<P>The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) recently completed the Fast Fix 8 bridge project in Nashville, with help from a Power Curbers slipformer belonging to Irwin Concrete Construction.TDOT’s goal was to replace eight ageing interstate bridges along Interstate 40 through Nashville using a process called Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC). This uses fast-paced, around-the-clock work to limit road closures and speed up bridge completion, impacting surrounding communities as little as possible.</P>
<P>The Federal Highway Administration, a division of the US DOT, estimates that approximately 25% of bridges in the US are in need of rehabilitation, repair, or replacement and are “structurally deficient.” The bridges over Charlotte Avenue, Jo Johnston Avenue, Clinton Street, and Herman Street in downtown Nashville were built in 1968. Their condition began to deteriorate and in 2013, chunks of concrete began falling from the Charlotte Avenue overpass, causing road closures and concerns about the safety of the downtown bridges.</P>
<P>The Fast Fix project was scheduled for 13 weekends, where both directions of I-40 were closed from the I-40/I-65 split west of downtown to the split south of downtown every weekend to allow crews complete access to replace each bridge.The interstate would close on Friday night after rush hour, when crews would begin demolishing the existing bridge. Working around the clock, new beams and precast bridge deck sections were installed and temporary precast barrier and parapet walls were put in place. The bridge would reopen to traffic in time for Monday morning commuter traffic.</P>
