Longfellow Bridge update

JohnAKeith said:
Could someone clarify for me so I don't have to go back and read everything?

They were going to "replace" the bridge, right? Like, totally gut and redo? This is a "repair", no?

Meaning, will this have to be redone at some point in the near future?
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Basically replacing all the steel, not the granite.
The primary objective of the proposed rehabilitation is to address the bridge's current structural deficiencies, upgrade its structural capacity, and bring the bridge up to modern code. In particular, the structural steel elements supporting the bridge deck have deteriorated and require upgrading, and the abutments will have to be modified slightly to allow the sidewalk approaches to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines. At the same time, the bridge's ornate pedestrian railings will be restored or replicated, its masonry elements will be cleaned and conserved, and an appropriate new bridge lighting system will be designed. Areas on the riverbanks disturbed by the project will be carefully landscaped to tie the bridge into its historic setting.
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There's already a barge floating off the southwest part of the bridge with some crane equipment and a porta potty. I'd guess it's there for 1:08 to 1:22 in the video PaulC posted above.
 
^ There have been barges under the Longfellow intermittently for several years now. Would be cool if it's for the revamp.
 
It will be interesting to see how this project turns out. Of the three finalists:
1. Barletta/Walsh didn't submit a bid
2. Kiewit bid $310M
3. White/Skanska bid $255M
So JF White left almost $60M on the table. And this is after they left $21M on the table for the Fore River bridge project.
White is good, but are they $60M better than Kiewit? Or are they planning more transit shut downs, a slower schedule, cheaper design, etc?
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
It will be interesting to see how this project turns out. Of the three finalists:
1. Barletta/Walsh didn't submit a bid
2. Kiewit bid $310M
3. White/Skanska bid $255M
So JF White left almost $60M on the table. And this is after they left $21M on the table for the Fore River bridge project.
White is good, but are they $60M better than Kiewit? Or are they planning more transit shut downs, a slower schedule, cheaper design, etc?
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I would think they try to tell the companies how many shutdowns they're allowed when they draft up the RFP. Or I hope so anyway.
 
They were not bidding on alternative designs.

The contract has up to $15 million in contract penalties/incentives, mostly related to schedule.

There is a California construction company, C. C. Myers, that rather famously makes it money on the schedule incentives in a contract.
 
stellarfun said:
They were not bidding on alternative designs
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It's a design-build. There is no final design as of right now. There were incentives/disincentives to minimize closures (I think the state had a formula for punishing the winning bid based on the number of weekend Red Line closures that were planned).
 
There is no final design? Doesn't the video posted above specify the design process in detail?
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
There is no final design? Doesn't the video posted above specify the design process in detail?
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Visually, you can know (for the most part) what the bridge is going to look like when it's only 25% or so designed. Think about all the nitty gritty that video doesn't show. As an example, just on the concrete deck holding up the roadway - how thick is the concrete deck, what is it poured into (or is it precast), what's holding it up, how will it drain, where are the expansion joints, what kind of bituminous dampproofing will you use, how much rebar will there be and how will it be tied, what's the strength of the concrete at 7 days, 14 days, 28 days, etc., etc.

My company looked at this project. It was funny because the project was like 80% designed and then they called it a design-build and basically said, "Since we're calling this a design-build all the risk of whatever the hell you find in that bridge is on you. Also, you're job to figure out how you're going to keep the T running, pedestrian access, navigable channels, etc." Normally a project would be 25% designed and there would be real opportunity to get creative during the design process. In this case it seems the State just wanted to push risks onto the contractor. So, the only way JF White could have such a low price is if:
1. Keiwit was chicken-shit and put in huge risk premiums (who knows what kind of shape the steel and granite will be in once you open the bridge up).
2. JF White underpriced the risk (i.e., didn't include enough contingencies).
3. JF White underpriced (or Keiwit overpriced) the actual construction cost.
4. JF White plans to be real cheap with how they build the 75% already designed and how they design the remaining 25% (could be lengthened schedule, reduced MBTA access, cheaper materials that still meet state minimums, etc.).
Hopefully it's #1.
 
For anyone who wants more information on this project MassDOT and the Design-Build team are holding a public information meeting Tuesday April 9th 2013, 6:30-8:30PM at Shriners Hospital for Children Auditorium at 51 Blossom Street in Boston.
 
CONSTRUCTION IS COMING!!

If you have been near the Longfellow Bridge lately you may have noticed the silt fences for environmental protection and the trees marked for removal on the Cambridge Side.

According to MassDOT major construction work will begin next month some time after 4th of July around Mid-Late July 2013. They will announce the exact date for construction soon.
 
I can't wait til they get going and we all say, wow that went fast, then there is 4 years of jersey barriers not removed around some shovel at the end of the ramp for no apparent reason.

But I have a nice view of this from my office and look forward to watching it. Glad i don't have to take the red line across the river during it tho.
 
Will the work on the Craigie Bridge be done before the Longfellow reconstruction begins? Given that they're detouring traffic from L-fellow to Craigie, I would hope they're not going be under construction simultaneously...
 
Underground utility work has been going on or near Craigie St Bridge, that's why the road wasn't repaved. Once the utility work is done, we get a new road surface. I don't remember if bike lanes are included or not.
 
Ron Newman said:
Didn't the Craigie construction finish over a year ago?
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Randomgear said it. Utility work is causing delays and lane closures on the Craigie. My concern regards traffic effects if the work's not done by the time Longfellow begins. Not to sound like a congestion NIMBY, but it's miserable trying to cross the Charles between 5:30 and 6:45. The Longfellow is currently the quickest (<5min crossing), because it's below capacity. The Craigie is always backed up, sometimes past Lechemere (for inbound drivers).
 
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