Extensive planning and attention to detail marks the jigsaw-puzzle-like assembly of a multibarrel precast arch bridge taking shape along the Raritan River in New Brunswick, NJ. Crews this month are wrapping up paving on the 181.76-meter-long, eight-barrel bridge. It is part of the New Jersey Dept. of Transportation's four-year, $200-million makeover of the two-mile Route 18 corridor. Because the bridge provides a backdrop for a new park, the community wanted it to emulate existing local arch bridges. "We chose precast as it offered the best combination of aesthetics and durability," says Thomas Zink, a manager in Gannett Fleming Inc.'s Mt. Laurel, N.J., office, which is NJDOT's engineering consultant. The process could be likened to fabricating a big 3-D jigsaw puzzle. But it was no child's play, says Sherif Aziz, mid-Atlantic manager for Reinforced Earth Company (RECo), Vienna, Va., which designed and supplied the structure.
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