Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (Connecticut)

Infobox Bridge
bridge_name=Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge


locale=New Haven, Connecticut
carries=Six lanes of I-95
crosses=Quinnipiac River
maint=Connecticut Department of Transportation
open=1958
below=convert|18.3|m|ft
design=Girder and floorbeam
length=convert|1443.2|m|ft
width=convert|25.6|m|ft
coordinates=Coord|41|17|55|N|72|54|14|W|display=inline,titleThe Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, more commonly referred to as the Q Bridge by locals, is a bridge that carries Interstate 95 (Connecticut Turnpike) over the mouth of the Quinnipiac River in New Haven, Connecticut. The 1,300 m (0.8 mi) span – which opened in 1958 – is a girder and floorbeam design where steel beams support the concrete bridge deck. The bridge carries three lanes of traffic in each direction with no inside or outside shoulders. The bridge was officially dedicated as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in 1995 to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor. [ [http://www.cga.ct.gov/ps95/Act/pa/1995PA-00325-R00SB-01041-PA.htm Connecticut General Assembly Pubic Act No. 95-325] ]

The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge will be replaced by a $490 million 10-lane extradosed bridge (the first of its kind in the United States) that is scheduled for completion by 2015. The new bridge is the centerpiece of a $2 billion program to reconstruct and widen 13 miles (21 km) of I-95 between West Haven and Branford.

History

This bridge was created as part of a project to build Interstate 95. The land acquisition and construction cut through many neighborhoods, including Italian and Jewish ones.

ignature span replacement

Bridge plans bring controversy

The existing Q-Bridge opened with a design capacity of 90,000 vehicles per day (VPD), but as of 2006 more than 150,000 vehicles cross the span daily. In 1989 the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CONNDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) initated a study to improve I-95 between Branford and West Haven, including replacing the existing Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge. The study that included the replacement of the Q-Bridge accounts for 7 miles (12 km) of the Connecticut Turnpike from the I-91/Route 34 interchange in New Haven to Cedar Street in Branford. The remaining 6 miles (10 km) of the corridor from the I-91/Route 34 interchange to Route 162 (Sawmill Road) will be rebuilt as two separate projects with their own EIS's.

In 1992, the FHWA and CONNDOT released the draft environmental impact statement, which presented a number of alternatives to improve eastern 7 miles (12 km) of the 13-mile (22 km) corridor:

* 10-lane bridge; 8 lanes to Branford
* 8-lane bridge; 6 lanes to Branford with a light-rail line (utilizing the median of I-95) from New Haven Union Station to Branford.
* Construction of a new bridge parallel to the existing bridge, which would carry four northbound lanes of the Connecticut Turnpike; the existing bridge would then be rehabilitated and reconfigured to carry four lanes of southbound traffic.

All of the corridor alternatives presented in the 1992 DEIS were subsequently rejected by local officials, mass-transit advocates, and environmental groups.

Returning to the drawing board

In response to the controversy over the design of the new bridge, CONNDOT organized the Intermodal Concept Development Committee (ICDC), which included representatives from New Haven, East Haven, and Branford, environmental groups, local business associations, the FHWA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Coast Guard.

The ICDC examined over 100 alternatives before narrowing the list to seven in the Supplemental DEIS, presented in April 1997. The final EIS was issued in March 1999, which called for a 10-lane Q-Bridge; 8 lanes to East Haven and 6 lanes to Branford. The FHWA issued a Record of Decision, approving the FEIS in August 1999. [ [http://www.i95newhaven.com/poverview/history.asp I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Improvement Program History] ] CONNDOT is preparing two separate studies to reconstruct the remainder of the corridor through the Long Wharf section of New Haven and West Haven.

In 2001 New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. pressed CONNDOT and the FHWA to design the new Q-Bridge as a signature span. A cable-stay design was originally considered, but concerns over the height of the towers interfering with the approach into Tweed-New Haven Airport compelled CONNDOT to consider an extradosed bridge, which retains the aesthetic qualities of a cable-stay structure, with shorter towers.

Construction on the eastern approach to the bridge in Branford and East Haven began in 2001; while work began in 2004 on the earthworks for the western approach around the I-91/Route 34 interchange. The United Illuminating Company erected new pylons and rerouted its 345 kilovolt transmission lines away from the bridge in 2003, to make way for the larger bridge to be built.

More construction delays

Construction on the bridge itself was originally set to begin in 2005 and be completed in 2012. However, two historically significant structures--the former Yale Boathouse and the Fitch Foundry--sat directly in the path of the new bridge. The City of New Haven demanded that these two structures be preserved. [ [http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?s=2564977 Future of Yale Boathouse, bridge development in question, WTNH TV Channel 8, November 15, 2004] ] Mayor DeStefano further argued that CONNDOT should include the expansion of I-95 through Long Wharf and West Haven into the overall plan instead of pursuing these projects separately. Given the impasse between CONNDOT and the City of New Haven over these two issues, the FHWA threatened to pull funding for the project unless the city and state could come to a consensus on how to proceed while keeping the project's costs under control. [ [http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?s=4098314 New Haven trying to get agreement on Q-Bridge project, WTNH TV Channel 8, November 9, 2005] ] [ [http://www.nhregister.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=15461369&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8 Feds may halt Q-bridge rehab Highway administration unhappy with cost overruns, New Haven Register, October 27, 2005] ] Realizing that such a move would effectively void the already-approved EIS and require a new one to be developed, CONNDOT and the city of New Haven made a compromise in late 2005 that called for CONNDOT to build a $32 million replica of the Yale Boathouse at Long Wharf Park. In exchange, the City of New Haven agreed to allow CONNDOT to continue the environmental and design studies on the Long Wharf and West Haven sections apart from the I-91/Route 34 to Branford segment of I-95 that includes the Q-Bridge. [ [http://www.nhregister.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=15550105&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8 Q bridge meeting is productive, New Haven Register, November 10, 2005] ]

