US20 OVER I-80/I-90 (INDIANA TOLL ROAD)
BACKGROUND
As part of INDOT’s improvements to US20, a continuous composite steel beam bridge built in 1957 and reconstructed in 1989 was planned for rehabilitation with bridge painting and deck replacement. The 5-span steel girder bridge over the Indiana Toll Road in LaPorte, Indiana was originally formed with corrugated metal forms and needed to be replaced after 31 years in service. INDOT specified transparent stay-in-place forms for the two-stage deck replacement to keep the productivity contractors are accustomed to while gaining visibility to the underside of the deck to inspect, maintain, and preserve the deck. The goal is to improve the service life with treatment, starting with better inspection data.
JCI Bridge Group was awarded the contract and partnered with TrueTech Bridge on the design & supply of the ClearCast Form System. The first stage of the deck pour was completed in the Spring of 2020 and the second stage in the Summer of 2020.
CONTRACTOR
INFRASTRUCTURE OWNER
PRODUCT
CHALLENGES
With the Indiana Toll Road’s daily count of 26,000 vehicles passing under the US20 bridge, JCI Bridge Group had limited working windows for demolishing and reconstructing the new bridge deck. To help accelerate construction, INDOT specified a prefabricated solution to save time in the field, reduce closure times, and reduce schedule risk. With the existing bridge on a 20 degree skew, JCI Bridge Group looked to to use skewed ClearCast Forms along the abutments to eliminate all forming and stripping from below the deck. Due to the potential of variability in the existing 12 bay widths, JCI Bridge Group measured the existing structure before forms were fabricated to ensure proper fit-up in the field.
RESULT
JCI Bridge Group partnered with TrueTech Bridge to design and supply ClearCast Forms custom to the existing US20 bridge. TrueTech Bridge delivered the ClearCast Form System in two stages, meeting JCI Bridge Group’s construction schedule as well as their requests for skewed forms. The form installation and deck pour over the Indiana Tollway traffic was a success, and INDOT opened the newly rehabilitated bridge on-time.
