Woodrow: Approaching the Giant

Relief is finally in sight for the more than 200,000 travelers who inch across the Potomac River on I-95/ I-495 each day, with construction under way on a 12-lane replacement for the aging, six-lane Woodrow Wilson Bridge. In early October, Congress added $600 million to the $900 million in Federal funds previously allocated in TEA-21 for the project—the only bridge in the interstate system that is federally owned. With Maryland and Virginia each contributing another $200 million, the project is now fully funded.

Built in 1961, the 90-foot-wide drawbridge spans 50 feet above the Potomac. Its replacement will be 234 feet wide, 1.15 miles long, and provide 70 feet of vertical clearance over the shipping channel. The task of reconstructing the bridge also entails rehabilitating the approach interchanges on both shores. KCI Technologies is the lead consultant providing highway and bridge designs for the I-95/I-495 & MD 210 Interchange on the Maryland side of the river and also is a subconsultant on the team providing designs for the I-95/U.S. Route 1 Interchange in Virginia.

Interchange Designs—In October 1998, KCI began preliminary designs for the $101.6 million MD 210 Interchange Project, located two miles east of the bridge. Last May, the project team submitted preliminary investigation plans for replacing four bridges, constructing three new bridges and retaining walls, and widening existing roadway. “The toughest challenge has been working without a definitive schedule, because of the funding issues. We may see our interchange constructed in phases to keep the project within budget,” said KCI project engineer Tim Kassir, PE. “But we’re on track to complete our portion of the final design by December 2002.” The KCI team has been meeting every other week with representatives from the Federal Highway Administration; the Bridge and Highway Divisions of the Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA); the design team working on the I-95/I-495 & I-295 Interchange (JMT/WRA); and the project’s general engineering consultant, Potomac Crossing Consultants (PCC). “This is a complicated job, with each design feeding into an adjacent phase,” Kassir added. “It’s probably the largest construction project this region will see for some time, and the cooperation among the consultants, MSHA, and PCC has been great. Everyone should be proud of this partnership.”

With eight lanes of traffic feeding onto the existing bridge, planners selected a 12-lane design for the new structure that would handle projected increases in traffic and accommodate two “reserve” lanes for high-occupancy or transit vehicles. A challenge to this design evaporated in early October, when the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of neighborhood activists who proposed a ten-lane alternative. The final design reflects more than 12 years of input from engineers, political leaders, citizens, and environmental groups, all concerned with building a structure to meet urgent transportation needs while minimizing impacts to the environment.

Environmental Solutions—KCI began its environmental mitigation studies for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Replacement Project in February 2000. “Environmental mitigation is a significant part of this project—but it’s a part that people may never associate with the actual bridge, ” noted KCI Environmental Division Chief Chuck Hegberg. “The engineers are designing plans to minimize construction impacts on the river and adjacent lands. But, along with these efforts, we’ve been working with State agencies and the PCC on mitigation studies for many sites outside the project area.

“If any design project disturbs critical natural resources, it’s vital to restore those resources, even if the mitigation is conducted somewhere else,” Hegberg explained.

In Virginia, KCI’s scientists are developing mitigation designs for more than 20 arces of tidal wetlands at seven sites. In Maryland, the project team has prepared preliminary investigation plans for mitigating more than 30 acres of tidal and nontidal wetlands, as well as designs for 23 sites to facilitate the passage of fish through obstructed or blocked channels.

“KCI’s approach to designing fish passages is unlike any other we have seen in the industry,” Hegberg added. “In the past, a firm may traverse an individual blockage from a stream without modelling the very specific requirements for fish or the potential impacts on the rest of the system. Here, we’re creating a scientific model that factors in field data on fish physiology and behavior, stream substrate, and water velocity and depth to help us replicate unique, natural features. By using these no-maintenance, attractive natural solutions in our restoration designs, we can mitigate multiple fish blockages associated with man-made development and shift the stream system in a positive direction.”

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