Two weekends ago, representatives from the Federal Highway Administration and state departments of transportation across the country met in Boston to observe firsthand one of the nation’s “most ambitious projects,” according to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. MassDOT’s “Fast 14” involves the replacement of 14 bridges in a single summer along I-93 in Medford, a busy commuter artery in suburban Boston.
The state’s design-build initiative has reduced what might typically be a four to five year design and construction schedule to one in which the majority of bridge work will be completed in only 14 weeks, with the bridge superstructure replacements taking place over 10 summer weekends of construction. With only three weekends to go, the streamlined project is on schedule and proceeding smoothly, much to the relief of the thousands of residents and commuters in the area.
What makes the Fast 14 schedule possible? An innovative approach that accelerates construction by prefabricating the bridge superstructures off site, which has limited major construction with lane closures to weekends. After closing the road to traffic on Friday night, the old concrete and steel bridge decks are cut away and the new decks are lowered into place using large cranes. Closure pours using high early strength concrete complete the decks which are opened to traffic in time for the Monday morning commute.
During the two-day “Fast 14 Project Showcase” two weekends ago, MassDOT representatives detailed the process behind Fast 14 and toured the construction site with highway officials, including Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. LaHood, commenting on the showcase in his blog last week, stated that projects like these are a “testament to the skills of America’s construction workers, engineers, and designers.” I’m proud to note that Dewberry is part of Fast 14’s resourceful team, which has relied on an efficient design-build approach, advanced technology, and ingenuity in working with the large-scale modular assembly to keep commuters on the go.
LaHood said that Fast 14 “proves that America is ready, willing, and able to dream big, and build big.” Thanks to MassDOT’s vision and determination, we can now add, “and faster than ever.”