A complicated railroad bridge slide went off without a hitch at the Newman Road Underpass Project in West Lafayette at the end of August. We provided design and construction inspection services for this project with an aggressive schedule that replaces a one-lane, stone-arch railroad bridge with a modern bridge structure and reconstructs Newman Road from Benson Drive to SR 26. It also includes a new roundabout at SR 26 and Newman Road that opened to traffic July 15. The project provides a new gateway and safer access to the nearby 176-acre Purdue Discovery Park District Aerospace.
This project involved multiple disciplines within our firm to collaborate and innovate during design and construction efforts. These include the Land Surveying Group, Road Team Maurovich, Road Team Lau, Bridge Group, Traffic Engineering Group, Environmental Services Group, Civil Engineering Group, Ohio Road Group, and Construction Solutions Group. It also involved work-sharing between Indiana and Ohio design centers to make it a success.
Prior to the bridge slide, crews built a new bridge structure on temporary supports adjacent to the existing arch structure. Train traffic was then shut down for 106 hours to allow for the installation of the new bridge structure. After demolition of the original stone and concrete arch, operators slide the newly constructed bridge into place on new pile-supported precast end bents. Bridge Group Project Manager Robert Anderson, Field Manager Joe Dubyel, and Resident Project Representative Jon Baldry were onsite to ensure all went well during the bridge slide. The nearly 44-foot lateral slide was completed within about 90 minutes from start to finish. Check out a 53-second time-lapse video of the event. Substantial project completion should occur in late November/early December.
