ISTHA EDENS SPUR (I-94) OVER METRA RAILROAD
BACKGROUND
As part of the Illinois Tollway’s 15-year program “Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future”, a bridge constructed in 1958 was required to be removed and replaced to improve traffic flow along Edens Spur (I-94), with daily traffic of up to 57,000 vehicles. Walsh Construction partnered with TrueTech Bridge for a stay-in-place form option that would increase productivity and safety for their crews while working over the active Metra Railroad. While the Illinois Tollway traditionally has not allowed conventional stay-in-place forms, they were open to using ClearCast Forms as an alternative to removable forms. This decision led to reduced railroad flagger costs during construction, and will allow for future inspections of the bottom of the deck.
CONTRACTOR
INFRASTRUCTURE OWNER
PRODUCT
CHALLENGES
The skewed, six bay steel girder bridge was on a curved alignment carrying I-94 over active Metra tracks was built in two stages. In order to meet the aggressive schedule for opening traffic over the bridge, Walsh Construction looked for ways to accomplish tasks on the critical path by using prefabrication to improve productivity in the field, helping to save schedule days and minimize risk.
RESULT
Walsh Construction partnered with TrueTech Bridge to design and supply ClearCast Forms to safely increase the speed of deck construction and eliminate stripping forms over the tracks. The Illinois Tollway approved of ClearCast Forms because of the transparency, allowing their inspectors to see the condition of the concrete over the service life of the deck. TrueTech Bridge delivered the complete design and delivery of the ClearCast Form System to meet Walsh’s construction schedule. Custom solutions to address conflicts with lateral bracing, cross frames, and variable fillet heights were designed by TrueTech Bridge.
After a successful installation and deck pour, Walsh Construction opened the new Eden Spur bridge to traffic on schedule for the Illinois State Tollway Highway Authority.
