Florida Bridges Beat the Clock

Moreton, Alan; ,

Florida Bridges Beat the Clock

by Alan Moreton, State Structures Engineer; Florida DOT, Tallahassee, Florida,

Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1990, Vol. 60, Issue 5, Pg. 74-77

Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Today, when budget overruns and delays on construction projects are the rule more than the exception, 11 precast segmental balanced cantilever bridges on two contracts were recently completed 9 months ahead of schedule in south Florida. The contracts for two separate multilevel interchanges on the Port Everglades Expressway were fulfilled by different contractors using different strategies. One contractor (Volker Stevin on the U.S. 441/I-595 interchange) proposed imaginative modifications to the specified design requirements to simplify its work; the other (Harbert-Westbrook joint venture on the I-75/I-595 interchange) took advantage of a deadline-driven, financial incentive scheme included in the contract. But the results were the same: high bridge quality and punctuality. Florida is increasing its use of precast segmental bridges not only because of their time-saving capabilities, but aesthetic appeal, avoidance of falsework, easy adaptability to different span lengths, geometrics and maintenance of traffic.

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