General contractor American Bridge Company, has awarded a $13 million contract for steel grid decking and galvanized drainage grating for the Walt Whitman Bridge Suspension Span & Anchorages Project to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based LB Foster Company.
"The bridge's original roadway will be replaced with LB Foster's custom engineered steel grid decking. This innovative technology will help enhance the structural integrity of the Delaware River span with the new deck's improved strength-to-weight ratio versus the existing concrete slab," noted John Stewart, LB Foster Construction Products Sales Representative.
The deck's unique steel fabrication reinforces the concrete to form a composite material that takes advantage of the best properties of both the concrete and steel. "Our prefabricated steel grid decking also expedites roadway replacement and lowers costs by minimizing installation schedules," said senior vice president Don Foster.
Ready-to-install panels will be fabricated and sized for specific roadway placement to lessen traffic disruption on the busy span.
The material will be manufactured at LB Foster's Fabricated Bridge Products facility in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The first of seven roadway replacement stages will begin in May 2011 and be timed to meet tight project scheduling throughout the next 12 months.
The Delaware River Port Authority's Walt Whitman Bridge is an 11,981 foot suspension span that links Philadelphia with Gloucester City, New Jersey.
