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PA Contractor Lands $16M Bridge Job

Friday, August 5, 2011

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has awarded a $16,697,408 contract to Trumbull Corp., of Pittsburgh, for coatings, concrete repair and related rehabilitation work on the Ambridge/Aliquippa Bridge over the Ohio River.

Trumbull was the low bidder for the project, which drew a total of six bids ranging up to $18,525,040.

The value of the contract had been estimated at between $15 million and $20 million.

  
The 1,908-foot-long, 30-foot-wide, steel cantilever truss bridge was built in 1927 and last rehabilitated in 2000.

Rare Cantilever Truss Structure

Although commonly referred to as the Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge for the two towns it connects, the plaque on the bridge lists its official name as the Ambridge-Woodlawn Bridge. Woodlawn was a former town that later became part of Aliquippa, according to www.historicbridges.org.

Ambridge is a company town named for the American Bridge Co., which built the bridge.

The bridge is one of the few remaining pre-1930 cantilever truss bridges in the United States. It has twice as many piers as a classic cantilever bridge.

The 10-span bridge carries a two-lane street, sidewalk and several utilities over the Ohio River, a highway, a Conrail track and a CSXT (formerly Three Rivers Railroad) track.

Scope of Work

The project includes cleaning and coating about 374,500 square feet of new and existing structural steel surfaces. The steel will be abrasive blast-cleaned to SSPC-SP 10 (Near-White), tested for soluble salt with chloride remediation as needed, and recoated with a three-coat organic zinc-epoxy-urethane system.

Containment according to SSPC-Guide 6 and waste disposal according to Guide 7 will be required.

The project includes power tool-cleaning to bare metal (SP 11) and priming 17,800 square feet of new and existing steel mating surfaces using an approved organic zinc-rich primer. The project also includes 9,135 square yards of penetrating sealant application for reinforced concrete superstructure surfaces.

Reported by Paint BidTracker, a construction reporting service devoted to identifying contracting opportunities for the coatings community. Visit us on Facebook!