Acrow Bridge Providing Detour Access During Federal Project on Hawaiian Island of Kauai

Temporary bridge was built in only eight days and expected to be in use through the completion of the replacement of the existing Kapa’a Stream Bridge

(Parsippany, New Jersey) – 14 May 2020 – Acrow Bridge, a leading international bridge engineering and supply company, announced today one of its modular steel bridges is being used to detour traffic around a project to replace the Kapa’a Stream Bridge on Kuhio Highway (Route 56) near Kealia Beach. Route 56 is the main route north and south across the island, with Average Daily Traffic of approximately 12,600 vehicles. Maintaining the flow of traffic during construction with a detour bridge was considered critical to the success of the project.

As one of ten bridge projects to be delivered through a partnership between the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) and the Central Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration, the Kapa’a Stream Bridge, built in 1953, required seismic upgrades and was scour critical. The replacement project will address the current challenges of the bridge with regard to width, load capacity, railing, and transitions and approaches. The overall initiative also involves a new roundabout and is geared toward improving the intersection of Mailihuna Road and Kuhio Highway, as well as the safety of the Kapa’a Stream crossing.

The Acrow bridge, 210’ long by 24’ wide with two 12’ lanes, was built in eight days in February and installed alongside Kuhio Highway near Kealia Beach. Although faced with challenges in the design and installation of the structure due to an extremely tight work zone next to a busy highway, the structure was launched using a cantilever method. Owing to the need for installation of approaches, paving, striping of the pavement, installation of guardrails, etc., the bridge did not open until late March. The bridge will be in use through the completion of the project, now expected to be mid-2021.

The state Department of Transportation is the project owner and Hawaiian Dredging Construction is the contractor.

“When reviewing the options available to avoid disrupting traffic during projects, state DOTs and contractors continue to favor detour bridging over other re-routing methods when viable detours are unavailable,” said Tom Pinder, Western US, and Heavy Haul Bridges Sales Manager at Acrow. “With this particular project, a detour structure was the only way to avoid overburdening residential areas with excessive traffic volume.”

Bill Killeen, CEO of Acrow Bridge, added, “Acrow has a long history of working with contractors and our partners at state DOTs to devise cost-effective methods to support infrastructure projects using detour bridging for the enhanced safety of workers and the traveling public, and allow successful completion of jobs on or ahead of schedule.”

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