The Dalles, Oregon
US197 Columbia River Bridge Deck Replacement
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This project replaced the deck on the US197 Bridge over the Columbia River. The bridge is a 3,400-foot-long steel truss and steel plate girder bridge with rolled steel girder spans. Replacement work included removing the existing cast-in-place deck in approximately 30’x30’ sections and installing 114 precast panel sections. Each precast panel weighed up to 110,000 lbs.
Panel replacements occurred during a series of 3-night, weekend closures. Before opening to traffic, joints between panels and below panels were grouted and cured with high-strength grout. The steel truss width required sidewalk portions of the new superstructure to be precast, set as separate panels, and tied into the new deck panels. Work also included replacing many steel girders, cross frames, and diaphragms. Some of these steel members were cast into the precast panels, and some were installed in the field on the bridge. When the size and weight of the panels required having a precast yard fabricator near the project site, which didn’t exist, Hamilton constructed a precast fabrication yard one mile from the project site on US197 in Dallesport, Washington. Hamilton designed and built custom forms to fabricate 114 panels at a rate of eight panels concurrently. Transporting each panel required anther Hamilton innovation. Utilizing Hamilton’s past project experience and technical skills, in collaboration with the expertise of multiple local consulting engineers and a Midwest fabricator with expertise in moving large objects, Hamilton designed and built a self-propelled mobile transporter (SPMT) with large lowboy trailers and a Hamilton-designed jacking system. Hamilton’s SPMT transported one panel and simultaneously replaced the deck section, which allowed Hamilton to maintain the contract schedule Transporting and installing each panel required excellence in management to ensure the process was successful each of the 230 times it was repeated. At every turn, the Hamilton management team rose to every challenge. They collaborated with experts in-house and outside the Hamilton organization to find solutions, which occurred unexpectedly and throughout the project. |
Major Project Elements
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