TMCNet: Giant robot will move new I-35E overpass into place

[July 06, 2012]

Giant robot will move new I-35E overpass into place

Jul 06, 2012 (Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Maryland Avenue Bridge over Interstate 35E is soon to be a goner.

Minnesota Department of Transportation crews will begin destroying the sizable section of Maryland Avenue spanning the interstate on Friday, July 13. The avenue will close until early or mid-September, when it reopens with a new bridge in place, a $14.1 million project that some say illustrates the future of bridge construction in Minnesota.


At the state's request, Lunda Construction is using an innovative approach that is expected to cut in half the time Maryland Avenue will be closed.

Workers are building the new bridge off-site -- on MnDOT property south of Maryland and west of the interstate, clearly visible from the highway. Using a giant robot conveyor belt, crews will roll the bridge into place during a 12-hour window the weekend of Aug. 10-12 or Aug. 17-19.

"It's been done in a couple of states already, but this is the first time here in Minnesota," said Kevin Gutknecht, a MnDOT spokesman. State officials see Maryland Avenue as a pilot project, a training opportunity of sorts for both MnDOT and private industry.

The European machine, known as a "self-propelled modular transporter," looks like a giant platform on several dozen wheels, each of them computer-controlled to allow for an even distribution of weight. The transporter will make two trips down the center of the interstate to fit the east and west halves of the bridge into the empty socket that once held the original span.

Project manager Dave Herzog said using the transporter adds about $1 million to construction costs, but shaves about two months of road closures. Maryland is expected to be closed for just 60 days.

Drivers won't see a check in the mail, but avoiding traffic delays does save them time and money in terms of lost productivity.

"There is a cost to the acceleration that we're doing," Herzog said, "and it's a cost that's weighed against the road-user costs." The Federal Highway Administration contributed a $2 million grant toward using the technology.

Crews will also rebuild Maryland from Westminster Street to just west of L'Orient Street.

The bridge replacement is one of three projects aimed at improving the entrance to St. Paul from the north.

Between 2013 and 2015, the Cayuga Street project will rebuild I-35E from University Avenue to Maryland Avenue. That includes replacing the Cayuga Bridge, the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge and the railroad bridges along I-35E. The partial interchange at Pennsylvania Avenue will be replaced by a full interchange at Cayuga Street.

When it's finished, the new I-35E roadway will have new auxiliary lanes and room in the center for a proposed MnPASS lane.

The MnPASS project would include redoing I-35E from Maryland Avenue to Little Canada Road. That project, which would also unfold from 2013 to 2015, would replace the Arlington, Wheelock and Larpenteur bridges over I-35E. It would also replace I-35E bridges over Roselawn Avenue, County Road B and Highway 36.

More information about the Maryland Avenue project is online at bit.ly/OCw5J5.

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.

KEY CONSTRUCTION DATES FOR MARYLAND AVENUE BRIDGE OVER I-35E Some dates are tentative and will depend on construction progress.

July 13-16: Crews remove the bridge. Northbound and southbound I-35E reduced to single lane between Arlington Avenue and Cayuga Street at 10 p.m. Friday, July 13. I-35E traffic routed up and down the Maryland Avenue ramps. All lanes reopen by 5 a.m. July 16. Maryland Avenue traffic detoured to Edgerton Street, Arlington Avenue and Jackson Street.

July 17-Aug. 20: Maryland Avenue ramps to and from southbound I-35E close July 17 as crews rebuild the avenue between L'Orient Street and I-35E. New Gateway Trail tunnel under Maryland to be built. Ramps reopen by Aug. 20.

Aug. 1-Aug. 24: Maryland Avenue ramps to and from northbound I-35E close Aug. 10 as crews rebuild the avenue between I-35E and Westminster Street. Ramps reopen by Aug. 24. New bridge to be moved into place by giant transporter during 12-hour period the weekend of Aug. 10-12 or Aug. 17-19.

September: Bridge reopens to traffic in early-to-mid September. Construction will continue.

___ (c)2012 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) Visit the Pioneer Press (St.

Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

[ Back To Homepage ]