SR 32 Bridge in Bolivar County
Mississippi Department of Transportation

Involved Companies

Background

In mid-September 2017, state bridge inspectors found severe damage in the timber piling in the substructure that failed due to rapid deterioration and overloading.  The bridge was closed to all traffic while design engineers considered repair options to increase the capacity of the bridge. After evaluating the damage and condition of the bridge, no feasible option was available to increase the bridge capacity to an unposted condition.  Being in the MS Delta, the route is heavily traveled by planting and harvesting equipment. In an attempt to decrease the impact to the farming industry, MDOT decided to expedite an emergency bridge replacement and design kickoff meetings were underway in less than 2 weeks after closing the bridge.  MDOT elected to use a FIB 36 single span bridge, produced by precast producer JJ Ferguson, to expedite the project. Using this configuration, minimal utility relocation was needed and no ROW was required. Hydraulic design was complete by Jan. 2018 and final plans were delivered by the first week of February 2018.  The project was let in April of 2018 and Talbot Brothers Co. won the bid. The bridge’s final construction inspection was held on Aug. 9, 2018. Less than one year after finding the damaged piling, the bridge was designed and constructed without ROW thanks to the ability to keep grades low using the Florida shape beam.  Talbot used an innovative trolley system to set the beam to avoid installing a work bridge or using large cranes to set the beams.