Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 1, 1994 TAG: 9409010089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On Wednesday, amid the pomp of multicolored balloons, preening by area politicians, a podium flanked by flowers and free cookies and drinks, the Virginia Department of Transportation construction inspector was out of a job.
The new bridge - 2,800 cubic yards of concrete melded to 333 tons of steel - was officially opened with an applause-drenched parade of city rescue equipment, a Valley Metro bus and a Coca-Cola truck.
And Adams is looking forward to his next big project, wherever that may be.
The hoopla surrounding the otherwise unexciting event "is a little bit hokey," admitted Michelle Bono, city public information officer. "But the real intent was that people have been inconvenienced for so long, we wanted to be able to give them a soda and a cookie, to say thanks."
The impact the bridge will have on citizens - and on Norfolk Southern Corp., which operates a tangle of train tracks beneath it - is less hokey.
Gone are the circuitous detours that up to 10,000 drivers had to navigate daily after the bridge was closed Aug. 16 last year. For the railroad's part, it can now move double-decker freight cars freely through the yard, a tricky, time-consuming chore in the past, said L.R. Coulling III, NS Roanoke Terminal trainmaster.
And buses, trucks and heavy emergency equipment that in years past had to avoid the narrow old bridge - its weight limit was 7 tons - now can drive unfettered across the new structure's four-lane concrete deck. There is no weight limit on the new bridge.
"If an emergency vehicle can save just 10 to 20 seconds in reaching its destination, it may saves lives here in Roanoke," Mayor David Bowers said.
The chief contractor for the $2.8 million structure was Roanoke-based Lanford Bros. Co. Inc. VDOT picked up 98 percent of the cost, with the city shouldering the remaining 2 percent.
From the beginning, the project was a partnership between the contractor, the railroad, city and state officials and a wide variety of subcontractors who performed pieces of the job.
Fred Altizer, administrator for VDOT's Salem District, said the bridge was the first "partnering" project in the 12 counties covered by the district.
"This bridge is more than just the concrete and steel we see here today. It symbolizes the cooperation of many different parties," Altizer said.
The concept behind partnering is to get all involved parties together before construction to talk through the details involved in the project, so communication lines are established before problems arise. Altizer pronounced the process a success, and said VDOT intends to use it on future projects in the district.
Not that there weren't a few glitches along the way.
The original timetable called for construction to begin in April 1993. But during initial preparations, VDOT discovered an old brick 5-by-5-foot box culvert storm drain supporting part of the railroad tracks.
Construction had to proceed in a way that wouldn't damage it, or part of the tracks could have collapsed, Adams said.
Utilities also got in the way. Gas lines that served an old bakery had to be removed, and the contractor had to encase an old, but still functioning, railroad water line in concrete. Had it been damaged, it would have drained a small private reservoir and could have flooded the tracks, Adams said.
Finally, there were delays caused by bad weather. When construction began last summer, engineers figured it would last 240 days and be complete by April.
"But you know what kind of winter we had," Adams said.
The construction deadline was extended 130 days because of ice storms last winter and periods of heavy rain this summer. Another 27 days were added for extra work.
by CNB