The old Turner Diagonal Bridge crossed the Kansas River in Kansas City, KS, providing a critical link for commercial traffic between I-635 to the east and I-70 to the west. The structure was built in 1955 to replace a previous bridge lost in a 1951 flood. It was a two-lane structure, with a sidewalk. In 1996, the daily traffic count across the structure was 22,100 vehicles per day (vpd).
By the year 2016, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) anticipates the daily traffic count to increase to 27,700 vpd. The aging two-lane structure would not be able to safely accommodate this increased volume.
On May 22, 2001, APAC-Wilkerson Maxwell Division, of Kansas City, was the successful low bidder to build two bridges to replace the one aging structure. The company’s portion of the $27.7-million project was $16.4 million.
TransSystems Corporation of Kansas City, MO, was the design engineer for this project.
The new structures are 1,373 ft. (418.4 m) long. Each structure will have two through lanes, with shoulders. The eastbound bridge will have a sidewalk, while the westbound bridge will have a turn lane to allow access to 59th Lane and Kansas Avenue.
According to Paul Gripka, KDOT field engineering administrator, each new bridge has eight support piers; each of which are founded on two drilled shafts.
The tallest pier stands 47.5 ft. (14.5 m) high, with a cap 40 ft. (12.2 m) long by 7.5 ft. (2.3 m) wide. The two drilled shafts on the tallest pier are 8.5 ft. (2.6 m) in diameter and 73.7 ft. (22.5 m) deep. Midwest Contractors was the drilling contractor for this project.
Gripka stated that the biggest unforeseen challenge for the project was refining the concrete pour methods for the drilled shafts. “The shafts were poured under water, using a wet-pour method. Sonic logging was used to check for any anomalies. Different procedural methods in pouring were implemented due to recurring anomalies detected by the sonic logging,” he explained.
All structural steel was trucked to the site for installation. The eastbound bridge has 1,297 tons of steel, while the westbound bridge had 1,595 tons .
The new bridges required 10,463 cu. yd. (8,000 cu m) of concrete. The remaining project will have in excess of 19,619 cu. yd. (15,000 cu m) of concrete installed, excluding the precast drainage structures and the reinforced retaining walls. Malco Steel Inc., of Kansas City, MO, supplied the tied reinforcing steel.
The westbound bridge was the first span to be completed, according to Gripka. The old bridge was removed in February 2002, to make room for the eastbound bridge.
Gripka anticipates most of the work to be completed this year. Final pavement markings are scheduled to be completed by April 1, 2003.
