Share this post

When the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in Connecticut was built in 1958, it had a design capacity of 90,000 vehicles per day. However, today more than 150,000 vehicles per day use the bridge on the Connecticut Turnpike along I-95. The 0.8-mile bridge was the source of bottlenecks and traffic jams for years, prompting the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to address the situation as part of a $3 billion megaproject to rebuild and widen 13 miles of the turnpike between West Haven and Branford, Conn.

The project to rebuild the bridge – known colloquially as the “Q Bridge” because it spans the Quinnipiac River – will expand the bridge to 10 lanes and provide it with full shoulders and a median for the first time. Tasked with bringing this massive project together is one of the most experienced heavy civil builders in the nation – Walsh Con­struction. Together with joint venture partner PCL, Walsh is excited to be involved in such a momentous project, according to Project Manager Aaron Tubbs.

“It’s one of the most unique projects that we’re building in the country today, and it’s probably one of the most unique projects going on in the country today,” Tubbs says.

Walsh was recently named the second largest bridge builder in the United States, according to Engineering News-Record. “With an independently functioning and fully staffed Heavy Highway Division, the firm is able to provide specifically focused construction services on bridge projects of any scope, size, and scale,” the company says. 

“The company’s bridge experience in­cludes structures crossing roadways and waterways,” the company adds. “The Walsh Group has significant experience with major bridge construction work throughout the country for a variety of clients, including various public agencies.”

Innovative Technique

In addition to the sheer scope and significance of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge reconstruction project, it also is a stand-out project for Walsh because it is the first extradosed bridge to be built in the United States. Extradosed bridges combine elements of concrete cable-stressed girder construction with cable-stayed construction. According to the Conn­ec­ticut Department of Trans­por­tation, an extradosed bridge can feature spans much longer than traditional girder-based bridges. This will allow Walsh to build the foundations further apart and prevent their construction from interfering with the foundations of the existing bridge. 

Other advantages to the extradosed bridge design include tower heights that are much shorter than those necessary with cable-stayed bridges, only about 75 feet above the bridge deck. Also, the stay cables will not need tension adjustment, as they would on a cable-stayed bridge, reducing future maintenance costs for the bridge.

Although the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge is the first bridge of its kind to be built in North America, that doesn’t mean the project team had to start from scratch. Tubbs says the fact that the extradosed bridge is a hybrid of cable-stayed and girder construction means Walsh and PCL were able to pool their respective experience with each construction method and tackle the new hybrid method with a minimum of problems. In particular, he says, PCL’s experience has made it a very valuable partner for Walsh on this particular project. “They certainly bring a lot of experience with cable-stayed bridges,” Tubbs says.

The project has been divided into three phases, with the first phase underway and lasting until summer 2012, Tubbs says. The first phase involves the construction of the approach structures, while the second phase includes the completion of those structures and on­going installation of the foundations. During the project’s third phase, according to Tubbs, the main span of the bridge will be completed. 

Planning for Success

The experience Walsh and PCL bring to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge project is substantial, but there have still been some challenges that have emerged along the way, Tubbs says. For example, he cites the bridge’s east approach. He says the existing I-95 structure is on one side of the work, and an oil filling station for tankers is one the other side. In addition, there are high-voltage lines running directly overhead and a highway runs underneath it. 

“So we have things on all sides of us – left, right, top and bottom,” Tubbs says. 

Effective planning has been the key to keeping the project on track, Tubbs says. “What we do to tackle those things is just plan, plan, plan,” he says, adding that the project team’s planning process includes physically laying out crane locations. 

Planning will be especially important when the second phase of the project begins next year, Tubbs says, because Walsh will be building between the new bridge and the existing I-95. “So we’re kind of in a box,” he explains. 

Solving Problems

The size and scope of Walsh as a national builder means the lessons it has learned on the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge project should provide the company with the expertise to become the national leader in extradosed bridges. Tubbs says the company frequently shares in­formation between project teams across the country. For example, he says, the company has a project in Pennsyl­vania that involves the construction of a cast in place segmental bridge, and those project managers are sharing information with the project team in Connecticut. 

That kind of information-sharing is part of what has made the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge project so successful, Tubbs says, and he says the cooperation between the project team members and the state will be the single biggest factor for it going forward. 

“I think the work relationship with the joint venture and the state is very good,” he says. “Overall, we feel there are good relationships all around.”