GarverUSA.com
2010 Volume 2 Issue 1
Infrastructure Quarterly
The most complex
Stimulus
Project
Proactive Pavement Care
ALDOT’s airfield pavement
maintenance program
A Stable Force
Garver supports a 16-year highway
improvement project
Inspecting Aging Bridges
Garver’s bridge rehabilitation services
In this issue
3 Complex Stimulus Project
Garver delivers design within
narrow six-week schedule
For more information on this article, contact
Brent Schniers, PE at 918-250-5922
6 Proactive Pavement Care
ALDOT’s airfield pavement maintenance program
For more information on this article, contact
Ryan Reed, PE at 256-534-5512
8 A Stable Force
Garver supports a 16-year highway
improvement project
For more information on this article, contact
Glynn Fulmer, PE at 501-376-3633
10 Inspecting Aging Bridges
Garver is meeting the growing demand
for bridge rehabilitation services
For more information on this article, contact
Jason Langhammer, PE at 918-250-5922
AJ Khairi, PE at 501-376-3633
On the cover:
The reconstruction of the IDL around Tulsa’s Downtown District will
provide the infrastructure needed for continued development.
Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Infrastructure Quarterly is published four times a year by Garver, LLC. Garver is a multi-disciplined engineering,
planning, and environmental services firm committed to quality practices, progressive methods, and honorable
relationships. Our clients’ trust is the cornerstone of our business, and we adopt their visions to deliver projects
founded on sound designs, creative solutions, cost-effective services, and first-class customer care.
Direct all inquiries, address changes, reprint requests, etc. to:
Mail: Garver, LLC Web: GarverUSA.com
Attn: IQ E-mail: IQ@GarverUSA.com
4701 Northshore Drive Phone: 800-264-3633
North Little Rock, AR 72118
2 Infrastructure Quarterly | 2010 Volume 2 Issue 1
The most complex
Stimulus Project
Garver delivers design within narrow six-week schedule
“This is arguably the most
complex stimulus project
in the whole country.”
Rep. James Oberstar, U.S. House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chairman, made this comment
during a January tour of the Interstate 244 Inner Dispersal
Loop (IDL) project in Tulsa, Okla. He left impressed by the
nearly $70 million project to reconstruct the west and north
legs of the loop and replace more than 40 bridge decks.
During a press conference, Oberstar expressed that the
project—which is the largest single project awarded using
stimulus funds in the United States—was “extraordinarily
well conceived, carried out and implemented in record time.”
In November 2008, the Oklahoma Department of U.s. house Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Transportation (ODOT) anticipated passage of the Chairman James Oberstar, third from right, along with U.s.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Rep. Mary Fallin, committee member, visited Tulsa, Okla. in
and began positioning its massive project to receive a January to survey the $70 million reconstruction project.
share of the federal stimulus funding. ODOT selected
Garver, LLC to provide fast-track design for a portion of ODOT assigned the project to multiple contractors, it was
the project—specifically the western leg of the IDL. the single largest project ever let by the Department.
After finalizing the contract, Garver had six weeks ThE DEsIgn
to complete the roadway and ramp reconstruction To be shovel-ready and eligible for stimulus funding, ODOT
design. This included reconstructing five lane miles and worked under a compressed schedule to complete the
rehabilitating and redecking 14 bridges. Garver brought design. This included conducting phone interviews to speed
together 46 employees from offices in Oklahoma and up the consultant selection process. During the interview,
Arkansas and worked nearly 7,350 hours to complete Garver laid out its plan to bring together three offices to
the project over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. complete a quality design on time. Two days later, ODOT
Under traditional circumstances, a similar project selected Garver to provide designs incorporating light
could have taken up to two years to complete. grading, drainage, surfacing, erosion control, traffic control,
bridge rehabilitation and redecking, and pavement marking.
“Understanding the complexity and reduced timeline
associated with this project, we knew that what “ODOT trusted us, not only from a technical standpoint, but
we asked of Garver was next to impossible—but also from a capacity standpoint,” said Garver Structural
they came through with flying colors,” said Greg Engineer Jason Langhammer, PE. “They knew we had
Allen, PE, ODOT assistant bridge engineer. the resources and dedication to get the project done.”
