SCOPE OF WORK
This work involved assembling and installing reinforcing cages for bridge piers extending through the river to bedrock. Each cage measured 100 feet long and eight feet in diameter and contained 300 vertical No. 18 reinforcing bars.
The original method required a seven-person crew to spend seven days assembling a cage horizontally before setting it into position. Even with only half the vertical bars installed, each cage weighed 120,000 pounds and required two cranes to stand it upright. Internal crush rings prevented the cage from collapsing under its own weight during handling.
Once the cage was placed inside its casing in the river, the crew spent another five days lifting and installing the remaining vertical bars.
The team developed a different assembly procedure that allowed the crew to build each cage vertically in place over the pier opening. This reduced the full assembly and installation process from 12 days to one.