ODOT accelerates bridge project

When it came time to replace a bridge on Oregon Route 213 in Oregon City, a project team that included the Oregon Department of Transportation decided they couldn't afford to shut down traffic for an entire year.

Instead, they will replace the bridge using a relatively new technique called accelerated bridge construction.

Accelerated bridge construction is a showstopping technique in which hydraulic lift equipment is used to slide a preconstructed bridge into place. The complexity of the method and a lack of understanding about when and where it should be used have limited ODOT’s use of accelerated construction for only 15 bridge projects so far.

“Imagine driving down a bridge on a Friday and then driving over a new bridge Monday without ever knowing it,” [ODOT preservation managing engineer Benjamin] Tang said. “We’re working to build the industry towards this. As people become savvier, it will become a conventional practice.”

Read more at the Daily Journal of Commerce.

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