The hills and mountains in southwestern Pennsylvania offer scenic wonders. The Great Allegheny Passage is an iconic, 150-mi.-long bike path that draws cyclists from across the region while the Youghiogheny River is a delight to kayakers and rafters. Fall travelers might find the area attractive, but for residents, travel can be challenging.
One challenge is Layton Bridge. Built for railroad traffic in 1899, it is a 17-span, one-lane bridge accessed from the east through a one-lane tunnel, with traffic controlled by a traffic light. Drivers need to be on their best behavior.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has given Fay, S&B USA Construction (Fay) the task of replacing the steel-truss bridge and sealing the nearby tunnel carrying traffic to the bridge. Fay began construction this year and expects to have completed most of the work by 2028. The project is expected to cost approximately $40 million.
Construction Equipment Guide spoke with Bryan Frye, project executive of Fay.
“The bridge has outlived its useful life,” said Frye. “Residents found the bridge an obstacle in traveling to nearby Perryopolis and other communities with frequent closures for repair.”
The new structure will be a two-lane, three span composite steel girder bridge, which will be built approximately 200 ft. southeast of the existing bridge.
Currently, Fay is using blasting and excavators to safely slice away part of the hill that made the nearby tunnel necessary and open a path to the alignment of the new Layton Bridge. The fleet of equipment for this excavation includes three 40-ton articulated trucks, various dozers, and Cat D-8 and Komatsu PC 490 excavators. The PC 490 is equipped with a long-reach boom that enables workers to scale off the rocky outcroppings.
“Much of the rock from the excavation will be recycled for use in this project,” said Frye.
For example, Fay is using material removed from the hill to widen a segment of Layton Road east of the new bridge location.
In addition to widening Layton Road, the Fay construction team is replacing the one-way bridge carrying Layton Road over the Washington Run stream with a two-lane structure and making other road repairs in the area. The repairs will include adding shoulders and protection to prevent cars from tumbling down a steep embankment.
In earlier work, crews also relocated part of Washington Run that ran under the bridge. They accomplished this by pumping water from the old channel into a newly constructed channel.
To prepare for construction of the new Layton Bridge, workers are building a temporary trestle to hold cranes for work on the bridge. The existing bridge will remain in service until the new structure is complete, saving drivers from traversing a 17.5-mi. detour.
“We are making preparations to erect the steel for the new bridge next year, which will require using a 300-ton Manitowoc 2250 crane,” Frye said.
Surveys of the Youghiogheny River showed a shallow river and a rock subsurface that provided a challenge for the new bridge support. Building the trestle required three pipe piles 24 in. in diameter, plus the installation of micropiles. These small-diameter pipes will provide support for the temporary trestle. Workers will seat the pipe piles on the micropiles and use grout to secure them into place. The construction team will build 48-in. caissons for the abutments. The bridge will require two pier columns, one in the river and one on the shore.
The Youghiogheny River flows into the Monongahela River. It does not carry commercial traffic. Although there were no fish restrictions, the nearby caves were home to bats.
“We hired specialists to inspect the caves and, once given the all-clear, we draped netting over the caves to keep bats from returning, nesting and reproducing,” said Frye. “Then, we proceeded with the drilling and blasting. The caves no longer exist, and the bats stayed safe.”
The new bridge will be a steel girder structure with a concrete deck. Workers will coat the deck with an epoxy overlay to protect it from the elements and extend the life of the bridge.
Fay and its workers will use standard safety protocols, including engineered overhangs to prevent falls and tools from dropping 40 ft. into the river.
PennDOT's District 12 had been looking forward to this project for some time.
“The old bridge has been requiring lots of maintenance,” said Frye. “That required frequent detours. The local residents have been looking forward to having a new bridge. It will eliminate a lot of traffic bottlenecks and improve the quality of life for people in the surrounding communities. The tourists will enjoy it as well, giving them easier access to boating, hiking and cycling.”
