Woodrow Wilson Bridge Bascule Spans and Maryland Approaches

Completed in 2008 by American Bridge, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Bascule Spans and Maryland Approaches project involved American Bridge as the general contractor for the major river crossing component of the Woodrow Wilson Replacement Bridge near Washington, DC. This project featured twin 22-span bridges, aggregating 3,881 feet (1,183 meters), including the main bascule navigational channel of 270 feet (82 meters). The bridges were constructed over a navigable channel, in close proximity to the existing bridge, which carried 250,000 vehicles per day, with no service disruption permitted.

The bridge’s construction was technically complex, involving large-scale cast-in-place segmental, precast segmental, and structural steel components. Concrete arch piers varied in plan and section at every elevation. The main channel featured an eight-leaf bascule bridge, the largest of its type in the world.

American Bridge’s contract, valued at $203,313,000, included an eight-leaf trunnion bascule main span of 270 feet (82 meters) and flanking spans of 144.5 feet (44 meters). The bridge, 12 lanes wide, used steel plate girders and floor beams with a cast-in-place 7½” (190.5mm) lightweight concrete deck. The heaviest erection picks were up to 600 tons (544 metric tons), and the total steel quantity was 7,000 tons (6,350 metric tons). The contract also included fabrication and installation of all operating machinery and construction of the operator’s house, all of which were self-performed by American Bridge.

The cast-in-place arch ribs were post-tensioned in five lifts, with a total concrete quantity of 40,000 cubic yards (30,582 cubic meters). The project also involved extensive falsework and post-tensioning to construct the concrete piers, with a total weight of structural steel for the project amounting to 24,000 tons (21,772 metric tons). The contracts also included the construction of both inner and outer loop bridges, with the outer loop being constructed first, followed by the inner loop. Combined, the two projects represented the construction of 906,756 square feet (84,240 square meters) of bridge construction.