Faced with the decision of performing an extensive renovation or a technically challenging replacement of a deteriorated 216 foot steel girder bascule bridge while minimizing interruptions to vehicular and pedestrian traffic over the Maumee River as well as navigational traffic on the Maumee River, the City of Toledo, Ohio opted for the most cost efficient alternative; replacement of the bridge. To replace the existing bridge would require the removal of four delicately balanced steel bascule leaves followed by the staged installation of four new steel bascule frames and counterweight concrete; all performed over the Maumee River; all planned to fit within a extremely tight 3-month time period. This paper will present the innovative erection process developed to carefully choreograph the use of two large deck barges, eight heavy duty self-propelled modular transports (SPMT's), erection gantries, lifting towers and auxiliary counterweights. The erection process would require the equipment to lift each existing bascule leaf from its rolling track, transfer the load to mobile transports positioned on the barges, float the leaf out to a nearby staging area and move the leaf onto the shore where it would be demolished. Once two pairs of existing leaves were removed and all pier modifications were complete, the erection process would require each new pre-erected bascule leaf to be lifted onto the mobile transports, rolled onto the barge, floated to the bridge site, lowered onto new track frames and then balanced with new heavy-weight counterweight concrete.
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