Newark Bay Bridge

This project involved precast bridge deck panels, reconstruction, miscellaneous structural repairs, roadway improvements, lighting upgrades, and the installation of a de-icing system on the Newark Bay Bridge and the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension from Mile N0.00 to 6.00 in Essex and Hudson Counties. SJH began work in 2008, providing field inspections, design, and preparation of contract documents for the repair of this tied-arch bridge.

The project featured Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC), seismic analysis, recommendations for seismic retrofits, and investigations and recommendations for main span tie chord redundancy improvements. The scope included over twenty approach spans and a tied-arch main span. SJH performed load ratings of the stringers and floor beams in both the as-built and as-inspected conditions. The team also developed report details for steel stringers, floor beams, bearings, and barrier and deck part replacements.

Due to their location encroaching on adjacent lanes or straddling two lanes, the majority of the deck replacements required the use of shoulders as traffic lanes. The placement and removal of temporary line striping and concrete construction barriers necessitated the closing of supplementary or “buffer” lanes, which was only permissible during certain off-peak traffic times, late at night. The deck was replaced with precast concrete deck panels to expedite construction and maintain the necessary lanes of traffic during the project. Work was carried out in daily, weekly, and multi-week construction stages with single lane or shoulder closures.