North -American public works agencies such as the Pennsylvania Department of Transport and the Turnpike Pensilvania Commission are looking for a complete adoption of digital delivery for projects. While the open level of the Industry Foundation (IFC) classes is being passed into the civil infrastructure space, agencies are affecting challenges that include interoperability, ownership platforms and information exchange.
Penndot launched an initiative that includes many pilot projects and has achieved the goal of allowing construction projects to be used through 3D versus technology a traditional construction plan format this year. “He is gaining organic impulse as he releases it,” said Allen Melley, Digital Delivery Chief of Penndot, at the International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh, held from 14 to 16 July. Pennsylvania was the prominent state in IBC this year.
The interoperability between native data and IFC is still a challenge. In an example, the modeling of a bridge was initially “visual”, Joe Brenner, Bim Lead with Michael Baker International, one of the consultants working with Penndot. However, he said that a bridge project in the state of Route 6 recently unfolded as the first contract completely based on the model.
This spring’s Turnpike authority completed a pilot project that used the tender modeling by building a two -storey sought after box, Dan Rogers, a bridge engineer with Rettew consultant. The lessons learned clearly defined the scope of the work soon, adding a 3D task to the contractual language and to meet constantly to address the learning curves, he added.
He pointed to the contractor the 2D plans to complement the model helped increase the comfort level, he said. “They wondered, where is geotextile, waterproofing?” he said. “They thought the model would be completely detailed.” He said that quality control inspectors also faced a learning curve with the 3D modeling.
Ryan Rago, the Turnpike project manager, added that there were problems with certain proprietary software programs during the bidding processes of pilot projects.
Future projects will combine the modeling for road and bridge components and, finally, inform the operations and the maintenance and management of assets, he added.
The city of Pittsburgh is reviewing how to manage the assets following the collapse of the Fern Hollow bridge in 2022, said Zack Workman, the city’s leading bridge engineer. “We started reviewing everything we knew,” he said. The city commissioned a new asset management program with WSP as a consultant.
A bridge inventory review found problems with obsolete records, poor access to plans, and even cases where it was unclear who owned his asset, he said. The city created a new bridge maintenance division. Workman said that Fern Hollow bridge had 6 inches of paving overlap, not three, adding to the general dead weight of the 446-foot rigid marc k structure.
Thanks to the increase in the focus on inspections, the city found that the drainage searches for the new bridge were already committed to foliage growth, which is now cleaned regularly.
Bridge communities
The Interstate 35 project in Austin, Texas, calls for eight new and timely bridges over four kilometers from the road when it moves below the grade, said Kasian Warenycia, a senior bridge engineer with Ap. These caps will create 30 hectares of public space, including parks, concessions and a possible traffic station.
The design team had to evaluate the weights of the components that will sit or use these bridges, such as trees, buildings, emergency vehicles and public services. In addition, during the design life of 100 years projected, these components will change. Designers provide for a useful hallway that is used for amenities as needed and will not require open bridges when these amenities change.
Warenycia said that the two -storey retail buildings with occupied roofs and 50 -foot shade trees would be among the standard components to sit on the bridges. Light materials such as geofoam for crossings will be considered, which will use pretentious concrete flags. The bridges will create “tunnel -like conditions” for the depressed road, so problems such as ventilation, authorizations and evacuation need to be taken into account.
Perhaps the most important consideration is the participation of the community, he said. Throughout the four kilometers, “we consider the needs of each specific neighborhood.”
