Vermont Bridges Designed for Durability and Resilience Highlighted in Aspire Magazine

Built to last the next 100 years in the harsh winters of southeast Vermont, the twin bridges that carry Interstate 91 across a ravine near Rockingham are the first of their type in Vermont. HDR, the design-build engineer of record on the project, designed the precast spliced girder bridges to replace two deteriorating structures erected in the 1960s.

The bridges' design provided an economical solution for this important transportation link. And design and material choices such as stainless steel reinforcing in the pier caps and deck were also key to providing the necessarily resiliency in an area that uses aggressive deicing.

Senior project manager Thomas French explained the design choices and described the challenges of constructing the bridges, including maneuvering and placing girders of up to 93.5 tons, in a recent article for Aspire Magazine. The first bridge opened in April 2019 and the northbound bridge in June 2021.

Read more in "Designing for Resilience and Durability on the Longest Spliced Precast Girder Bridge in Vermont," in Aspire's Summer 2021 issue.