Worcester County, MA.

The first installation of the Folded Steel Plate Girder System was selected as a “pilot” project for MassDOT to replace a two-span bridge originally constructed in 1900. The former two-lane bridge had no shoulder and carried River Road over the Ironstone Brook. The bridge was considered to be in serious condition because of deterioration of the surrounding mortar and the abutment masonry.

Combined with substandard safety features and road geometry, a new, wider bridge was designed to accommodate a 12 ft. lane and 4 ft. shoulder, while keeping disturbance to the waterway at a minimum. The new bridge would increase in size to 50 ft. in length and 35 ft. in width. In order to minimize the impact to traffic (limited construction-site would result in road closure and 4.5-mile detour), MassDOT, a leader in Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) technology, selected the FSPG™.

The bridge was replaced and opened to traffic within 13 weeks and resulted in a 28% reduction in on-site construction schedule compared to a conventional adjacent precast concrete box beam alternative. For more information on the project, please see the following article from the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania, Summer 2013 edition, written by Thomas G. Zink.