Constructed in the 1970s, the IDL pavement had worn out Quality control was an essential part of the equation.
and needed replacement. Located in the heart of Tulsa, “Every part of that roadway and every bridge on the project
the IDL handles 62,000 vehicles daily, and rehabilitating is curved and skewed in superelevation,” Langhammer
the loop became a massive undertaking. In fact, when said. “Our design checks were even more thorough
GarverUSA.com 3
The project geometry,
including the horizontal
alignments, superelevation
and vertical profile,
complicated the design
of the roadways and
bridges. no part of this
project was standard.
Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma
Department of Transportation
because the grades and horizontal alignments continually swiftly, incorporated, and then we moved on,” said Garver
changed. We were very diligent in implementing quality Project Leader Brent Schniers, PE. “It allowed little time
control to ensure a correct and workable design.” for indecision.” Because Garver delivered plans on time,
ODOT awarded Garver with additional task orders for traffic
Garver not only increased its number of review control, a safety study and construction phase services.
procedures but also conducted weekly coordination
meetings to ensure a complete design. In addition, “Garver excelled on this difficult project with
project engineers met with ODOT Field Division amazing speed and accuracy,” said Caleb Austin,
construction engineers over the course of the project. PE, ODOT roadway engineering manager.
Garver performed a structural TRaFFIC COnTROl
analysis on all 14 bridges to ODOT contracted Garver to produce a maintenance of
calculate load ratings and verified traffic plan for the western leg. Pleased with Garver’s
that overhead clearances were well-detailed plan, ODOT asked Garver to also
met for signs and overpasses. develop traffic control for the north leg, even though
Two of the largest bridges required a different consultant designed that section, and to
additional coordination efforts merge the plans for traffic closure on both legs.
because they pass over Burlington
Northern Santa Fe rail lines. “We were very pleased that ODOT entrusted us with
designing traffic control for both legs of the project,” said
“We coordinated with the railroad Garver Senior Project Manager Darold Davis, PE. “There
officials and ODOT regarding rights- are very few opportunities to close a direction of travel
of-way and vertical clearance,” on a major interstate like this, but with the east and south
Langhammer said. “We also legs available to handle traffic, we were able to close
worked to add bridge fencing roadways and speed up the construction process.”
to meet current standards.”
Garver’s traffic control design utilized multi-phased
BEFORE (Top) and aFTER (Bottom): Garver completed a full set of construction schedules, route detours and new
Concrete barriers will replace preliminary plans in time for a overhead signs. In addition, radio-controlled message
all guardrails along the IDl. preliminary consultant meeting boards were utilized to keep the public informed of
with ODOT. “Decisions were made condition changes. “It’s called a smart work zone,”
StimuluS ProjectS
In addition to the Tulsa IDl, garver has provided services for numerous projects funded through the
american Recovery and Reinvestment act of 2009.
Runway 6/24 rehabilitation and overlay and new Runway and taxiway safety area drainage Bridge rehabilitation for nine bridges
airfield lighting improvements Tulsa, Okla.
George Downer Field, Aliceville, Ala. Pauls Valley Municipal Airport, Pauls Valley, Okla.
Bridge redecking and rehabilitation for five
Runway 9/27 rehabilitation and overlay arkansas highway and Transportation bridges
Ashland/Lineville Airport, Ashland, Ala. Department signal projects Tulsa County, Okla.
Arkadelphia, Batesville, Beebe, Colt, Elkins, Fort Smith,
new airfield electrical vault Jonesboro, Nashville, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Wastewater treatment plant upgrade
Northeast Alabama Regional Airport, Gadsden, Ala. Searcy, Ark. Mustang, Okla.
Taxiway rehabilitation – stage II arkansas highway and Transportation Wastewater treatment plant upgrade
South Arkansas Regional Airport, El Dorado, Ark. Norman, Okla.
15-mile bayou parcel and design surveys
Crittenden County, Ark. Elevated storage tank improvements
Taxiway D rehabilitation
Little Rock National Airport, Little Rock, Ark. Stillwater, Okla.
