Century Steel
The Senator Edward P. Zemprelli Bridge, also known as the Glassport Bridge, was opened on March 2, 1987 replacing an arc bridge from 1928. Since its opening in 1987 it has reliably carried 2 lanes of traffic the 2,890 over the Monongahela River. After many years of wear and tear the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) contracted Century Steel Erectors to perform repairs to the supporting structures of the bridge. Century Steel once again turned to Mabey Bridge & Shore, Inc. to provide one of its modular structural shoring systems, MAT 75. After working with Mabey on the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh Century Steel called Mabey first so they could work with them through the bidding process to provide a cost effective solution to help them win the bid.
The project consisted of numerous pier locations that required bearing replacements, pedestal repairs, and other structural modifications. Numerous jacking and temporary support towers were required to make these necessary repairs. Century Steel knew that Mabey’s product specialist Jim Porreca would be the guy to help them win this project at bid time. Jim worked with Century Steel by strategically planning and scheduling a solution utilizing Mabey’s MAT 75 Structural Support System.
The MAT 75 system can support up to 165 Kips per leg which is more than enough capacity to support the bridge and its live traffic during the repairs, allowing the bridge to remain open. By working with Mabey, Century Steel was able to save substantial time and money in costly fabrication. One benefit of the MAT 75 system is that it can be dismantled and rebuilt in various configurations. Mabey’s Product Specialist, Jim Porreca, worked with Century Steel’s and the Mabey Engineering Team to provide 14 custom engineered solutions to support the 14 piers that were in need of repair. By utilizing Mabey’s modular shoring system Century steel was able to maximize the utilization of the minimum amount of equipment needed.
Dave, of century steel, and his team began work on the repairs of the Glassport Bridge in April of 2011. Working with Mabey has enabled the completion of this project to be sooner than it would have taken if Century Steel had to fabricate custom shoring materials. The flexibility of Mabey’s equipment coupled with their engineering and onsite support were key factors in Century Steels decision to work with Mabey on this project. Century Steel expects to conclude their work by fall 2011.