U.S. 63 OVER CHICAGO CENTRAL & PACIFIC RAILROAD
BACKGROUND
Due to frequent flooding of U.S. 63 under the railroad bridge in Waterloo, the Iowa DOT designed a new grade separation to raise the elevation of U.S. 63 over the Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad. The new overpass will help emergency responders access the hospital just north of the project, as well as improve vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area. Peterson Contractors Inc. sought to use stay-in-place forms to speed placement of the deck due to limited work windows above the active railroad and avoid additional flagging time and man-hours removing the temporary wood deck formwork. Video by Brownstone Marketing
CONTRACTOR
INFRASTRUCTURE OWNER
PRODUCT
CHALLENGES
The project required significant coordination with the railroad to raise the roadway nearly 50 feet and set girders and deck while keeping the tracks in service. Setting the 115 ft Bulb T-Beam girders and the decking over the active railroad required constant communication with flaggers. Tight working windows meant work had to be well-planned and executed efficiently. An early completion incentive was offered to help open the bridge faster for emergency responders.
RESULT
Peterson Contractors Inc. partnered with TrueTech Bridge to design and supply ClearCast Forms to speed construction, reduce labor, and meet the requirement for visibility. The Iowa DOT 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. Because ClearCast Forms are customized to fit each project, PCI was able to quickly install the lightweight ClearCast Forms with their own crew of four, without heavy equipment or specialized labor. Once the deck was poured, PCI was able to utilize their crews for the remaining tasks on the critical path to complete the project on schedule.
