Route 46 Hyperbuild Initiative

U.S. Route 46 Bridge over Overpeck Creek needed significant rehabilitation due to the poor condition of its superstructure system. The heavily traveled structure, which carries over 40,000 vehicles per day, had road-user costs estimated at $19,000 per day. The team needed to rehabilitate the 1920s-era bridge quickly and effectively without putting undue economic stress on the surrounding communities.

The Approach 

As one of the first of NJDOT's unique hyperbuild initiatives, the NJ Route 46 project goal was to streamline the design and construction phases of a traditional project, saving time and money during both phases, as well as significantly reducing associated motorist costs.  McCormick Taylor investigated four prefabricated alternatives for rehabilitating the six-span bridge. The team chose a modular precast bridge system, which not only created a new superstructure, but also extended the service life of the bridge by at least 50 years. An overhead gantry system was proposed which facilitated both demolition and erection, thereby allowing traffic to be maintained on the existing bridge throughout construction.

The Result

The savings, when compared to traditional construction methods, were substantial: construction time was reduced from 30 months to 7 months and an estimated $3 million was saved in design/construction costs.