On the cover of the April 2021 issue of Roads & Bridges, the magazine featured construction of the dual bridges on NC-540 over Juniper Branch – a segment of North Carolina Turnpike Authority’s $2.2 billion Complete 540 project.
DRMP designed this unique bridge as part of the Lane-Blythe Construction JV (Joint Venture) Team, which consisted of Lane-Blythe as the builder and WSP USA as lead designer. DRMP is subconsultant to WSP on this project.
Referred to as the Southeast Extension of the Triangle Expressway, the R-2828 project (U.S. 401 to I-40) is a $403 million North Carolina Turnpike Authority design-build project that will bring the Raleigh Outer Loop (I-540) full circle connecting the towns of Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Garner, Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Raleigh, and Knightdale.
The Complete 540 project is comprised of four Transportation Improvement Program projects – R-2721A, R-2721B, R-2828, and R-2829. WSP contracted with DRMP to design a 1.8-mile stretch of roadway and a total of four bridges for the R-2828 segment. DRMP also is responsible for quality control, inter-discipline coordination, supplemental survey, and subsurface utility engineering.
As DRMP continues our focus on strategic growth, the R-2828 project is a huge effort our firm is proud to be a part of and one that’s enhanced our relationship with WSP. It’s also helped raise public awareness in North Carolina about our burgeoning firm.
This project is a big step forward for DRMP Structures and our entire North Carolina design team. The R-2828 project represents our biggest contribution to a North Carolina design-build project to date.
A Bridge with Curved Appeal
Our design for the portion of the R-2828 project – from east of Old Stage Road to east of Sauls Road – includes three bridge sites. The dual bridges on NC-540 over Juniper Branch were scheduled early in the construction sequence. They represent one of the more unique aspects of this project because the structures are on a curved alignment with trapezoidal spans, so each of the 52 girders on the two bridges have a different length.
During the pursuit phase of the project, our team presented an Alternative Technical Concept (ATC). Our ATC had an estimated cost savings of more than $1.3 million in construction, inspection, and maintenance. We were able to reduce the bridge lengths from the original concept plans while maintaining the requirements for the environmentally sensitive area. In developing the ATC, we worked closely with WSP’s lead hydraulic engineer and environmental scientist. We were careful to maintain a 50-foot buffer to Juniper Branch and limit impacts to the wetland areas. The new bridge layout saved approximately 11,500 square-feet of bridge deck while making allowances for future bridge widening.
ATCs are an integral part of the design-build process. Teams are incentivized to develop innovative concepts in design and construction to help reduce costs and win the project. These cost savings are ultimately passed on to the taxpayers, which is appealing to owners and a major reason for implementing design-build project delivery. DRMP has saved our clients over $35 million on ATCs in our Design Build work in the Southeast.
Specialty Engineering in Post Design
After the completion of the design and plan deliverables for our three bridge sites, the DRMP design team has continued to provide support to the Lane-Blythe JV team. We are reviewing shop drawings and responding to RFIs (Requests for Information) for the four DRMP bridges under construction.
In addition to our normal post-design responsibilities, we evaluated the bridge deck and girders on the eastbound Juniper Branch bridge for a special loading condition. The construction team wanted to place a large concrete pump truck on the Juniper Branch bridge deck to pour the adjacent deck spans on both structures. This allowed the team to allocate valuable resources to another bridge site.
We provided sealed calculations and plans detailing the pump truck location. Additionally, we designed distribution beams for the pump truck outriggers and set limitations for the concrete supply truck locations. This permitted the team to pour the adjacent deck spans without overloading the girders or damaging the new bridge deck.
We appreciate the opportunity to work on all phases of this project. It has allowed us to show our expertise, but we couldn’t have done this without a complete team effort. WSP and Lane-Blythe JV have been great partners throughout this project.
The effort to complete the “Outer Loop” around Raleigh has been in the works for years after the state weighed various route alternatives. It’s been a great opportunity to be able to work on a major project that will provide much-needed traffic relief and connectivity for the greater Raleigh region.
