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Department of Civil Engineering
CIVL 3121 - Interesting Information about Structures
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Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Bridge Replacement

You’ve probably heard the joke about how various northern states have two seasons: winter and highway construction season. That’s because big road repair projects often take months and severely disrupt residents’ mobility. Recently, however, the Virginia Department of Transportation swapped a worn out 61-year-old bridge for brand new one in just a weekend in an amazing time-lapse video depicting the process.

In this case, the bridge was one of several in the complicated Seven Corners intersection in Falls Church, Va. The overpass crosses U.S. Route 50, a very busy commuter route in suburban Washington D.C., and the usual months-long process of demolishing the old bridge and putting up a new one would have created a traffic headache in an area that already has enough of them.

So VDOT’s Northern Virginia office got the idea to do the NASCAR pit stop version of bridge replacement instead. Replacing an 87-foot span of concrete and steel in just 54 hours was an amazing accomplishment that was based on exactly the same kind of planning and preparation.

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Pieces of a bridge

Concrete components wait for installation - VDOT

This website was originally developed by Charles Camp for CIVL 3121.
This site is maintained by the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis.
Your comments and questions are welcomed.

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Department of Civil Engineering | 104 Engineering Science Bldg | Memphis, TN 38152 | Phone: 901/678-2746 | Fax: 901/678-3026 | Last updated: 08/22/2023