Brayman Construction Corporation has selected Finley Engineering Group Inc. as the construction engineering consultant for the new I-64 Kanawha River Bridge between Dunbar and South Charleston, W. Va. When finished in 2010, the bridge's 760-ft main span will be the longest concrete box girder span in the United States.
Finley supplied support and construction engineering assistance to Brayman during the pre-bid phase of the project, and will provide full construction engineering services to the contractor for the construction of the bridge. These services include modification of plan details to improve constructability of the bridge, construction analysis and construction manual preparation, geometry control manual preparation, working drawings preparation and design assistance of the temporary works required to build the bridge.
The $82.8 million West Virginia Department of Transportation project includes eights spans at a total length of 2,950 ft, with a 65.5-ft-wide deck accommodating four lanes of traffic and two shoulders on a single-cell box girder.
The new bridge will carry eastbound traffic on an improved curved alignment as part of the widening of I-64 in Kanawha County. Westbound traffic will remain on the existing steel plate girder bridge. The project is a major piece of a long-term project to alleviate congestion and improve accessibility on I-64 through West Virginia.
The project design includes the construction of seven piers--five on land and two on the edge of the river. In addition to the 760-foot main span over a navigational waterway, the bridge includes 460-ft and 540-ft side spans and five additional approach spans ranging from 144 to 295 ft.
The continuous girder has a varying depth of 16 to 38 ft at the main span and a constant 16-ft depth at the approaches. The structure is designed to be built by balanced cantilever using form travelers with 175 cast-in-place segments.