131st and Memorial street widening
Bixby, Okla. Water line improvements
Parallel taxiway reconstruction and whitetopping
Sulphur Springs Municipal Airport, Sulphur Springs, Texas Stillwater, Okla.
state highway 76 bridge over Wild horse Creek
Carter County, Okla. MDOT Rankin County construction inspection
Runway and taxiway edge lighting upgrade
Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City, Okla. Rankin County, Miss.
Us 281 bridge over griever Creek
Major County, Okla.
4 Infrastructure Quarterly | 2010 Volume 2 Issue 1
Davis said. “It is an intelligent system able to respond to
current conditions of delay. The technology measures
the speed of traffic on a detour and projects how long
maintenance
it will take a driver to move through the work zone.”
Garver’s maintenance of traffic plan also outlined the
installation of 28 temporary overhead route detour signs. of
These panels were fabricated and then mounted on
existing overhead sign structures to guide motorists
through the route detours due to roadway closures. traffic
saFETy analysIs
With a two-week deadline, Garver performed a safety analysis A vital aspect to transportation improvement
to look for opportunities to improve existing hazards within the projects is maintenance of traffic plans. A clear
project footprint without altering the design approach. Garver understanding of the entire project will produce a
investigated and recommended improvements to lighting, traffic design that fully maintains traffic flow during
safety barriers, striping and other guidance mechanisms. all construction stages and informs motorists of
changing traffic patterns through a construction zone.
One of the design elements included replacing all guardrail
with concrete barriers. “This reduces maintenance crews Through years of experience, Garver has become
being on the roadway, resulting in increased safety skilled in developing maintenance of traffic plans to
for the traveling public and crews,” Schniers said. safely move traffic through or around a construction
zone. Our maintenance of traffic plans regularly
The existing concrete retaining walls already extended above include construction signing, construction striping
the roadway surface to function as barriers. Garver’s design and detour design—which may include temporary
removed the outdated barriers and replaced them with Jersey roadways around the work zone by way of shoefly
shaped barriers that are a structurally integral part of the detours or off-site detours adopting existing roadways
concrete shoulder pavement. “We basically cut off part of to relocate traffic away from the construction.
the retaining wall, extended the concrete shoulder pavement
over the top, and cast a new barrier on top that meets current “The important factor is to adequately evaluate the
standards,” Langhammer said. “It is pretty innovative—you traffic impacts and develop
don’t see that too often.” Garver also reinforced the roadway acceptable solutions,” said
shoulders in preparation for the redesigned barriers. “Our experience Garver Traffic Engineering
Leader Nicci Tiner, PE, PTOE.
“The comprehensive IDL safety study that Garver in this area truly “This is especially critical
prepared exceeded the Department’s expectations— when working in areas with
once again,” said David Streb, PE, ODOT director of sets us apart.” high traffic volumes.”
engineering. “In fact, it was accepted by the Federal
Highway Administration without comments.” One such project involved
reconstructing the Interstate 244 Inner Dispersal Loop
Garver is currently providing construction phase services in Tulsa, Okla. Upwards of 62,000 vehicles per day
that include calculating bridge haunch grades—the travel on the loop, and it was essential to create a
profile grades allowing for a smooth ride—and answering workable detour traffic system around the roadway
construction questions related to site features. repavement and bridge redecking project. Garver
assigned 23 employees over four days (and 745 work
Project officials recently opened the reconstructed hours) to design a traffic plan that involved radio-
western leg to south-bound traffic. The north leg controlled message boards, new overhead signs, route
will open to west-bound traffic in April, and then the detours and multi-phased construction schedules.
second project phase will commence. The entire
project is slated for full completion by early 2011. “Maintenance of traffic is all about discovering how
to keep traffic flowing, especially in highly urbanized
For more information, contact areas where you cannot shut down lanes,” said
Brent schniers, PE at 918-250-5922 Garver Structural Engineer Jason Langhammer, PE.
“Our experience in this area truly sets us apart.”
