Driving Under a Construction Site

Manzanarez, Rafael; Smith, Dennis R.; ,

Driving Under a Construction Site

by Rafael Manzanarez, Sr. Principal, Chief Bridge Engr.; T. Y. Lin International, San Francisco, CA,
Dennis R. Smith, Sr. Tech. Writer; T. Y. Lin International, San Francisco, CA,

Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1993, Vol. 63, Issue 4, Pg. 54-56

Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Throughout the summer of 1992, vehicles passed unimpeded through one of the most heavily traveled intersections in Los Angeles County as construction proceeded on a concrete light-rail overpass. Missing were any signs of the usual falsework, construction-related traffic nightmares in congested urban areas. Cast-in-place concrete construction, using travelers and balanced or free cantilever construction, provided the relative calm. The intersection of Rosecrans Avenue and Aviation Boulevard, two eight-lane arteries in Hawthorne, Calif., has long posed traffic problems for the area. Traffic on the two streets often exceeds the official capacity, as more than 80,000 vehicles pass through the intersection daily, causing extremely long peak-hour delays. Widening of the intersection is scheduled for 1993; there are no alternative routes for vehicle traffic in the area. A concrete aerial structure will carry the section of the Metro Green Line. So a concrete overpass would be the logical, and most aesthetic choice for the crossing. In California, such highway structures are almost always constructed using falsework, following procedures adopted by Caltrans. In this case, however, the skew of the falsework would extend diagonally across the two eight-lane arteries. Not only would erection be hazardous but it would also require full or partial closure of the busy intersection.

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