Mullica River Bridge: RECo and Menard Combined Technologies Lead to Innovative Cost Efficient Solution

In October 2008 the New Jersey Turnpike Authority advertised the first Project of a multi- phased plan to widen the Garden State Parkway from Exit 80 in Toms River to Exit 30 in Somers Point over the next several years. Construction of the Mullica River project will widen the road from two to three lanes in each direction between mileposts 63 and 80 and is expected to finish by December 2011.

Upon review of the Mullica River bid documents RECo found, in addition to our potential scope of work, several items that would be of interest to our Solentanche Freyssinet affiliates, Menard and Freyssinet. For Menard, there were stone columns called for under the MSE walls and for Freyssinet, there were modular expansion joints and post tensioned girders. RECo transmitted this information to our sister companies and proceeded with preparing its scope of work of the project.

 

The proposed MSE walls were exposed to a marine environment and consisted of standard precast faced MSE retaining walls as well as two-staged MSE retaining walls. Two-stage systems are utilized when high differential settlement are expected and consist of erecting a Terratrel® wire wall in the first stage and after the primary settlement of the structure is complete, precast facing panel are attached to finish the erection process. Menard, after review of the plans and geotechnical report, contacted RECo and relayed their belief that the two-stage MSE wall and stone column system specified in the contract plans could be substituted by a standard precast faced MSE retaining wall with Controlled Modulus Column™ (CMC) support. 

 

RECo agreed that this was a viable solution since the CMC system would reduce differential settlement to well within the acceptable range for a single stage MSE wall. RECo-Menard proposed this alternative as a Value Engineering (VE) solution to Agate Construction who was awarded the contract by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Agate was receptive to the VE proposal and directed RECo and Menard to proceed with the alternative design.

 

The RECo-Menard team coordinated their work on this combined system taking into consideration the location, depth and spacing of CMCs, design of the load transfer platform between the top of the CMCs and the base of the wall, and the additional stresses applied to the bottom row of reinforcing strips.

 

The alternative design was approved by NJ Turnpike Authority and installation of the CMCs commenced in October 2009.  Agate then began installing the 58,000 SF of MSE panels in February 2010 and is currently finalizing the wall erection. This innovative solution was cost efficient, less time consuming, and beneficial to all parties.

 

Freyssinet was also awarded a contract with Agate Construction to supply and install 13C15 Post Tensioning anchorages and accessories, plastic ducts and 0.6-inch strands, and stressing and grouting of tendons for the concrete spliced I-girder bridge which is 1,230 feet in length. The mobilization for this portion of the project began in the spring of 2010.