Groene said the biggest challenge TraMar faced early on in the Blanchette project was the thickness of the bridge deck at just 8 inches, posing the risk of poking all the way through the bridge deck or blowing out concrete on the bottom side. By partnering with Hill & Smith Inc. engineers, they were able to develop an alternative shallow anchoring solution, which MoDOT approved for the project. Ultimately this anchoring system is less invasive and damaging to the bridge deck.
“Sometimes we've gone out on anchored bridges and at the end of it, we say it looks like swiss cheese with holes all throughout the pavement,” Groene said. “As far as a long-term life cycle, this is definitely a savings to MoDOT and the taxpayers.”
A major selling point for using steel barriers on the project over concrete barriers was the weight, as the former are much lighter than concrete. Zoneguard’s light weight allows 750 feet to be hauled on one truck, compared to the seven trucks needed for the equivalent length of a concrete barrier. The light weight and efficient trucking helps reduce downtime and speed up the installation process, with up to 1,500 feet installed in one hour.
That speed of installation was crucial on the Blanchette project, Simon said. With limited nighttime working hours to get the barriers set up, TraMar knew they could implement the Zoneguard® quickly.
“With the speed of installation, it’s less invasive to the traveling public, and we’re putting our workers out there at risk for fewer hours,” Simon said. “We were able to get on the road, get the job done, and get off the road.”
The Barrier of the Future
The steel barriers on the Blanchette Memorial Bridge continue to protect the motoring public and workers, with the rehab project slated to finish in summer 2021.
On the Blanchette project and others, the shiny steel barriers are catching people’s attention. From city personnel to other contractors, Groene says TraMar often receives calls from people interested in the solution and hearing what it’s all about.
“In general, people in Missouri are just curious about the new product and how it might benefit them on one of their projects they have coming up,” he said.
Groene said he hopes TraMar’s use of steel barriers in Missouri can be an example to surrounding states, like Illinois and Arkansas, that don’t allow products like Zoneguard® to be specified on projects just yet.
With increasing trucking costs and new electronic logging device regulations on truckers, Groene said the reduced freighting needed for steel barriers makes them a viable option for years to come. For TraMar, the efficient trucking afforded by Zoneguard® has already allowed the company to expand its services to a broader area across the state.
“We just see it as the barrier of the future,” Groene said. “We're trying to be proactive and stay ahead of the curve.”
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Editor's Note: Scranton Gillette Communications and the SGC Infrastructure Group are not liable for the accuracy, efficacy and validity of the claims made in this piece. The views expressed in this content do not reflect the position of the Roads & Bridges' Editorial Team.
