The $24-million Dick Henderson Bridge replacement involved many unique features. All main span work was completed utilizing barge mounted equipment, and the existing truss bridge was then demolished and new plate girders were erected. During erection in mid-summer, when drop-in keystone pieces expanded due to heat, the erection crew dipped the girders into the river to cool them. The bridge approaches were initially designed to contain lightweight foam fill bounded by MSE walls but this presented alignment difficulties and added cost to the project. Kokosing partnered with a ground improvement subcontractor for a solution that improved the underlying soils and allowed the construction of conventional MSE walls with granular backfill, saving the project $480,000 and minimizing short-term risk and future maintenance costs.
What makes it interesting?
While river piers were strengthened and a new aesthetic pier facing were completed while the existing bridge was still open to traffic, Kokosing completely replaced the superstructure within an aggressive 300-calendar-day closure window. Kokosing met challenges brought on by heat and other factors using ingenuity and partnering with subcontractors to save the project money and time.
How HCSS Software assisted with this project
HCSS HeavyBid was utilized for all aspects of the project estimate. The use of holding accounts, child items, and non-additive biditems allowed for efficient analysis of multiple demolition and erection scenarios. Additionally, Kokosing continued using bridge estimating software features through Heavybid post-bid to analyze Value Engineering concepts and generate project budgets.
