Innovative and State-Of-The-Art Solutions
NYSDOT Region 11
$420 Million
2015
M & J Engineering P.C. provided Construction Inspection Services for this project, including the Resident Engineer. The project was completed in July 2014 and was the largest completed contract in the history of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). The Alexander Hamilton Bridge (AHB) carries the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95) across the Harlem River and links other arteries such as the Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) and the George Washington Bridge to and from New Jersey. The length of the bridge is 1,485-ft-long, including the main span (505-ft-long steel arch), two spans on the Manhattan side (over park land and the Harlem River Drive), and 7 spans on the Bronx side (over I-87, Metro North Railroad, and local streets). The project included nine (9) bridges, including the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, Ramp "TE" Bridge over I-95, the Undercliff Avenue Bridge over I-95, and six (6) ramp bridges at the Highbridge Interchange. The work for the AHB and the six (6) Highbridge Interchange bridge structures consisted of rehabilitation of the substructure and the replacement of the deck.
The bridge deck on the AHB was widened by 11-feet on each side to introduce standard shoulders, the bridge widening necessitated modifications to the existing piers and strengthening of the existing superstructure framing. The new ramp "TE" and Undercliff Avenue Bridges were complete bridge replacements. The six (6) Highbridge Interchange ramps required full deck replacement as well as 1.75-feet widening (each side) to improve their turning radius. Ramp TE bridge connects the Trans Manhattan Expressway to Washington Bridge (181st Street) over the Highbridge Park in Manhattan and over I-95, the reconstruction work included extensive park mitigation work, including a new Skate Board Park, new plantings and new landscape details.
The project necessitated complex Work Zone Traffic Control including some detours affecting the George Washington Bridge, the Harlem River Drive, the Major Deegan Expressway and the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. The contract included four temporary ramps, made up of eight temporary bridge structures and also Geogrid Reinforced Earth Systems (GRES), to carry traffic while the ramps were being rehabilitated, and the work on AHB was performed in six (6) separate stages in order to minimize impacts to the travelling public throughout construction.
The rehabilitation project also included on-grade portions of roadway reconstruction including the installation of on-grade precast concrete slabs and asphalt paving; extensive demolition work for the bridge decks over active highways, waterways, railroad tracks, parks, and local streets; extensive temporary shoring towers; seismic retrofit of existing piers and footings; new reinforced concrete foundations and bridge pier construction; pile driving; new steel girders, floor beams, diaphragms, and stiffeners; new elastomeric bearings; new deck joints; stainless steel reinforced concrete bridge deck slabs; new Weight-In-Motion system; new concrete barriers, bridge rails, guiderails, drainage, sewer lines, electrical utilities, lighting, ITS elements, sign structures, landscaping, etc.
