INSIDE/OUT ISSUE 58
SUMMER
NEWSLETTER
JULY 2015
A Safe—and Sound— Crossing: The New Boeing North Bridge Embracing new technologies is the key to success behind the world’s largest aerospace company. When Boeing identified structural and potential seismic issues on its North Bridge at its Renton, Washington facility, the company supported the idea of using new technologies to replace the aging structure. As part of the design team, BergerABAM suggested the innovative Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) design. The North Bridge is used to move airplanes over the Cedar River to the Renton Municipal Airport to ready them for delivery to clients and serves as Boeing’s only access to the airport. Since World War II, when the Renton site was first established and the original bridge was built, 15,000 Boeing airplanes have been carried from the Renton facility to the airport via the bridge. By 2013, Boeing anticipated increased production of its airplanes and had to prepare for the incorporation of the 737 Max into its production system by January 2015. The project faced construction challenges: a relatively short time line to tear down the old and construct the new bridge due to in-water work restrictions imparted by the regulatory agencies, minimal effect on current production and delivery, noise constraints, bridge replacement final before the 2015 737 MAX rollout, and minimal disruptions to the airport.
The completed Boeing North Bridge in service
The ABC technique for use in high-seismic regions turned out to be a good fit for this project. Based on the prior experimental work of BergerABAM’s President and Chief Executive Officer Lee Marsh, PhD, in conjunction with Bijan Khaleghi and Eric Schultz of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT); Stephen Seguirant of Concrete Technology Corporation (CTC); and Olafur Haraldsson, Marc Eberhard, and John Stanton of the University of Washington, the ABC technique used prefabricated bents especially designed for highearthquake-prone areas to help shorten construction time, as well as increase on-site safety and risk. Prior to its use on the North Bridge, the ABC technology was experimentally tested at the University of Washington. It was then applied during a demonstration project for a bridge replacement crossing between Interstate 5 in Washington State for the Washington State Department of Transportation, the first (continued on page 2)
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