Gov. Malloy: ConnDOT Uses Accelerated Bridge Construction Technique to Achieve Early Completion of Middletown Project

Press Release

Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) has successfully completed the replacement of the Route 17 bridge over Long Hill Brook in Middletown. The project was finished ahead of schedule over the weekend using an engineering and construction process known as ABC -- Accelerated Bridge Construction -- in which the new bridges are built adjacent to the old ones and are then lifted into place when ready. United Concrete Products, Inc., fabricator of the pre-cast bridge components, did a time-lapse video of the weekend replacement, which is available online.

"As we continue to make unprecedented investments to improve and modernize our transportation infrastructure, we also understand the inconvenience these large-scale construction projects can cause for residents and travelers alike. By employing ABC principles, ConnDOT is taking a creative approach to finish these projects ahead of schedule and with as little interruption as possible to the area's vehicular traffic," said Governor Malloy. "This is now ConnDOT's second major bridge replacement using ABC to dramatically reduce what would have been many months or even years of traffic disruptions and congestion on I-84, Route 17 and the local roads surrounding both projects."

ABC is a rapid construction technique used to compress the time for a major structure replacement due to the high traffic volumes in the area and the associated inconvenience of long duration staged construction used in typical bridge replacement projects. Earlier this summer, ConnDOT utilized ABC to replace the I-84 bridges in Southington over Marion Avenue, which marked the first time that the technique was used on a large-scale construction project in Connecticut. By employing ABC principles on the Southington project, ConnDOT virtually eliminated what would have been many months or even years of traffic disruptions and congestion on Interstate 84 and local roads.

"With a lot of pre-planning, hard work by the project personnel and support services along with good weather, Route 17 was able to reopen in time for morning commuter traffic and school buses at 6:15 a.m. Monday," said ConnDOT Commissioner James P. Redeker. "Nine hours may not seem like a big deal, but to commuters, school kids, emergency services and area residents, any time saved is a good thing."

The $1.6 million Middletown Route 17 bridge project is a smaller scale version of the dual I-84 highway bridge replacement project in Southington. For both projects, ConnDOT contractors took only a single weekend to demolish the old bridges and construct new ones adjacent to the existing bridges, before lifting them into place. The old Route 17 bridge, which was 16 feet long and 28 feet wide, was replaced with a new box culvert that is 31 feet long and supports a 41 foot wide roadway with two 12-foot travel lanes with shoulders that will be eight to nine feet wide. The project was awarded to J. Iapaluccio, Inc., of Brookfield and is scheduled for completion in November 2014.

In Middletown, the contractor, J. Iapaluccio, Inc., closed off the section of Route 17 between Randolph Road, Route 155, and Wesleyan Hills at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 5. The original schedule called for reopening the road to traffic by 3 p.m. Monday, September 8, but the work was done and the road reopened at 6:15 a.m. The Commissioner noted that the contractor still has more work to do, but that will be completed using temporary daily lane closures between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Source