Massman Construction Co.'s Broadway Bridge project was recently recognized during the Southern Regional America’s Transportation Awards competition. Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the US Chamber of commerce, the project was recognized in the competition’s Operations Excellence category.
Partnering with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, Massman provided construction services for the $100M replacement bridge over the Arkansas River.
To meet the 180-day maximum closure goal set by the AHTD on this critical project, Massman developed and utilized a number of innovative construction operations. To complete the bridge substructure, specialized low-clearance drilling equipment was used to construct the main span foundations and three bents underneath the existing bridge while it was under traffic. Concurrent with foundation construction, the new superstructure components, two tied arch assemblies weighing more than 2,000 tons each, were assembled adjacent to the jobsite on falsework towers mounted on barges. Once the substructure was complete, the existing bridge was demolished and the new arches were floated into place and anchored to the new substructure. After the arches were set, a cast-in-place road deck was installed in the arch segments and the corridor opened again for traffic.
Massman’s innovative approach minimized the disruption of traffic flow on the existing bridge by shortening the closure period by nearly one month.