MED-71-15.29

Euthenics completed the Preliminary Engineering Design Report and final plans for the rehabilitation of abutments on the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad Structure over Interstate 71. The existing abutments were spalling and beginning to undermine the bearings on this fracture-critical bridge. W&LE would not allow more than a 24-hour track outage to perform work, and Euthenics determined that the existing toe of footing was not sufficient to support the girder under live load. This led Euthenics to develop a two-step “outside the box” solution. During a 24-hour track outage, the bridge was temporarily jacked and supported from the toe of footing. This allowed the contractor to remove the existing bearings and install a “beam pack” across the existing beam seat that could support the live load from train traffic. With the beam pack installed, the contractor refurbished the existing bearings and rehabilitated the beam seats. This construction procedure was reversed to remove the temporary supports. Final plans were submitted in 2022 and construction was completed in 2023.