Projects

Newport Viaduct over Christina River, Foundation Repairs

Newport, Delaware

The Delaware Department of Transportation awarded JJID, Inc the Contract T201607401 for Foundation Repairs to BR 1-501 Newport Viaduct over Christina River. This contract extended the services life of this bridge an additional 25+ years. This project required JJID to employ all four tenants of the DCA Construction Excellence Awards criteria.

Design and Craftsmanship: This project required expert design by AECOM- several above ground specifications had to be reinterpreted for usage underwater. JJID and its best in class subcontractors had to perform very intricate steel repairs both above and below water. Excellence in Project Teamwork: Jobs like this with so many specialized activities require everyone from Design to Inspection to the Contractor- to work as a team. This project came across its share of unforeseen issues but everyone kept the goal firmly in mind and it was this team mentality that contribute to the overall success of the project. Major Scopes of Work included: Marine Underwater Repairs, Barge Work, Steel Repairs (above and below water), Jacking (raising the bridge for Bearing replacement), Placement of 8000 tons of Scour Protection, and regrading the active channel.

Innovation in Construction Technologies: As an almost 30 year company with a heritage of an over 80 year old company- JJID knows how to innovate and technology in new ways for ground breaking results. There are two outstanding examples of this on this Project: 1. JJID repurposed high end depth finders to ensure scour placement was at the correct elevations. This dramatically sped up this work and led to incredibly accurate results. 2. For the scour placement of 8,000 tons of stone varying in size from 3 stone (2 to 3 inches) to R7 Rip Rap (18 to 30 inches)- JJID looked back on its history to innovate. JJID over the last 10 years has used barges often on many specialized projects but after unsuccessfully using barges for stone placement for a couple months- knew something needed to change. The Project and Executive team took the drawing board, the solution they came up with a Barge Bridge was a master class is using old technology in new ways. This barge bridge was 160’ long and had a movable work platform. This innovation allowed JJID to triple production on this difficult item.

Meeting the Challenges of a Difficult Job: Marine work in any facet is difficult. But in an environment with 4 to 6 knot currents and major tidal fluctuations- anything on or in the water is exponentially more difficult. Divers struggled to maintain their bearing and get under pier caps to make the contract repairs. A good example of how strong the current was when removing debris from the underwater H Piles we pulled an entire car out from the piles- That had been jammed in between the piles for years. That is an apt example of difficult circumstances surrounding this job.Weather played a major role on the underwater and on water work. Over 100 weather days were claimed because of the sever impact on productivity.

All in All, JJID and its best in class subcontractors met the challenges through Innovation, Teamwork, and Excellent Craftsmanship.

Details

PROJECT TITLE:
BR 1-501 On SR141 Newport Viaduct over Christina River, Foundation Repairs

CONTRACT NUMBER: T201607401.01
CONTRACT AMOUNT: $3,784,602.18

PROJECT START DATE: August 2018
DATE OF SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION: November 2019