You know by now that, for jobs big and small, Mabey’s structural shoring does it all. Pittsfield, MA-based Maxymillian Technologies found out earlier this year that Mabey products can also handle big jobs in some of the smallest spaces. Maxymillian was contracted by the Massachusetts Highway Department to rehabilitate the North Adams Bridge and by using Mabey solutions, the contractor will complete their job safely and at a significant time and monetary savings.
The North Adams Bridge, also known as the Hadley Overpass, in North Adams, Massachusetts is a main thoroughfare through the western part of the state and allows north and south bound traffic on State Route 8 to safely cross the Hoosic River and B&M Railway. Due to years of use and neglect, the bridge had fallen into a state of disrepair and was badly in need of refurbishment. As part of a $24 million project, the Massachusetts Highway Department chose Maxymillian Technologies to perform the rehab on the worn bridge. Maxymillian would need to find a means to support the bridge structure before repairing the piers or deck, and fabricating a custom solution to do so would needlessly waste time and money. Maxymillian chose Mabey to provide the structural shoring solution they needed because of the product’s ease of use and because of the technical and engineering support Mabey provides.
Maxymillian’s Wayne McCaulley worked with Mabey product specialist Jim Porreca and engineer Ameenah Saleem to develop a system utilizing the modular System 160 shoring which would safely support the bridge’s weight for the duration of the project and allow for quick, on-site assembly. In March of 2009, 62 props were delivered on standard flatbed trucks to the jobsite – the tallest among them measuring over 12′ high when assembled. Ron Mannet and his crews went to work quickly by pulling the equipment from the trucks, assembling the gear and easily moving it into place under the bridge’s arches and cantilevers. Under one of the heaviest and most heavily damaged arches, 16 props were used to support 540 kips. Though the existing bridge piers would most likely carry any longitudinal forces, rakers and scaffold tubing were added to each of the props for additional lateral stability.
Construction on the North Adams Bridge is scheduled to conclude in spring of 2012 and thanks to Mabey staff and products, and the dedication of Wayne McCaulley, Ron Mannet and their teams, their rehabilitation project should be an overwhelming success.
