These are the largest precast concrete bridge girders in Utah’s history and the third longest single-component beams in the United States behind two in Orlando, FL and one in Seattle, WA.
Forterra Structural Precast has a long history working with the Utah Department of Transportation on precast concrete bridge girders and partial depth deck panels. In addition, Forterra just finished supplying precast concrete beams, girders, and columns for the Jackson Hole, WY airport and are currently working on the Salt Lake City, Utah airport.
The installation of these six girders only took 3 days (2 girders per day) to keep disturbances to the public minimal.
I-15 would have been closed for months if this project had been done using cast-in-place concrete. The durability and ease of construction with precast concrete saved time for the public and construction crews.
Due to the size of these precast concrete bridge girders, they had to be shipped one at a time on long, wide trailers that take up two lanes of traffic with pilot car and Highway Patrol escorts. One girder takes two huge cranes to put it in place from the trailer.
Each girder weighs about 225,000 pounds and is just over 8 feet in depth. The prestressed concrete girders have (68) 0.6 inch diameter steel strands and each strand was pulled to 44,000 pounds of force. “With 68 strands, there is roughly three million pounds of force within the girder,” enough force to get the space shuttle into orbit.”
The durability and longevity of precast concrete make it a great building material. In addition, the speed of construction is a huge benefit to the owner and the public.
The girders are being used to widen the freeway, allowing for the community to travel with ease along the Technology Corridor.
Additional articles for reference:
Location:
Interstate 15 in Lehi, Utah (between Lehi Main Street and 2100 North exits)
Owner: Utah Department of Transportation
Designer/Architect: Utah Department of Transportation
Precast concrete specialty engineer: Forterra Structural Precast
Completion Date: December 18, 2018
Product: (6) 203ft long bridge girders