GarverUSA.com 5
garver assists alDOT in developing an
airfield pavement maintenance program
o
nce airfield pavement deteriorates to the point conditions, suggested maintenance techniques,
that an overlay or complete reconstruction is a projected year to perform maintenance and a
required, the pavement repair costs can be cost estimate for the recommended tasks.
five times more expensive than if the airport
had utilized preventative maintenance techniques. By Within a three-month period in 2009, Garver trained and
scheduling crack cleaning, patching and seal coating sent nine employees from its offices in Huntsville, Ala.,
procedures before serious repairs are necessary, an Nashville, Tenn., Fayetteville, Ark. and Tulsa, Okla. to inspect
airport can extend the life of its airfield surfaces and save and analyze asphalt runways, taxiways, taxilanes and
considerable money during a pavement’s life cycle. aircraft parking ramps at Alabama’s 75 public-use airports.
This awareness prompted Alabama to create a statewide Garver’s pavement inspectors worked individually
airport pavement maintenance program to maximize the or in teams depending on the size of the
lifespan of asphalt pavements. This program includes airport. Some sites required less than a day to
asphalt pavements at 75 general aviation airports. inspect while others demanded two days.
Garver, LLC evaluated the pavement at each airport
and is currently working with the Alabama Department “We were able to use our capabilities and employ staff
of Transportation–Aeronautics Bureau to develop a from multiple offices in a collaborative effort to accomplish
five to seven-year rotational maintenance schedule. the work in a short amount of time,” Reed said. “These 75
inspection documents contain a tremendous amount of
“This program provides ALDOT with a solid understanding information vital to ALDOT and the individual airports.”
of the state’s pavement maintenance needs for
scheduling and funding purposes,” said Garver Aviation In evaluating the pavements, Garver used the
Team Leader Ryan Reed, PE. “ALDOT now has a study Pavement Condition Index (PCI) evaluation method
detailing each airfield’s pavement conditions, and our developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This
services will assist ALDOT in developing a statewide method involves a non-destructive, visual inspection.
proactive approach to pavement maintenance.” Garver also employed the Corps’ MicroPAVER 6.1
software to catalog and appraise pavements.
Airports typically make pavement maintenance and
rehabilitation decisions based on pressing needs The PCI method identifies standard asphalt deficiencies
rather than long-term planning and documented or failures that contribute to shortening a pavement’s
data. Creating a pavement maintenance program lifespan. These distresses include raveling, rutting,
allows the state and airport sponsors to consider potholes, patches and various types of cracks.
multiple maintenance and repair strategies. Sample sections from each pavement are visually
inspected for distress types, severity and quantity.
This panoramic approach evaluates a pavement’s
present situation and predicts future conditions using The sample units were randomly selected in
a standard rate of deterioration. Thus, a pavement’s Garver’s Huntsville office and then analyzed on
life-cycle cost analysis— based on various corrective site. If an additional area warranted evaluation, it
alternatives—can help determine the optimal year to was added to the inspection while on location.
address defects and avoid greater repair costs in the future.
Each inspection included a pavement inventory to verify
ALDOT hired Garver to evaluate each airport and the surface’s size and use, pavement history complete with
develop individualized pavement reports. These sponsor and tenant/pilot interviews, visual assessment
documents include a description of current pavement and identification, and pertinent photographs.
6 Infrastructure Quarterly | 2010 Volume 2 Issue 1
Based on the airfield’s current conditions and historical data,
future conditions can be predicted, thereby determining Garver mobilizatioN
what work will most effectively extend the life of the airfield
pavements. After the inspection, each pavement was rated Madison County
Stevenson Garver trained and
on a point scale from 0 to 100. Pavements assigned 55 Muscle Shoals
Decatur
Scottsboro
mobilized employees
points or greater are considered eligible for maintenance Russellville
Hartselle Guntersville
Fort Payne
from offices in Alabama,
programs. Any pavement ranking less than 55 is considered Haleyville Cullman
Double Springs
Albertville
Centre
Tennessee, Arkansas
Hamilton
critical and is recommended for more serious reconstruction Oneonta Gadsen and Oklahoma to inspect
Vernon Jasper
efforts. The airports are then assigned to a rotation group Fayette Anniston
and analyze pavements
with other airfields requiring similar maintenance that St. Clair Talladega at these 75 Alabama
can be scheduled for repairs in the same fiscal year. Reform
Bessemer
Ashland
airports. Their findings
Tuscaloosa
Aliceville
Shelby County Sylacauga Roanoke contain a tremendous
Upon finalizing the rotational maintenance schedule, Eutaw
Centreville
Clanton
Alexander City
Lanett
amount of information
ALDOT plans to bid these jobs together to receive Greensboro Wetumpka
Auburn
vital to ALDOT and the
more competitive proposals. This also reduces costs Demoplolis
Marion
Prattville
Tallassee
Tuskegee individual airports.
