Maine Demonstration Project: Reconstruction of Lamson and Boom Birch Bridges

Federal Highway Administration2008PDFTech ReportChurilla, CharlieMallela, JagannathHoffman, GaryApplied Research Associates, Inc.Maine. Dept. of TransportationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationMaineUnited StatesBridge constructionPrefabricated structuresLane closureState departments of transportationFinal ReportThe Maine DOT submitted application and was approved for FY 2007 Highways for LIFE program funding. The Maine projects are two bridges on rural roads that both involve detours of about 15 miles that impact school buses, commercial trucks and emergency vehicles. Both bridge locations also involve environmentally sensitive water courses that restrict the construction footprints and scope. These issues caused the Maine DOT to select full road closures, accelerated bridge construction techniques including prefabricated bridge elements, and aggressive public interaction for both of these projects. The Boom Birch Bridge carrying SH 116 over Birch Stream Near Old Town and the Lamson Bridge carrying SH 4 over Lamson Stream near Addison were both constructed over the summer of 2007. The bridge constructions began in June, and the projects were reopened to traffic in early September before the school year started. These projects demonstrated the successful use of long-lasting precast concrete bridge elements from the pile caps up to the decking. They also demonstrated that projects could be constructed in as much as 80% shorter timeframes with less negative impacts to motorists.104