For this project, Triton rented cranes to set up the temporary bridges and new structural steel.
(Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration photo)
The Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration (SHA) has reported that a bridge replacement project in Boonsboro, which is in Washington County, is well under way and now in the construction phase.
The project involves a bridge replacement on I-70 over Crystal Falls Drive. The bridges are safe for the traveling public, but the driving surface (superstructures) are nearing the end of their useful service life. Both the eastbound and westbound bridges east of Hagerstown are being replaced.
The total cost of the project is $22.3 million and no special funds were used.
The prime contractor is Triton Construction Inc. of St. Albans, W. Va., with Justin Koers as the project manager. The SHA project manager is Jeffrey Foreman.
The project began on June 27, 2022, and the anticipated completion date is summer of 2025.
According to SHA, the full scope of the project requires the replacement of the Dual Bridges on I-70 over Crystal Falls Drive. A temporary roadway and bridge were constructed along both east and westbound directions for the purpose of maintaining traffic. This includes an eastbound temporary retaining wall along I-70. The project also includes removal of the existing bridges and the construction of new single-span steel girder bridges along both east and westbound spans of I-70.
"This project is necessary as both east and westbound bridges are beginning to fall into the category of approaching their end of service," said Danny Allman, assistant media relations manager. "The bridges were originally constructed in 1968 and upgraded in 2000. They have outlived their reliable service life and needed replacement."
Allman spoke about the more difficult aspects of the job.
"The biggest challenge of this project comes from constructing two new bridges while still maintaining heavy traffic on a very congested portion of I-70," he said. "Another challenge is to ensure that we keep our bridge construction crews, consultants, state workers, as well as the motoring public, safe throughout the project."
Allman stated that the project is unique in that temporary roadways and bridges were put into place to handle daily traffic while new bridges are being constructed. The average daily traffic on the main road in 2016 was 70,975, with a projected increase by 2036 to 92,625.
The project includes:
- replacement of the existing three span cast-in-place concrete bridges with single steel girder bridges;
- upgrading 0.85 mi. of the I-70 approach roadways, which includes resurfacing, placement of new traffic barriers, storm water management facilities, signing and permanent pavement striping; and
- maintaining traffic in each direction on I-70 at all times, with staged construction utilizing temporary roadways and bridges constructed adjacent to the existing bridges in the median of I-70.
The State Highway Administration has five to six inspectors assigned to the job and the prime contractor, Triton Construction, has 15 to 20 employees not including subcontractors.
The major subcontractors for this project include C. William Hetzer for paving, Midlantic Marking for line striping and Interlock for iron workers.
Major equipment used on the job is owned by Triton Construction and includes dozers, trackhoes, rubber-tired loaders, a pile hammer and various hand tools.
For this project, Triton rented cranes to set up the temporary bridges and new structural steel.
The bridge demolition has been completed. Starting in June, crews began pile driving and construction of new abutments. Traffic also was switched onto the temporary roadway and a detour put into place on Crystal Falls Drive.
The State Highway Administration reported that the project will include 28,000 cu. yds. of fill material for the temporary roadway. There are 86,000 cu. yds. of material to be removed and relocated.
About Triton Construction Inc.
Triton Construction Inc. is a heavy/highway civil contractor specializing in the safe construction of roads, bridges, slip repairs, airport rehabilitation, water and sewage treatment plants, sewer line and water line projects.
Founded in 2010, Triton Construction Inc. is a West Virginia-based construction service company. Since opening, the business has expanded to Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia. With more than 300 years of combined construction experience, the team is capable of managing projects of various scopes and sizes. CEG
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.
Read more from Brenda Ruggiero here.
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