associated with construction mobilization and unit prices Union Springs
The inspections were
for materials purchased in larger quantities. This should Butler
Pine Hill Camden
Fort Deposit Eufaula
completed within
result in extended airfield pavement life across Alabama
Clayton
Greenville Troy
three months.
at a cost less than each airport could achieve alone. Grove Hill Luverne
Abbeville
Jackson Monroeville Andalusia Ozark
Evergreen Elba
Enterprise Headland
Chatom Geneva
“This maintenance program provides each airport Atmore Brewton Florala
with an important report than not only ensures federal Bay Minette
funding eligibility and compliance but also a document
St. Elmo
to help maintain their airfields,” Reed said.
Fairhope
Foley
Gulf Shores
Dauphin Island
For more information, contact
Ryan Reed, PE at 256-534-5512
New market in Florida
Garver has opened its 11th office and the first in capabilities and offer our current and future clients access
Florida. Located in Destin, Jenkins Engineering, to a greater depth of knowledge and technical expertise.”
Inc. has joined Garver to provide full-service
engineering services to the Gulf Coast, which The office is directed by Scott Jenkins, PE and supported by
includes Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. project managers, engineers, CAD technicians, surveyors
and construction inspectors. The firm has established a
“This new Florida office expands our market and increases local reputation for consistently exceeding expectations
our presence in the Southeast Region,” said Garver for professionalism, timeliness, responsiveness and cost.
President Brock Johnson. “The diverse services provided
by Jenkins Engineering strengthen our multi-disciplined
GarverUSA.com 7
a Stable Force
Garver supports a 16-year highway improvement project
m
any changes took place to old U.S. Highway 65 over a 16-year-
long improvement project. Garver, LLC remained a stable force
while assisting the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation
Department complete improvements on the high-priority corridor.
Contracted initially in 1993, Garver designed 18 miles of Highway 65, mostly
on new alignment, between Harrison, Ark. and the Arkansas-Missouri
border near Branson, Mo. Garver’s services during the seven-phase
construction project included a corridor study, selecting the centerline
alignment, setting the grade, evaluating several interchange alternatives and
developing construction plans for the partial controlled access facility. The
final section of Highway 65 improvements opened to the public in 2009.
“Although the highway department experienced many changes in staff and
senior managers during the life of the project, Garver retained a majority of
the critical design managers throughout the project. Garver’s stable staff
aBOVE: U.s. had the history and experience to cost effectively make adjustments to the
highway 65 project as new contracts came up for bidding,” said Garver Transportation
is now a four- Director, Bert Parker, PE, who worked on the project since its inception.
lane divided
roadway that The project runs through the rugged terrain of the Ozark Mountains and
accommodates serves as a major route connecting central Arkansas with central Missouri.
speeds up In the early 1990s, the roadway was reaching its peak capacity, and if
to 60 mph. no changes were made, it would become extremely congested.
lEFT: garver Because the highway followed the area’s rolling and mountainous
designed terrain, 25 curves had a curvature greater than 6.5 degrees—which
Denning Creek is the maximum allowed for a 55-mph design speed. The highway’s
Bridge as a alignment through the sharp curves and steep grades contributed
single 150-foot to above-average statewide accident and fatality rates.
span supported
on mechanically Now open, the four-lane divided facility utilizes the original roadway’s
stabilized location whenever possible and was reconstructed or relocated
embankments. where warranted to accommodate a 60-mph design speed.
CORRIDOR sTUDy
“Instead of going straight into the design phase in 1993, we proposed
that a corridor study should be performed to closely nail down the
alternatives of the selected corridor,” Parker said. “The study focused on
8 Infrastructure Quarterly | 2010 Volume 2 Issue 1
Improving Highway 65 provides
travelers with a stress-free trip
rather than a drive with all of the
curves, hills and other problems
associated with the previous route.
