|
|
March 2, 2010
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Completes Trent River Bridge in Time
for Anniversary
(NEW BERN, NC) - The Trent River Bridge in New Bern, NC, will open to the
public after more than three years of demolition and construction by
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc., an industryleading civil
engineering contractor. A ribbon-cutting will mark the occasion on
March 19. The bridge dedication is part of New Bern's 300th anniversary
celebration, which will run the entire year.
The $39.2
million project for the North Carolina Department of Transportation
(NCDOT) is set to wrap up in late January. It included removal of the
old Alfred Cunningham Bridge, a swing-span structure erected in
1954. The people of New Bern helped kick off the demolition by holding
a "funeral" for the bridge in the summer of 2007.
"The
community has really gotten behind this project," said Jim Moynihan,
president and CEO of Balfour Beatty Infrastructure. "There's been a lot
of interest. No doubt, the residents around here are pleased with what we've done and there seems to be a lot of excitement."
The
project required a temporary trestle bridge be built alongside the old
bridge to facilitate its removal. The team then began constructing the
1,800-foot bridge, which includes a double-leaf bascule structure in an
environmentally sensitive site where the Trent and Neuse rivers
converge.
Each
leaf of the bridge is 100 feet long and 38 feet wide, weighing 1.6
million pounds. The counterweights and gears are configured so a
50-horsepower motor can raise and lower the structures. The bridge's
concrete decks make it unusual among bascule bridges, which are
typically steel.
Workers were successful in meeting one of the
job's most stringent tests, a "fish moratorium." They were required to
finish the substructure and cofferdam installation before the "no
in-water work" period that began Feb. 15, 2008. The moratorium,
which lasted more than four months, was designed to safeguard certain
fish habitats during spawning season.
"That was a tough
milestone, but we were determined to make it," said Mark Johnnie, vice
president of Balfour Beatty Infrastructure's Southeast Division. "It
required a lot of tight planning and hard work, but all parties
involved worked together and pulled it off. Everyone should be
commended for doing such a thorough job under such a rigid deadline."
Throughout
the project, the team was free of environmental issues. The area is
delicate, with marinas on both sides and a historic park in view. "We
had spectators all the time," said Jay Boyd, project manager. "The
Neuse River, which connects with the Trent River, is highly regulated
and patrolled regularly. But we did the job right and left the
surrounding area the way we found it."
The North Carolina
Department of Labor gave Balfour Beatty Infrastructure a Gold safety
award for the project's excellent record. The criteria require a
company to go the entire year without a lost-time accident. In
addition, the overall accident frequency rate must be 50 percent less
that the state's average for the company's classification of work.
Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. delivers
industry-leading civil engineering and construction expertise for
transportation and water infrastructure projects throughout the United
States. With more than 1,000 employees in major operations in
California, the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia and Texas, Balfour Beatty
Infrastructure boasts annual revenues of more than $400 million. An
award-winning contractor, Balfour Beatty Infrastructure recently
received the AGC of America's 2008 Marvin M. Black Excellence in
Partnering Award and is recognized by Engineering News-Record as one of
the "Top 20 Transportation Contractors" and "Top 50 Domestic Heavy
Contractors" for 2009. Balfour Beatty Infrastructure is part of Balfour
Beatty plc, a global engineering, construction, services and investment
business organization specializing in large infrastructure and building
programs.
Download a PDF
of this release.
|
