Owing to the poor condition of its substructure, superstructure, and abutment footings, Urban Engineers designed a replacement for the single-span reinforced concrete slab bridge carrying NJ Route 168 over Big Timber Creek. To accelerate construction and reduce costs, Urban selected a precast concrete arch structure with prefabricated wing walls. By using precast elements, the firm reduced disturbance to an adjacent park along with the number of temporary construction easements required. To prevent future scour, steel sheeting installed to facilitate removal of the abutments was cut at the mudline and left in place as a permanent scour countermeasure.

Utility coordination was one of the project challenges. To reduce conflicts during construction, Urban completed a subsurface utility investigation, which involved seven test pits. Several utilities, including a gas main and a telecommunication duct bank, traverse the bridge. The gas main was relocated via directional drilling after the piles were installed.

Urban researched and secured temporary construction easement permits to access the public park located next to the bridge. Permits required that vegetation removed from Green Acre properties be replaced with native, non-invasive species.

Staged construction eliminated the need for a detour and allowed one lane to remain open in each direction throughout construction.

Highlights

• Preliminary Engineering
• NJDEP Green Acres Coordination
• Utility Relocation and Coordination
• Final Design
• Deep Foundation Pile Design
• Post Design Construction Services
• Staged Construction