The Mixmaster project has a $212 million price tag.
(Photo courtesy of Walsh Construction.)
The transformation of downtown Waterbury, Conn., is taking place with the rehabilitation of 10 bridges that connect Interstate 84 and Route 8.
The Mixmaster, which was opened in 1968, features stacked bridges that the Connecticut Department of Transportation called "an engineering feat that addressed the area's challenging topography." But it also said, "The stacked bridges make both rehabilitation and replacement a complicated endeavor."
While the Mixmaster has undergone multiple major renovations since the late 1960s, it is now being rehabilitated due to deteriorating concrete decks, corroded bearings and joints, section loss in its girders and cracking in critical, non-redundant structures.
It is Walsh Construction's task to fix the problem. The Waterbury firm is the lead contractor on the project that is rehabilitating the 10 bridges by restoring bridge parapets and curbing modifications, repairing deck spalls and overlays, improving bridge drainage and paving new asphalt. The company is repairing the concrete decks and resurfacing them with waterproof membrane, reinforcing the concrete piers and replacing the existing metal bridge rails with a concrete parapet and installing new overhead signage.
To alleviate traffic, a temporary bypass road consisting of three temporary bridge structures and 2,500 linear ft. of on-grade roadway was constructed.
"To date we have replaced the concrete decks in their entirety for Route 8 Northbound and Southbound [Bridges 03190A and 03190B]," said CTDOT. "With the completion of the decks on these two bridges, it was no longer necessary to restrict travel on those bridges so we were able to decommission and remove the temporary bridges."
With the decommissioning of the temporary bridges complete, CTDOT said, "We are currently focused on deck repairs to I-84 Eastbound [Bridge 0319A]. Substructure concrete repairs, steel repairs and bridge drainage replacement are ongoing on all bridges. Construction of the new auxiliary lane on I-84 Westbound is currently under way and should be completed this year. The addition of this auxiliary lane from the Exit 22 onramp to the Exit 21 offramp is a safety improvement to the interchange that is being added to reduce accidents from vehicles merging onto and off the highway. Removal of the temporary bypass includes the reconstruction and reestablishment of Riverside Street that was utilized for a portion of the temporary bypass."
"A ProAll P85 mixer is one of our main pieces of equipment," said Andy Hubina, project manager of Walsh Construction. "So far, we have poured 1,600 cubic yards of concrete to date and another 400 cubic yards estimated. For the bypass construction, we used two main mobile cranes, a Liebherr LTM 1250 and a Manitowoc 1400."
The company also includes a Mactech CP1 pile cutter, a Caterpillar M322D wheeled excavator and a John Deere 470G LC excavator in its equipment list.
Construction started on the Mixmaster project on June 1, 2018, with a completion date of Dec. 1, 2023.
"It's an incentive-laced contract, so there's a chance it will get done before that," said David Ferraro, CTDOT construction project engineer. "The contractor will be penalized for late completion to reduce the impact to the public."
Subcontractors on the project include AFC Construction, New Britain, Conn.; American Concrete Pumping, Portland, Conn.; Diamond Core Drilling, Elyria, Ohio; and Ducci Electrical Contractors, Farmington, Conn.
"With an extensive, multi-year overhaul of the Mixmaster, Waterbury's overlapping highway structure, the city is now the beneficiary of a faster flow of vehicular traffic, while opening more development opportunities for new and existing businesses," said Joe McGrath, Waterbury's economic development director.
The Mixmaster project has a $212 million price tag.
"The contract is split into three separate projects," Ferraro said. "Project No. 0151-0326 is for the Route 8 bridges and the temporary bypass. The project is federally funded at an 80/20 split between the federal government and the state. Project No. 0151-0312 is for the I-84 Eastbound bridge and Project No. 1051-0313 is the for I-84 Westbound bridge. These two projects are funded at a 90/10 split between the federal government and the state."
CTDOT said, "When completed, this rehabilitation is expected to extend the life of the Mixmaster for up to 25 years." CEG
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