design-build Replacement of I-95 Bridges over East Street & Roosevelt Avenue

As the Prime Design Consultant, Steere provided project management, bridge design, highway design, and maintenance and protection of traffic design for the accelerated design-build replacement of four bridges carrying Interstate 95 (I-95) over East Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Pawtucket, RI. This project was awarded the 2024 ACEC-RI 1st Place Gold Anchor Award (>$10 million category) for Outstanding Professional Design Excellence.

In lieu of detouring I-95 traffic to local roads and creating extensive queues as proposed in the Design-Build Base Technical Concept, the DB Team developed an Alternative Technical Concept that utilized accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques to perform the majority of bridge construction either offline or within eight 55-hour weekend closures that reduced I-95 to two travel lanes in each direction and temporarily detoured local roads. Meticulous planning, including an hour-by-hour schedule developed by the DB Team, and backup labor, equipment, and materials was critical to the successful execution of all eight construction weekends.

ABC techniques included: staged construction utilizing prefabricated bridge units (PBUs), precast concrete substructure units, and geosynthetic reinforced soil - integrated bridge system (GRS-IBS) abutments and wingwalls beneath the existing bridge.

The existing three span, structurally deficient structures were replaced with single span bridges.  The new bridges are comprised of steel plate girders made composite with precast concrete decks supported on precast concrete beam seats on GRS-IBS abutments.  The PBUs required deck closure pours made with fast-setting concrete, which attained the required compressive strength within 24-hours. Beam seat and GRS detailing allowed the majority of abutment construction to occur offline prior to the construction windows.

A Traffic Management Plan (TMP) and Temporary Traffic Control Plan (TTCP) detailed the proposed management strategy for each construction phase and short-term setups for final paving and installation of pavement markings. Steere conducted multiple meetings including public forums with project stakeholders, including the City of Pawtucket, MassDOT, and emergency services to minimize traffic impacts while maintaining the construction schedule.

Location: Pawtucket, RI

Owner: Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT)

Timeline: Design Completed in 2019; Construction Completed in 2022