English Eyes Bridge Completion Before the Sun Sets on Summer

Wed May 19, 2010 - Southeast Edition
Brenda Ruggiero

A new bridge is steadily growing in Sunset Beach, N.C., to replace the one that has been in use since the 1960s.

The contract for $31 million was awarded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to English Construction Company, Lynchburg, Va. Funding is coming from the federal government.

Work began on Feb. 19, 2008, and an estimated completion date has been set for Dec. 14, 2010. However, hopes are that the new bridge will be open to traffic by the end of the summer.

The contract calls for the construction of the bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway and the approaches on SR 1172 at Sunset Beach. The bridge replaces the current single-lane platoon bridge.

According to David Byrd, assistant resident engineer for NCDOT, challenges with the project have included the logistics of constructing the bridge over the waterway, working within environmental permits and navigational waterway restrictions. As of April 30, the job was running 4.89 percent behind the progress schedule.

“I believe this is only the second bridge in the state with post-tensioned prestressed concrete girders,” Byrd said. “The pre-stressed concrete girders over the waterway have ducts inside them. Steel strands or wires are pressed through the ducts, then stressed to predetermined load. Grout is placed inside the ducts to seal the permanently stressed tendons. This procedure produces a camber in the girders.”

Construction will eventually necessitate partial-day closures of the waterway at the site, which will be coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Contract quantities include 7,930 linear ft. (2,417 m) of steel piles, 89,918 sq. ft. (8,352 sq m) of reinforced concrete deck slab, 3,471.6 cu. yds. (2,654.2 cu m) of class AA concrete for the bridge, approximately 41,000 lbs. (18,597 kg) of structural steel, 1.5 million lbs. (683,701 kg) of epoxy coated reinforcing steel for the bridge, 2.9 acres (1.2 ha) of wetland grass planting, and 10,946 tons (9,930 t) of asphalt pavement.

During the project, NCDOT has six to eight employees on the job, and English Construction Company has another 30.

Major subcontractors include Barnhill Construction, Tarboro, N.C., for grading and paving; Lineberry Inc., Climax, N.C., for seeding and mulching; and Boss Construction Co. Inc., Mocksville, N.C., for the bridge parapet wall.

Equipment includes a Terex 60-ton (54.4 t) crane, a Terex American 100-ton (90.7 t) crane, an American 2310 ringhorse crane with barge, a Bidwell concrete screed, and a John Deere 710 backhoe with jackhammer.

Brenda Ruggiero

Brenda Ruggiero has written for CEG for over 20 years. She lives near the town of Accident in far western Maryland. Her favorite assignments so far involved interviews with Survivor’s Boston Rob and hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut. Both were involved in construction at one time.

Brenda holds a BA in Mass Communication with a writing focus from Frostburg State University and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. She works full time as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, the Garrett County Republican. She enjoys feature writing the most, which gives her the opportunity to talk to people and share their stories.

Brenda and her middle school sweetheart, Reuben, have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children and four cats.

Today's top stories

Louisville Pump Station Receives $230M Update

Amtrak Secures $112M in Federal Funds to Upgrade 13 Projects in Northeast Corridor

Hitachi Construction Machinery Wins Silver in 2024 Anthem Award

Turner Construction Leads $675M Concourse Project

Bobcat Celebrates Season of Giving With Volunteerism, Hurricane Relief, Philanthropic Support

Thompson Tractor Hosts Caterpillar Demo in Oxford, Alabama

Rokbak Haul Track Telematics Boost Uptime With Proactive Maintenance

RIDOT Officials Mark Completion of Key $8.9M Road Resurfacing in Middletown, R.I.

Read more about...

Backhoe Loaders

Our Main Office

Construction Equipment Guide
470 Maryland Drive
Fort Washington, PA 19034
800-523-2200

About Us

Construction Equipment Guide covers the nation with its four regional newspapers, offering construction and industry news and information along with new and used construction equipment for sale from dealers in your area. Now we extend those services and information to the internet. Making it as easy as possible to find the news and equipment that you need and want.

Contents Copyrighted 2024, by Construction Equipment Guide, which is a Registered Trademark, registered in the U.S. Patent Office. Registration number 0957323. All rights reserved, nothing may be reprinted or reproduced (including framing) in whole or part without written permission from the publisher. All editorial material, photographs, drawings, letters, and other material will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and are subject to Construction Equipment Guide’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially. Contributor articles do not necessarily reflect the policy or opinions of this publication.

Read our privacy policy here.
Mastodon

39.96118 \\ -82.99879 \\ Columbus \\ OH