Hartford Bridge Street Bridge Replacement

ECI was the low bidder on this $2.8M project which involved complete replacement of the bridge while utilizing the existing granite block abutments as a facade to the new substructure.  Bridge Street is a critical connector street through downtown White River Junction (Hartford).  The street passes below a two-track railroad bridge supporting the mainline and yard limits of the New England Central Railroad (NECR).   The 1929 underpass bridge had narrow clearances and was severely corroded.

The new bridge included drilled micro-pile foundations and cast-in-place “relief slabs” supporting a superstructure consisting of precast concrete girders.  The new rail was attached to the precast girders by direct fixation.  The project also included new wingwalls with stone facing, bridge appurtenances, pedestrian walkway, streetscape features, and significant track work beyond the approaches.

The work was completed with minimal impact to the railroad by phasing the rail traffic between the two tracks and with weekend shut-downs to allow for the relief slab and girder installations.  The phasing allowed for frequent rail yard switching movements, regular freight trains, and twice daily Amtrak trains through the site.

Through traffic on Bridge Street was closed for the duration of the heavy bridge work.  Traffic detour patterns were established to minimize the impact to the traveling public and the local merchants.