project stakeholders, and local communities.
Our team is uniquely equipped to carry out the full lifecycle of these projects, including the intricate structural, electrical, and signal work elements which gives us the ability to fully control the project’s quality, schedule, and safety. Additionally, we integrate the use of industry-leading technology as pioneered by our nationally recognized Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) group, from the proposal stage all the way through final project completion. This includes the implementation of advanced modeling in the preconstruction phase to identify and combat any foreseen challenges from the start and enhance timelines, safety planning and overall project decision-making.
When it comes to Skanska’s construction of bridges, and more specifically, movable bridges, partnerships with specialized industry designers and builders have played an important factor in our success. As an example, take our partnership with trusted New England partners like VHB, whose deep knowledge of local bridge, track and signal work - including design-build delivery for notable local transportations providers such as the MBTA and New England DOTs - has been critical to our operations on these projects. Working under VHB, Modjeski and Masters (M&M), a national leader in complex movable bridge, has helped us account for specific challenges and solutions needed to successfully complete a movable bridge project. With the support of these partners, Skanska has successfully applied the necessary requirements in environments where marine navigation, commuter rail, and highway operations all converge, often under tight windows and regulatory oversight.
Technical execution, however, is only one part of the story. At Skanska, we approach every job with an environmental and community-centric mindset, with particular emphasis on coordination with abutters, stewardship of high-traffic waterways, and clear communication with daily commuters on potential construction impacts. Skanska’s work on megaprojects such as the South Coast Fall River Secondary and the Longfellow Bridge Reconstruction as well as Rhode Island’s Providence Northbound Viaduct and the I-95/Route 10 Interchange have strengthened some of the region’s most heavily trafficked corridors while minimizing disruption in densely populated urban settings. Our work on the D5 Bridge Bundle in Massachusetts and sustainable bridge solutions in Duxbury further highlight our commitment to minimizing construction’s impact on commuters and the traveling public.
At a time when infrastructure dollars must go farther, and public trust in delivery partners is more important than ever, Skanska brings both regional familiarity and specialized capabilities in order to properly deliver complex bridge and rail projects. As New England invests in the next cohort of bridge and rail systems, we remain focused on what we do best: building essential infrastructure that is safe, resilient, and built to last.
Robert Coutts has more than 40 years of construction management experience, including complex heavy-civil and urban highway demolition assignments in Massachusetts, including involvement with the Immersed Tube Tunnel Project and the South Coast Rail Expansion Project.