Project Stakeholders

• Owner: New York State Department of Transportation, Region 11
• Contractor: Tully Construction Company, Inc.
• Project Completion: 2018
• Scope: 330,000 square feet of precast bridge deck

Project Overview

Originally designed and bid as cast-in-place, this project was re-evaluated for greater efficiency under former Governor Cuomo’s Drivers First Initiative. Fort Miller partnered with Tully Construction and NYSDOT to reimagine the project with a precast bridge deck solution.

Scope and Details

This critically important roadway in the Bronx sees thousands of commuters and visitors traveling on it every day, including motorists traveling to Yankee Stadium.

Originally, the deck replacement project was designed to utilize cast-in-place construction techniques. Upon examining the impact this would have on traffic patterns and required closures, the contractor proposed a precast solution.

Fort Miller Precast partnered with the contractor and NYSDOT to develop the precast panel layouts and details, and nearly every panel was unique. Our team then began production, supplying a total of 2,511 precast concrete bridge deck panels for the elevated viaduct.

Stainless steel reinforcement and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) were utilized on this project to ensure a long-lasting product for the owner. UHPC was used to fill the longitudinal and transverse joints, and once they cured, the entire top of the deck was diamond ground to provide a very smooth riding surface. 

Impact and Innovation

Utilizing precast bridge decks reduced the disruption to the traveling public by approximately two years versus the estimated timeframe for the cast-in-place alternative.

Rather than closing the roadway completely, the precast decking allowed for single-lane closures and limited required detours. 

Additionally, the client and the commuting public benefitted from our ability to cast and stage off-site. Less on-site work helped to limit noise and construction traffic around the project area. Each panel was able to cure without exposure to weather and vibrations from adjacent traffic, providing a superior product and extending the bridge deck’s lifespan.