MassDOT uses prefabricated bridge units for replacement project

West Springfield, Mass. — Design-builder SPS New England awarded Oldcastle Precast, Rehoboth, Mass., the contract to supply prefabricated concrete bridge units for Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Memorial Avenue Rotary Overpass Replacement Project.

MassDOT, using Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) techniques, made improvements to two overpasses: State Route 147 eastbound and westbound (Memorial Avenue) and US Route 5 (Riverdale Street) interchange area in West Springfield, Massachusetts. MassDOT replaced both overpasses in just one summer.

Oldcastle Precast engineered and manufactured eight, 80-foot-long prefabricated bridge units, varying between 10 feet and 15 feet, 9 inches wide, weighing up to 80 tons. Each prefabricated bridge unit is composed of a precast concrete deck cast on two steel beams.

To create the new bridge deck for the east and westbound bridges, the prefabricated bridge units were set side-by-side on field abutments. Closure pours were then cast between the units, tying them together prior to installation of the finial bridge pavement.

Used often in ABC, the prefabricated bridge units replaced the existing superstructures on both bridges.

Driven by the Federal Highway Administration, MassDOT officials have embraced the use of innovative construction techniques like prefabricated bridge units. By replacing the bridges with prefabricated bridge units, manufactured offsite, MassDOT eliminated years of work on the roadway, reduced onsite construction time, minimized traffic impact, and lessened work-zone safety risks to the public.

This ABC project is one of many that Oldcastle Precast-New England has been involved in over the last three years.