The project was let to bid in May 2006, but there were no bids received by the December 27, 2006 deadline. Two construction firms interested in the project cited--among other things--the absence of an escalator clause in the project contract to cover the rising cost of fuel and raw materials for the lack of bids. [ [http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?s=6140417 Q-Bridge Construction, WTNH TV Channel 8, February 26, 2007] ]

taged construction

In response, CONNDOT divided the bridge project into multiple contracts that will be let in stages as construction progreses. While this makes the project more manageable for contractors and highway officials, this approach will significantly add to the time reqired to complete the new bridge.

Eastern Approach

The eastern approach to the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge was reconstructed and widened through two contracts, officially referred to as Contracts C1 and C2 at a total cost of $120 million. Contract C1 reconstructed the eastern approach through East Haven, while Contract C2 is reconstructing I-95 from the East Haven/New Haven border to the eastern abutment of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge. O & G Industires of Torrington, Connecticut was the primary contractor for both contracts. While a train accident, harsh weather, and several design changes delayed the completion of Contract C1 by more than a year, O & G Industries is well ahead of schedule on Contract C2.

Western Approach and I-91/Route 34 Interchange

Reconstructing the western approach to the bridge has been divided into several contracts: E, E1 and E2. The first of which, Contract E1 was completed in late 2006. Contract E1 involved the construction of earthworks that will eventually support the western abutment of the new bridge and carry the new ramps to I-91 and Route 34. L.G. DeFelice Construction was originally awarded the $14 million contract, but the company went out of business midway through the project. The contract was picked up and completed by Hallberg Construction in 2006. Contract E2 will involve building the bridges that will carry the new ramps to I-91, while Contract E will complete the remainder of the interchange ramps, bridges, and new Turnpike mainline roadways.Walsh Construction Company will construct Contract E-2, a $90 million contract to build the flyover bridge for the I-95/I-91 Interchange to Route 34.

Removal of Buildings, Relocating Sewer Lines

The first bridge contract, which includes the demolition of buildings where the new bridge will stand, was let in October 2006. Work under this contract was completed in August 2007 with the demolition of the Yale Boathouse and another building where the west abutment of the new bridge will be.

A second contract was let on June 1, 2007, to relocate two 42-inch (1.06 meter) diameter sanitary sewer lines that lie directly beneath where part of the new bridge will be built. Construction of the new sewer lines will involve slant drilling through bedrock under New Haven Harbor. The Middlesex Company, a construction contractor based in Littleton, Massachusetts, was the only firm to bid on the $20 million sewer line relocation contract when CONNDOT unsealed bids for the project on August 27, 2007. [ [http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=1372&Q=289130&dotNav=| CONNDOT Bids and RFPs] ]

Building the Abutments and Pier Foundations

The third contract, known as Contract B1 in official documents, which covers construction of the bridge abutments and pier foundations for the northbound lanes was let on October 31, 2007. Four construction firms submitted bids for this $137 million contract February 6, 2008, according to bid results from CONNDOT. [ [http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=1400&q=260048 CONNDOT Projects Scheduled for Advertising] ] The contract was awarded to a joint venture between the Middlesex Company and Pittsfield, Maine-based Cianbro Corporation in April 2008. The final contract, known as Contract B, will construct the remainder of the new bridge and demolish the existing span. It is scheduled to be let in October 2008.

How the new bridge will be built

The new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge will be built in three stages. The first half of the new bridge will be built alongside and to the south of the existing bridge. This span will eventually carry the northbound lanes of I-95 once the entire project is complete. Once the first half is complete, it will carry three travel lanes in each direction while the existing bridge is demolished and the remaining half of the new span is built. Once complete, the southbound lanes will be shifted to the second span and the bridge will be opened to 5 lanes in each direction. Adding to the challenge of building the new bridge is that work must be coordinated with the ongoing reconstruction of the massive I-91/Route 34 interchange just west of the bridge. As a result, completion of the project is now scheduled for 2016, two years later than originally planned.

Financing the New Bridge

When the EIS for rebuilding I-95 between the I-91/Route 34 interchange and Exit 54 in Branford was issued in 1997, the project's cost was projected at $800 million. Of that, replacement of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge was estimated to be $360 million. Early on in the EIS process, officials considered placing a toll plaza at the east end of the bridge. The toll option would have had cars paying $4.00 to cross the bridge. Officials scrapped toll plans due to widespread opposition. When the project's costs were reassessed in 2007, the bridge's construction cost has skyrocketed to beyond $500 million, and the total cost for rebuilding I-95 from New Haven to Branford was increased to $1.36 billion. Some officials estimate that rebuilding the 7-mile Turnpike segment will balloon to over $2 billion by the time construction is completed in 2016. Regardless, construction will financed with 90% federal funds and 10% state and local funds.

References

External links

* [http://i95newhaven.com/ i95newhaven.com] - Official website for the highway reconstruction projects around New Haven Harbor
*Structurae|id=s0010933|title=Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge