I-44 Project Bridge Rebuild

Project OverviewDescripción del proyecto

Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) was awarded this $31 million design-build bridge project for MoDOT. The operation improved 19 bridges along 30 miles of I-44 between Sarcoxie and Halltown, Missouri. Nine bridges were replaced, four bridges were eliminated, two bridges received new superstructures, and four bridges were rehabilitated.

Union Pacific Railroad altered their requirements for work over their tracks post-award. ESS and MoDOT teams partnered together to alter the scope to minimize the railroad impact at those bridges and meet the new requirements. This allowed the funds to be redirected to a bridge originally slated for a latex overlay to be completely rebuilt. This innovative solution avoided major delays and costs to the project and provided MoDOT great value.

Each bridge brought unique challenges. At the Williams Creek bridge, the team had to design and construct in the challenging karst topography and ultimately modified the pier design and construction. ESS and the designer collaborated quickly to maintain the schedule and cost of the bridge. During design, ESS performed hydraulic analysis on all bridges over creeks to verify all proposed bridges satisfied the zero-rise requirements. At two locations, alternate structural designs were implemented to eliminate piers in the waters, improving hydraulic efficiency and shortening the overall bridge length, which reduced construction costs and future maintenance costs.

Due to the 63,000 vehicles that use the I-44 highway each day, it was imperative that ESS kept at least one lane of I-44 open in each direction at all times in order to keep traffic moving. Crews were able to efficiently deliver on this promise by reducing the speed limit during temporary lane closures. In two locations, three-sided arch structures were constructed in place while traffic was
maintained on the existing bridges. All work was protected from the traveling public, which allowed our team to work uninterrupted and promoted the safety of all people.

With their ability to share regional resources, ESS teams were one step ahead and effectively moved over 51,500 cubic yards of dirt and paved almost 20,000 square yards of concrete. Shifted crews and shared resources between several sites over the 30-mile-long project limits kept the project ahead of schedule and traffic interference to a minimum. This cooperation and effort allowed the job to meet all of the project milestones and beat the final completion by more than a month.