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What’s Happening Now At Indian River Inlet Bridge – January 2011

Written on: December 28th, 2010 in Indian River Inlet Bridge

Form Traveler Launches!

As we move into 2011, we will find the northside form traveler is being launched and attached to the bridge. The southside form traveler will be launched in January. These travelers will be used to construct the concrete bridge deck segments that cross the inlet. The first concrete pours will occur in early 2011.

Because this is a design-build contract, certain assumptions were made concerning the form traveler prior to the entire bridge design being completed. Through the quality control process, it was discovered that some of the assumptions made very early in the design process no longer held true. Therefore, the form traveler had to be retrofitted after it was initially assembled. This retrofitting has caused some delay to the completion of the overall project, but Skanska continues to make good progress.  It should also be noted that since the price of the design-build contract was set when the contract was awarded, these in-the-field changes are at no additional cost to Delaware taxpayers.

As a note of reassurance, multiple design teams reviewed the form traveler design and erection sequence to ensure that the traveler will perform as expected, with the utmost consideration for the safety of the construction workers and visitors to the Delaware Seashore State Park.

Also to note, a protected pedestrian walkway was built along the north and south sides of the inlet to protect fisherman and pedestrians from work occurring overhead on the form traveler. Safety is always first on any project, but is especially important when working over an active pedestrian path.

Cable Installation
To date, 60 of the total 152 stay cables have been installed. These cables are encased in the blue plastic casing that the public selected in April 2009. As the cables are installed and tensioned, they begin to carry the weight of the superstructure. In fact, some of the supportive false work structure underneath the bridge has been removed.

Transition Piers
There are currently two sections of the roadway that have not yet been constructed, leaving “gaps” in the approaches to the inlet. These areas are known as the transition piers. The transition piers anchor the longest stay cables and also connect the cable-stay supported portion of the bridge to the more traditional pier-supported section.  This involves some complex construction activities, as well as the need for cast-in-place concrete. The transition piers are intentionally the last areas of the bridge to be constructed.

Concrete Deck Repair
Repairs to the isolated deck cracking near the north and south pylons that occurred over the summer are completed. These areas will be receiving a final overlay (riding surface) as part of the scheduled construction, therefore the integrity of the deck will be fully restored prior to placing the bridge in service.

Completion Date
The bridge is expected to open to traffic by end of 2011, barring no extensive inclement weather.

I-95 Delaware Toll Plaza Project Updates – DelDOT Partners with the I-95 Coalition

Written on: December 22nd, 2010 in I-95, I-95 Delaware Toll Plaza

DelDOT is partnering with the I-95 Corridor Coalition to make your holiday drive a little easier this season.  For those traveling throughout the I-95 Corridor from Maine to Florida, the Coalition has created a travel planning site, www.i95travelinfo.net, that will provide real-time traffic information and estimated drive times for roadways in and between major metropolitan areas along the East Coast.  

For those specifically traveling to and around Delaware, you can get up to the minute traffic information on the DelDOT Live Traffic Page at https://deldot.gov/Traffic/travel_advisory.  DelDOT also has all of the information that you need to make sure that your travels are easy by following us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/delawaredot.  You can also visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/delawaredot, tune to 1380 AM (in Delaware), or go to i95.deldot.gov.

I-95 Delaware Toll Plaza Project Updates – Christmas and New Year’s Holidays

Written on: December 20th, 2010 in I-95, I-95 Delaware Toll Plaza

DelDOT would like to remind everyone that as the Christmas and New Year’s holidays approach, construction at the I-95 Delaware Toll Plaza is continuing.

Reduced toll lane access and altered traffic patterns will greatly impact holiday travelers.  These factors, combined with the anticipated increase of holiday traffic, will result in serious backups and travel delays, starting as early as Thursday, December 23 and lasting through Monday evening, December 27, and Thursday, December 30 through Monday, January 3.  Travelers should consider using alternative routes, using alternative modes of travel or traveling during hours with lower traffic volumes.

For additional holiday travel information, you can also view the press release issued by DelDOT by clicking here.

For more information, you can always follow us on Twitter @DelawareDOT, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/delawaredot, tune to 1380 AM (in Delaware), or go to i95.deldot.gov. 

To sign up for E-ZPass, visit http://www.ezpassde.com/ or call 1-888-397-2773.

Indian River Inlet Bridge – What’s Happening Now (Fall 2010)

Written on: December 16th, 2010 in Indian River Inlet Bridge

 Construction continues on the new Indian River Inlet Bridge. Three main activities will be occurring on site this month – stay cable installation, transition pier construction and the launching of the form traveler.

Stay Cables
Initial stressing of the stay cables (the blue cables that support the bridge) for several stays is complete. The bridge builders continue to work on the remaining stay cables. This involves threading the cables through a blue tube which ultimately will be appropriately tensioned to hold up the superstructure.

Transition Pier
Work continues on the transition piers (where the approach spans connect to the main span of the bridge) on both sides. In the coming months this portion of the bridge will be constructed, and cable stays will be anchored in the edge girder along the outer edge of the structure. This is a complex portion of the construction contract as it is entirely cast-in-place concrete. The transition pier not only anchors the longest stay cables in this area, but it also supports the adjacent approach span. Likewise, concrete pours will continue to occur for the approach spans on the southside of the bridge.

Form Traveler
The bridge team is also hard at work on the form traveler construction. Crews are currently anticipating the launching of the form traveler and its placement on the bridge over the inlet. This piece of equipment will permit construction of the bridge deck over the inlet. We anticipate launching the travelers in the coming weeks. 

Concrete Repair
Deck crack repairs near the north and south pylons started in September and are completed. The repairs are going well. The integrity of the deck will be fully restored prior to placing the bridge in service. There have been no further issues with concrete cracking. It is also important to note that the repair work has had no impact on the schedule. 

SR1/I95 Interchange Project – Update

Written on: December 8th, 2010 in I-95, I95/SR1 Interchange

SR1/I95 Interchange – Contract # T200809003.01 – The advertisement for bid proposals for this contract began on December 6, 2010.  A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on January 12, 2011, at 10:30 am at the DelDOT Administration Building.  Bids are scheduled to be opened on March 3, 2011, at 2 pm.

If you would like more information about the project, please visit the Advertisement for Bids or the project website.