States Achieve Safety and Savings with Rapid Deployment for Bridge
Painting
Bridge painting is one of the many roadway maintenance activities
that can create traffic congestion and safety hazards. In an effort
to minimize these delays and hazards, while also reducing costs and
maintaining corrosion protection, some States have started testing
a system known as rapid deployment for the painting of steel bridges.
The main objectives of this progressive concept are to mobilize the
necessary equipment, blast and paint the structure, and remove all
of the equipment in a series of overnight work shifts, so that traffic
can move freely during the day.
Rapid deployment is primarily designed for use on highway overpasses
where the structural steel is easily accessible from the roadway below
using a mobile work platform. To be successful and to reap the intended
benefits, the method requires an array of equipment in good condition,
a knowledgeable contractor, and skilled workers.
Unique to the rapid deployment method are the use of mobile work
units (a containment device, dust collector, and blast equipment)
and a two-coat paint system with a curing accelerant, rather than
the traditional three-coat system. Using the method, rapid deployment
crews can complete one lane of work per night. Done conventionally,
it would normally take 3 days and nights to complete one lane, with
the lane unavailable for traffic during this time.
The Ohio Department of Transportation used rapid deployment in a
project on I-77 in Canton that involved the surface preparation and
painting of two highway overpasses. The rapid deployment team was
allowed to close one lane of traffic at 7 p.m., but was required to
reopen the lane by 5 a.m. the next day. Their goal was to complete
83 m2 (900 ft2) each day. The team averaged 92 m2 (993 ft2) of work
per day, and completed the project in 17 days without once exceeding
the time restrictions.
Matt Wagner, an engineer with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission,
has used the system on two projects. These demonstration projects
met with moderate success. Having learned from these early projects,
the Turnpike Commission is currently planning a nine-bridge project
near Philadelphia that will use the rapid deployment system. "Rapid
deployment is a great idea and more transportation agencies may receive
benefits by embracing it," says Wagner.
The advantages of using the rapid deployment system include reductions
in the size of the work crew needed and a marked decrease in the inconvenience
to motorists. The method allows highway agencies to quickly turn around
a project that, done conventionally, might cause major traffic delays.
On this German road, lanes have been narrowed prior to reaching a work zone
area, allowing the highway agency to keep more lanes open.
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There are also economic benefits to using the rapid deployment method.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates a cost of $3.26/ft2-$7.21/ft2
for rapid deployment, compared to $3.02/ft2-$9.77/ft2 for conventional
operations. Costs are dependent on the size of the bridge, and savings
can be increased with the use of additional crew and equipment.
The rapid deployment method does, however, require a larger initial
capital investment in specialized mobile equipment. The containment
device for crews must be mounted on a truck bed and have the ability
to hydraulically lift into place. This usually means investing in
one additional tractor/trailer, as well as paying installation costs.
And long-term performance data is not yet available on the method's
preferred use of a two-coat paint system with a cure accelerant, as
opposed to a conventional three-coat system. A highway agency considering
use of the method should also take into account that performing real-time
quality assurance checks are essential to the success of any rapid
deployment project. Because of the strict time constraints, the project
participants must work together smoothly and without mistakes in order
for the project to be cost effective.
As knowledge about rapid deployment is gained, more and more States
are looking into using the system. Maryland and Virginia, for example,
currently have overpass painting projects scheduled that will use
the rapid deployment method. "Like anything new, it's a matter
of getting the idea out there and getting people used to doing it
correctly in order to reap the maximum benefit," says Eric Kline
of the consulting firm KTA-Tator, Inc., in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
who first developed the concept of rapid deployment. "Other States
now have interest as well and see it as an obvious solution to what
can be a high costs and untenable delays for motorists," says
Kline.
For more information on rapid deployment, contact Eric Kline at KTA-Tator, Inc., 412-788-1300, ext. 206 (email:ekline@kta.com)
or Matt Wagner with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 717-939-9551, ext.
5210 (email:mwagner@paturnpike.com).
Other
articles in this issue:
In Brief
New Standard Has States Speaking the Same Language
on Pavement Cracking
Big
Lessons from the Big Dig
States Achieve Safety and Savings with
Rapid Deployment for Bridge Planning
Introducing the New and Improved Hot
Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook 2000
A Plan for LTPP Products
Highway technology calendar