Acceler-8 Project Replaces a Bridge in a Weekend!

The design-build project, Acceler-8 will replace or substantially repair 8 Massachusetts Turnpike bridges, located near the I-495 interchange, in 8 weekends this summer, one bridge per weekend.
According to Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, “A “typical bridge job” on bridges of the size of those being replaced currently would take three to four years… You can’t do these kinds of replacements on every bridge … the requirement for doing these rapid replacements is that you have to have a relatively short span. In this case, the longest part of the bridge is only 120 feet,” he said. “We use what we call prefabricated bridge units which are integrated beams and decks … so they can be easily made and dropped in quickly, so that’s a big reason why we chose these ones.”
Included in the design-build team are contractor JF White and engineering firm Tetra Tech who both have a lot of experience in rapid bridge replacement, making Mass DOT to feel they are well suited for the team.

We’re looking forward to the completion of another example of Design-Build Done Right®.