WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff to perform biennial bridge inspections for MTA

New York — MTA Bridges and Tunnels selected WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff to perform biennial bridge inspections at the Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Bridge and the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge. The biennial bridge inspection includes thorough inspection and examination of all structural components of both bridges. These components include the inspection of decks, structural framing, towers, pin and hanger assembly, trusses, towers and piers, fenders, dolphins, retaining walls, abutments, all approach structures and appurtenances, signs and supporting structures, light standards, and electrical equipment on bridges and toll plazas including utilities, lighting and communication equipment.

Services also potentially entail auxiliary design work to prepare design documents for structural repairs of inspected elements requiring immediate repair, auxiliary testing work to determine the extent of deterioration, interim/special inspections, and scoping studies to define the scope of future projects related to the facility. The contract includes a mechanical and electrical inspection of the Marine Parkway lift span. Work on the inspections will be completed in late 2017.

The Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge was completed in 1937 by the Marine Parkway Authority to provide access to the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, which previously could be reached only by ferry or by a circuitous route around the eastern end of Jamaica Bay. When it was built, the bridge's vertical lift span was the longest in the world. The land at both ends of the bridge is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. In 1978, Gil Hodges' name was added to the bridge in honor of the Brooklyn Dodgers' first baseman and Mets manager.

The Cross Bay Bridge, a low-level bascule bridge (drawbridge), was completed in 1939 by the New York City Parkway Authority. In 1970, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority completed the present Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, a high-level fixed bridge, which permits boats to pass under it without the traffic delays caused by the lifting of a bascule bridge. Located four miles east of the Marine Parkway Bridge, the Cross Bay Bridge connects the peninsula to the rest of Queens, the Belt Parkway, and the Southern State Parkway.