I-64 Bridge Widening
- Heavy lifting of 1,500-ton steel plate girder span
Owner
West Virginia Division of Highways
Location
Nitro, WV
Project Team
- Engineer of Record: HDR Engineering, Inc.
- Heavy Lifting Engineer: Tunstall Engineering Group
- Contractor: Brayman – Trumbull JV
- Subcontractor: STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES
Situated in Nitro, West Virginia, over the Kanawha River rests Interstate 64 (I-64). Constructed in the 1960’s, the truss bridge known as the Donald M. Legg Bridge serves Kanawha and Putnam Counties carrying approximately 70,000 vehicles per day. As part of a multi-year improvements project, the bridge is being widened to accommodate an increase in volume as well as mitigate congestion and collisions.
STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES supported heavy lifting a new slab-on-girder bridge for westbound I-64 traffic. This involved lifting a 1,500-ton (3,000,000 lb) steel plate girder span. The girder was 418 feet in length and was preassembled and floated in place using barges. The waterway closure was limited to 12 hours, minimizing the impact to project schedule and river traffic. The girder was lifted 80 feet high and secured in place.
In addition to supplying the heavy lifting system, scheme development assistance, and details, STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES also provided technical support onsite during preparation and execution.
The improvements project will also include construction of a new slab-on-girder bridge for I-64 eastbound.
The new, widened I-64 will alleviate the challenges experienced by the counties and will provide a 21st-century transportation upgrade for the region.