Ralph Fulton
District Engineer
Arkansas State Highway and
Transportation Department
TOP and lEFT: Cricket Creek bridge is a 1,732-
foot dual structure over a major ravine.
BOTTOM: The northwest ramp at the 412 interchange
consists of a single-lane curved and skewed ramp bridge.
where to widen the existing alignment and where Simple and continuous composite structural steel
to relocate Highway 65 on new alignment.” spans were used on all structures with rolled beams
and plate girders on spans ranging up to 200 feet.
Garver’s corridor study examined the Highway 412/
Highway 65 interchange, which was adjacent to a critical Due to environmental considerations for the Cave Springs
groundwater recharge area and a famous artesian recharge area, the ground could not be excavated below
spring, and the route between the interchange and a couple of feet, which made conventional bridge pier
the Arkansas-Missouri border. The study considered foundations unacceptable for the Denning Creek Bridge.
more than 10 different concept alignments for the Garver designed the bridge as a single 150-foot span
interchange and 20 alignments for the roadway route. supported on mechanically stabilized embankments.
The embankments required approximately 3,000 feet of
DEsIgn Plans MSE retaining walls penetrated by box bridge structures
Garver provided construction plans including maintenance for the adjacent Rest Area Creek and Dry Creek.
of traffic, detours, temporary connections, signing and
striping for all seven separate construction projects. For “Improving Highway 65 provides travelers with a stress-
the right-of-way phase, Garver provided all parcel surveys, free trip rather than a drive with all of the curves, hills
title certificates, right-of-way appraisal and acquisition and other problems associated with the previous route,”
maps, legal descriptions and contracts to sell right-of-way. said District Engineer Ralph Fulton with the Arkansas
State Highway and Transportation Department. “The
Multiple bridge designs included 1,732-foot dual project flowed very smoothly in Garver’s hands.”
structures over Cricket Creek, a five-lane skewed structure
supported on a mechanically stabilized embankment over For more information, contact
Denning Creek, and a single-lane curved and skewed glynn Fulmer, PE at 501-376-3633
ramp bridge over Highway 65 at the 412 interchange.
auGuSt 28 - SePtember 1, 2010 - little rock, arkaNSaS
The arkansas state highway and Transportation
Department is pleased to host the 69th annual
Meeting of the southeastern association of
state highway and Transportation Officials
(sashTO) in little Rock, arkansas.
sign up at www.sashto.org for e-mail
updates and information.
Little Rock, Arkansas
GarverUSA.com 9
aging bridges Need
knowledgetransfer
Seasoned inspectors
Garver is meeting the growing demand for bridge rehabilitation services
a
generation of bridges across this nation were engineers have managed and designed repair
constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, and projects ranging from $100,000 to $30 million.
many of these Baby Boomer structures now
require reconstruction and rehabilitation. “We have the experience, the education, the training, the
know-how,” said Garver Structural Engineer AJ Khairi,
According to the American Association of State Highway PE. “Garver provides bridge repair plans for a variety of
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), nearly 40 structures—steel, cast-in-place, pre-stressed concrete,
percent of all bridges across the country are 40 years truss. We don’t just specialize in one area. We’ve seen
or older. In fact, while most bridges are built to last them all. Our strengths in bridge repair stem from our
50 years, the average bridge is now 43 years old. full understanding of a client’s needs regarding budget,
structural capacity, environmental constraints and time
Due to this aging process, AASHTO reports that one in restraints. We provide suitable and workable solutions
four rural bridges is structurally deficient or functionally that resolve existing bridge structure deficiencies.”
obsolete. And in our towns and cities, the numbers are more
ominous—one in three urban bridges requires posted limits When working on a bridge project, Langhammer stressed
or cannot adequately accommodate current traffic volumes. the importance of moving beyond a scientific approach to
investigate its physical footprint and functionality as a whole.
Now more than ever, experienced bridge
inspectors and structural engineers are needed to “We consider approach roadways, the features running
evaluate and rehabilitate our aging bridges. below the bridge and how the entire system works
together as part of the bridge improvement project—things
Garver, LLC has provided bridge inspection and design that numbers alone can’t tell you. Often, we’re not only
services throughout much of our 90-year history. going in and upgrading or repairing the bridge, we’re
fixing problems related to drainage or safety issues
“We take pride in our work,” said Garver Structural like substandard guardrails and bridge widths.”
