Technical Description:
• Width: 8 ft
• Span: 200 ft
• Style: Connector
• Finish: Weathered Steel
• Decking: Grate
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Monroe County Water Authority installed a new water main to improve reliability of its water supply for approximately 70,000 customers in the eastern portion of its service area. The Authority's original plan was to install a water main under the Erie Canal and place the main there, but unfortunately, the trench flooded quickly with ground water, which made going under the canal unfeasible.
As an alternate solution, the Authority decided to utilize a bridge to support and carry the pipeline over the canal. Located 16' feet above the water, the required minimum height so that canal vessels can fit underneath it, a 200' x 8' prefabricated Connector®-style, Continental® bridge was installed. The weathering steel structure supports a 24" diameter pipe and was selected as the best solution for its rapid installation and cost effectiveness.
Prior to installation, four- 50' sections of 24" pipe were added onto the bridge at the plant. During the installation at the site, the canal was shut down temporarily while the bridge was set in place via two cranes, one on either side of the canal. A quick installation was necessary and overall, the canal was closed for only five hours. Both ends of the structure were fenced in to keep out vandals and thrill seekers trying to cross the bridge.
"Contech Engineered Solutions took on this project with the additional responsibility of installing four section of pipe onto the bridge at their facility, and performed the work with no issues," concluded Daniel D. Morin, President of DAKKSCO Pipeline Corporation, the project contractor. "All four sections were shipped to our jobsite on-time and our cranes unloaded each section within hours. The splices were right on making our mid-air splice on the canal that much easier. The setting of the sections started at 7:00AM, and the entire 200' span structure was completed by lunchtime on the same day. The owner and our crew could not have been more impressed with the way this bridge and pipeline went together. We look forward to another successful pipe bridge with Contech in the future."
Technical Description:
• Width: 8 ft
• Span: 200 ft
• Style: Connector
• Finish: Weathered Steel
• Decking: Grate
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