AIRLINE ROAD BRIDGE TO CLOSE APRIL 15, 2013 FOR REPLACEMENT PROJECT

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: April 1, 2013

 

TO:      Media

 

FROM:

Angie Stringer, Anderson County Public Information Officer

864.260.1052

astringer@andersoncountysc.org                 

 

Judy Shelato,  Anderson County Principal Engineer

864.260.4190

jshelato@andersoncountysc.org

 

 

ANDERSON COUNTY – On Monday, April 15, 2013, Anderson County Roads and Bridges will close the Airline Road bridge over Beaver Creek to begin replacing the existing 1953 steel beam bridge. The bridge was load restricted to 2-Ton Axle/5-Ton Gross vehicles in August 2012.  Completion of this project is expected to take one year.

The new bridge will be 33-feet wide and 60-feet long, with the deck consisting of pre-cast hollow core slabs with an asphalt overlay. Adjacent roadwork will improve the alignment of the bridge approaches and will raise the structure three feet higher than it is now.  The total cost of materials and services for the project is anticipated to be $ 320,000. All of the bridge and roadway work will be completed by in-house Roads & Bridges crews using county general funds. Additionally, the Anderson County Transportation Committee (ACTC) provided $100,000 of state gas tax C-Funds for purchasing the pre-cast concrete bridge slabs. 

The new bridge will use a Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil – Integrated Bridge System (GRS-IBS) foundation, the first of its kind in South Carolina. This new bridge foundation consists of layers of specialty fabric and small stone with a concrete block façade.

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) website, “the FHWA’s ‘Bridge of the Future’ initiative took a wise look at the past before soaring ahead to the future. The result was the GRS-IBS, which combined cutting-edge geosynthetics with ancient building secrets. This radically simple construction method can lower costs, slash construction time, improve durability, and increase worker safety.” For this reason, GRS-IBS is included in the FHWA’s ‘Every Day Counts’ initiatives, and their experts have been assisting the county’s bridge engineer, Thulasi Vinayagam, in developing the plans and material quality specifications.

The signed detour route will follow the existing three-mile long truck detour.  From the SC 28 (Abbeville Highway) and Airline Road intersection travel south on SC 28 to Hayes Road (S-4-152), turn right onto Hayes Road and travel to Airline Road. 

The road closure for the duration of the project will be from Rayben Lane north to Kaye Drive.  Only adjacent residents and delivery vehicles will be permitted within the road closure area.

For more information on the new GRS-IBS system, visit:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/abc/grs.cfm 

**Detour Route is attached.

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