Heavy Traffic rerouted using Acrow Steel Bridge during New Jersey Project
Acrow, a leading international bridge engineering and supply company, announced it has designed and supplied a modular steel bridge to maintain three lanes of traffic during a lengthy construction project on the Garden State Parkway in northern New Jersey.
Because the route is so heavily travelled, and a major link to the state’s popular shore areas, a temporary bridge was considered necessary to the success of the multiyear project.
The Garden State Parkway bridge over the Passaic River, U.S. Route 46 and River Drive was completed in 1955 and carries three lanes each of bidirectional traffic between the City of Clifton and the Borough of Elmwood Park. In recent years, as the bridge approached the end of its useful life, deterioration of the superstructure and deck had led to the need for priority repair projects.
The Acrow 700XS® bridge was selected for the project by contractor IEW Construction Group and will maintain southbound traffic for the duration of the construction. It has an overall length of 980 feet, which includes 18 spans of 40 feet each as well as north and south approach spans of 120 and 140 feet, respectively. The structure is 36 feet wide to accommodate three lanes of traffic and has an asphalt surface with an AASHTO HL-93 load rating.
The materials for Acrow’s modular bridge began arriving at the small, restricted site in early 2023, despite limited access for delivery trucks. Further challenging was the long length of the temporary structure, which necessitated building it from both sides then launching to join at the centre pier. The bridge was successfully installed adjacent to the southbound lanes of the existing bridge in early October 2023.
Southbound traffic was switched to the temporary bridge in late October 2023 and IEW is working on replacing the existing southbound bridge. Once the southbound bridge is finished, IEW will put northbound traffic onto the new southbound bridge while maintaining southbound traffic on the temporary bridge. Acrow’s structure will be in use until southbound traffic is shifted back to the new bridge.
“Acrow’s modular steel bridge has proved an excellent solution for this complex and lengthy project,” said Bob Rose, Acrow’s Northeast Sales Manager. “Safe, cost-effective and reliable, our detour bridges are an effective way for DOTs, agencies and other contractors to minimize work zone impact on motorists and local businesses while keeping projects on or ahead of schedule.”
“In addition to increasing safety for motorists, highway improvement projects such as these support job growth and economic development,” added Russ Parisi, VP North America. “Acrow’s modular steel detour bridges are an ideal way to keep traffic moving during priority projects, saving time and money.”
