Environmental Compliance and Cost Optimization in Bridge Design
Team Members Heading link
- Jay Alexander Avitia
- Phong Huynh
- Alla Kotenko
- Raffi Ounjian
- Jason Togelang
Project Description Heading link
Environmentally conscious bridge design focuses on keeping an ecological balance, affordability, and optimum service life by making a responsible material choice without compromising durability and safety. The Village of Lindenhurst, Illinois, is projected to grow by 20.9 percent in population and 37 percent in employment from the year 2010 to the year 2040. Consequently, the need to improve the capacity, mobility, safety, and operational deficiencies along the U.S. Route 45 has been raised. The solution proposes adding a bypass route to redirect the traffic from downtown of the expanding city. The objective of the project is to explore bridge alternatives by considering environmental compliance along with cost optimization. This design consists of dual, single span bridges with an open median crossing Millburn Creek. The scope of the study involves understanding the area and that hydraulic requirements control the span length, deck, type of beams, and integral abutment. Design must comply with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), prohibitions on impacts to the defined Waters of the U.S. Additionally, a commitment has been included in the project to provide a safe access for accommodating terrestrial wildlife movement across the bypass. The ideal structure will have a capacity to carry the required traffic loading with minimum interruption to the environment along with the minimized construction cost and guarantee a stronger performance in long term for reducing life cycle cost. Based on detailed calculations the team has concluded that Prestressed I-beam bridge with stainless steel deck reinforcement provides the most efficient solution to the constraints and requirements by the Illinois DOT Bridge Manual, the Illinois DOT Bureau of Design and Environment Manual, and AASHTO Bridge Design Specifications.