Recently, the Railroad Bridge over Maple Street in Hartford, Vermont was struck by a truck damaging the bridge. A subsequent inspection of the bridge concluded that repairing the damage was not feasible and that the superstructure needs to be replaced. VTrans is working with Vermont Rail System (VRS), Jacobs Engineering (the designer), CCS Constructors, Inc. (the construction contractor) and Town Officials to develop a project to replace the damaged bridge. A coordination meeting was held earlier this week to ensure good communication during this project.
Because of the severe damage to the bridge, this is considered an emergency contract and construction will begin as soon as possible. As this is an emergency contract not an improvement contract, only work deemed essential to restoring the bridge to a good and safe condition is being included.
The project was developed to minimize the impact on the Railroad operations, the travelling public and the community. Variable message signs have already been erected on both the east and west sides of the bridge to provide information to the travelling public in this area. The construction is scheduled to begin midday on Friday, August 7, 2015 and be completed by Monday, August 10, 2015. Much of the work to remove the existing steel girders and install the new steel girders will be accomplished during the overnight hours of Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. During the removal and installation of these girders, there will be a need to halt the movement of traffic on Maple Street at the bridge site for the safety of the travelling public. Any stoppages overnight will be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes. There may also be a need to stop traffic during the daytime, but it will be limited to a maximum of 10 minutes. The public may wish to seek alternate routes during the construction period.
Traffic control will be present around the clock during the construction period to ensure safety of the travelling public and project personnel. Compliance with the flagger’s instructions is requested and is appreciated. If anyone has questions or concerns regarding this project, please contact the Project Resident Engineer, Josh Hulett at josh.hulett@vermont.gov.