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Bridgehampton Crossing

Farmington, Connecticut

Stream Crossing

Owner:

Wilson Development LLC

Engineer:

BL Companies

Contractor:

DiMatteo Construction Inc.

Installation:

January 2009

Technical Description:

  • Span: 68-ft.
  • Rise: 6-ft. - 8-in.
  • Length: 37-ft. - 1-in.

During the construction of the Bridgehampton Crossing, a 125-acre residential subdivision, a bridge was needed at the entrance to cross Unionville Brook. Unionville Brook and the downstream waters provide a fish habitat, while the adjacent wetlands and open space in the area are of significant concern to the community and played an important role in the layout and design of the subdivision and structure selection for the crossing. Unionville Brook also is a watercourse that has a defined FEMA floodplain and floodway.

Wilson Development LLC, the owner of the high-end home development, also wanted an aesthetically pleasing entrance. The combination of aesthetics, hydraulic considerations and avoidance of impact to the wetlands and floodway led to the selection of the bridge structure.

“The footprint of the bridge supports needed to be outside the wetlands to satisfy the local wetland agency and to minimize the regulatory approvals required and the time required to obtain the approvals,” said Derek Kohl, P.E., Director of Engineering with BL Companies.

A BEBO® arch structure with a 68-ft. span, 8-ft. -6-in. rise and 37-ft. length was chosen over a standard steel bridge for aesthetic reasons and because the precast arches allowed for a rapid and cost-effective construction. The bridge design incorporated many aesthetic elements including the arch, stone form liners and capping of the parapet. All of these elements were incorporated to seamlessly integrate the bridge with architectural features of the proposed subdivision, the surrounding environment and suited the character of the Unionville section of Farmington. In addition, the T series bridge allowed for spanning from bank to bank, without disturbing the surrounding wetlands and environment.

“The BEBO Arch provided the required geometric opening with a cost-effective structure that also serves as an aesthetic enhancement to this development,” added Derek Kohl. “The Town of Farmington will also benefit from the low maintenance required for this type of structure.”

Challenges during the project included designing the structure to fit both the horizontal and vertical alignments of the roadway while also meeting utility placement, FEMA floodway requirements and a challenging site topography. The structure also had to accommodate a steep grade of 3.7% on the approaching roadway and be buried deep enough to allow for utilities to pass over it, yet high enough to span the FEMA floodway and accommodate flows for the 100 year storm event. The structure also had to be positioned so that sight distance requirements for approaching vehicular or pedestrian traffic were met.

The Town of Farmington also played a significant role in the review and approval of the overall project through the planning and zoning process. Their Engineering Department had significant involvement in the technical review of the bridge project and oversight of the construction.

The Bridgehampton Crossing project recently won an Award of Merit in the third annual Connecticut section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Achievement in Civil Engineering (ACE) Awards under the Transportation category. The project was chosen because it demonstrated the innovative use of precast bridge solutions to satisfy the functional and aesthetic needs of the owner while minimizing adverse impact to the natural resources of the site.

Technical Description:

  • Span: 68-ft.
  • Rise: 6-ft. - 8-in.
  • Length: 37-ft. - 1-in.
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