Project
The Red River Valley in the eastern portion of North Dakota is primarily an agriculture-driven economy. Within the Red River Valley, Grand Forks County has more than 300 bridges crossing a variety of stream sizes and connecting hundreds of miles of roads used to transport and deliver agricultural products. Project focus was put on an aging structure servicing 36th Street NE near the town of Northwood, ND. The aging substructures and increasingly heavy loads were significantly reducing the structural capacity of the existing bridge and threatening the safety of the traveling public. Capacity reduction of the bridge meant longer detour routes and additional expenses for transporting commodities. Material shortages during the Covid pandemic were impacting the availability of cement powder, meaning potential delays for construction of a concrete bridge. Grand Forks County hired KLJ to design and produce a plan set for a replacement bridge that did not use concrete in order to be able to construct the bridge in time for the large equipment usage involved in the agriculture spring work.
Solution
The final design included abutments comprised of H-pile, Channels and galvanized corrugated sheet piling. The superstructure was bid with two bid options, a prefabricated steel structure or a prefabricated timber structure. The project was bid on December 16, 2021, and the prefabricated steel structure was the selected option with Industrial Builders Inc being awarded the contract.
The unique structure comprised of beams manufactured with weathering steel, a bridge deck comprised of corrugated sheet metal, and abutments that were fabricated using raw steel to be painted after installation.
The Contractor mobilized to the site on March 14, 2022, and while the superstructure of the bridge was being manufactured, they removed the existing bridge and started constructing the abutments, driving piling, welding on pile caps and installing sheet piling backwalls. The prefabricated sections were delivered and installed on April 19, 2022. The bridge was nearly completed when a near-record spring flood event and blizzard hit the Red River Valley. The project site was inundated and unworkable for nearly two weeks. As soon as the water receded, materials were cleaned and prepared for painting and earthwork grading operations were completed to tie the roadway back in and facilitate guardrail installation. The roadway and deck were graveled, and the bridge was open to traffic on May 19, 2022, prior to the annual passage of tractors and heavy equipment that accompany the spring planting season in this agriculture driven region.
The project included hydraulics, structure, and roadway design, environmental commitments, and right-of-way (ROW) acquisition.
Result
Without the use of steel in all aspects of this bridge, this timeline would not have been feasible. Concrete cure times, cold temperatures, flooding issues, and material delays would have meant another season of long detours and potential safety concerns for the traveling public. In 2024 this project was recognized by The American Institute of Steel Construction and the National Steel Bridge Alliance as one of only eight bridges honored with the Prize Award - the structural steel industry’s highest design honor for bridges.
