AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Transportation Category

STATE HIGHWAY 183 MACARTHUR BOULEVARD OVERPASS EMERGENCY REPAIR

Irving, Texas

Submitted by Sika Corporation

State Highway 183 is a major east/west highway between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is also the major route to the south entrance of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The highway carries three lanes of traffic in each direction. The average daily traffic (ADT) count for the east-bound lanes is 91,000.
The morning of Saturday, May 28, 2005, the start of a Memorial Day weekend, a 3000 gallon fuel tanker heading east on State Highway 183 barreled through a guardrail and spiraled off a bridge at about 6:30 a.m. before landing upside down and exploding several times on MacArthur Boulevard in Irving, TX. There was extensive heat and the concrete on the bridge columns, and beams spalled and “popped” as a result. Gazing at the charred structure, TXDOT engineers said they had never seen anything like the combination of bridge damage and potential traffic headaches.

Emergency investigations were completed by the end of Memorial Day weekend. Plans and specifications requiring agreement among several TXDOT groups including the NW area office, the Dallas District office, and the State Bridge Division were completed 10 days later. Significant concrete removal and replacement at beams, columns, decks, and diaphragms as well as strengthening of columns, pier caps, and beams were required. The project would require three separate concrete repair contractors working around the clock in order to meet the aggressive deadline and avoid costly liquidated damages.

Owner
Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT)
Dallas Northwest Area Office
Dallas, Texas

Project Engineer/
Designer
TXDOT Dallas District 18
Dallas, Texas

Repair Contractor
Gibson & Associates.
Balch Springs, Texas

Material Supplier/
Manufacturer
Sike Corporation
Lyndhurst, New Jersey