Five Arches Bridge Replacement Construction

Our team is working with ECCO III on the replacement of the now structurally deficient Five Arches Bridge built in 1913, which carried Route 28A over Esopus Creek. The replacement bridge, currently under construction, spans 384-feet and sits atop two new piers driven directly into the bed of the creek.

Bridge Replacement Cofferdams

To support construction activities and facilitate installation of the bridge piles, our team first needed to design watertight cofferdams with pier footings built in dry concrete to shield the creek from the work area and protect the surrounding water quality. Hydrologic and hydraulic analysis based on the FEMA models were examined to ensure the design allowed water to flow through the foundations during ordinary flow conditions and avoid severe restriction to the channel.

Erection

For erection of the precast arch bridge segments, McLaren provided crane checks and rigging design, considering critical pick capacity, minimum radius picking conditions, auxiliary boom point line capacity, and geometry for construction access and constructability.

Crane Engineering

Our design eliminated the need for two cranes by utilizing the auxiliary line (aka whip line) in addition to the main boom line. This allowed us to use two rigging setups on one crane. This was important because the load had to be slowly transferred from one rigging setup to the other to allow the precast arch segment to rotate in the air into the upright setting position.

Five Arches Bridge Replacement Progress

The video was taken during a recent site inspection where one of our construction engineers was on hand to ensure a successful installation.

The Esopus Creek project is expected to be completed by 2025 (announcement from the NYCDEP).