Engineer Jason Langhammer, PE. “We evaluate
bridges for structural or functional problems and During the initial phase of a project, Garver prepares a
work to correct them with quality design plans.” formal engineering report based on inspection findings,
surveys and geotechnical investigations. This report
As experienced professionals, Garver is providing bridge includes details and photographs of all site conditions—the
inspection services throughout the South and portions bridge deck and wearing surface, the superstructure and all
of the Midwest. In Oklahoma, we’ve serviced 30 bridges primary load-carrying members and connections, and the
in the past three years. In Arkansas,
we’ve tackled historic bridge repairs.
aCCORDIng TO aashTO, BRIDgEs ClassIFIED
In Tennessee, we’re completing
our 19th consecutive year of bridge as sTRUCTURally DEFICIEnT OR FUnCTIOnally
“on-call” services for the Tennessee OBsOlETE DOEs nOT MEan ThEy aRE UnsaFE.
Department of Transportation.
structurally deficient bridges require significant maintenance and repair
Many of Garver’s inspections coincide to remain in service and eventual rehabilitation or replacement to address
with our bridge repair projects deficiencies. To remain in service, these bridges are often posted with
throughout the region. Garver has a weight limits to restrict the gross weight of vehicles using the bridges.
wide range of bridge repair experience
in both scope and geography, and our Functionally obsolete bridges were built to standards that are not
used today. They do not have adequate lane widths, shoulder
widths or vertical clearances to serve current traffic demand.
10 Infrastructure Quarterly | 2010 Volume 2 Issue 1
Contact our offices:
substructure, including the abutments and piers. Additionally,
alabama
the substructures are checked for structural adequacy 2143 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 3
against current design loadings. The bridge’s components Florence, AL 35630
are identified for deterioration, and repair recommendations 256-718-3247
are summarized by supportive text and graphics. 5125A Research Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805
256-534-5512
Garver’s engineers then prepare rehabilitation design
plans. These documents outline methods and extents arkaNSaS
4701 Northshore Drive
of repair in coordination with the client’s construction
North Little Rock, AR 72118
specification system. The design also details the entire 501-376-3633
site for associated approach roadways, safety equipment,
1088 East Millsap Road
grading, drainage and maintenance of traffic. Fayetteville, AR 72703
479-527-9100
As a comprehensive services firm, Garver also provides 2228 Albert Pike Road, Suite C
underwater inspection and evaluation, scour analysis Hot Springs, AR 71913
and studies, seismic retrofit, bridge jacking and 501-760-3633
maintenance of traffic* as part of its wide range of work. Florida
1234 Airport Road, Suite 126
Destin, FL 32541
Garver’s bridge inspectors have 850-837-3330
passed the National Highway Institute
miSSiSSiPPi
Safety Inspection of In-Service Bridges 1350 West Government Street, Suite B
course. Among other skills, the Brandon, MS 39042
course trains engineers to evaluate a 601-825-3633
variety of bridges and determine the oklahoma
critical areas for inspection, including 10015 East 51st Street
fatigue-prone details and common Tulsa, OK 74146
918-250-5922
points of deterioration and distress.
1016 24th Avenue NW
Norman, OK 73069
Our bridge inspectors and designers 405-329-2555
also stay up to date with the newest
teNNeSSee
construction methods like fiber reinforced 361 Mallory Station Road, Suite 102
epoxy composite materials to repair Franklin, TN 37067
concrete members and polymer-modified 615-377-1337
or latex-modified concrete to enhance texaS
concrete durability and bond strength. 3010 Gaylord Parkway, Suite 190
Frisco, TX 75034
972-377-7480
“Bridges are the fundamental backbone
of our transportation system,”
Langhammer said. “We work hard garverUsa.com
to do our job well—whether building
rapport with our client, clearly detailing
bridge deficiencies and solutions, or
incorporating the latest technology.”
For more information, contact
Jason langhammer, PE at 918-250-5922
aJ Khairi, PE, at 501-376-3633
*More information on maintenance of traffic plans is detailed on page 5.
GarverUSA.com 11
Infrastructure Qua rterly