My name is Michael Miguel. I have been in the construc-
Mathews Bridge Deck Replacement Project
By admin | August 23, 2007
The Mathews Bridge was originally completed in April of 1953, the cantilever steel truss Mathews Bridge spans the St. Johns River and today brings more than 66,000 vehicles a day in and out of downtown Jacksonville along the Arlington Expressway. It was named after John E. Mathews, a Florida state legislator from the area and Chief Justice of the 1955 Florida Supreme Court. Justice Mathews was instrumental in making the bridge’s construction a reality.
Project Information: This 12.9 million dollar project, began on or about mid January, 2007. Project is being carried out by PCL Construction, and will replace the existing open grate bridge deck currently on Mathews Bridge with an “Exodermic Deck” resulting in a concrete riding surface.
An “exodermic deck system” is a steel grid filled in with lightweight concrete. This system has been successfully installed on several bridges including structures in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and the Tappan-Zee Bridge in New York which is similar to the Mathews Bridge. It has also been used on several other bridges in the United States . Supports beneath and above the riding surface will be replaced and strengthened to help provide a smoother ride across the bridge. The end result will be a solid riding surface across the entire 7,375 foot long bridge.
The Federal Department Of Transportation gave my crew among others, 90 days to complete a particular phase of the project. We replaced approximately 1600 lineal feet of grating by four lanes wide including median, with concrete.
It was a matter of removing existing grating, stingers, curb, median, and guardian rail and replaced with all new. Except the grating, that was replaced with lightweight solid concrete deck. This phase of the project was actually completed in 76 days, few days earlier than the deadline. We were all very please about it.
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