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The Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Program, the largest bridge improvement project in Missouri history, repaired and replaced 802 of Missouri’s most structurally challenged bridges over four years. Approximately 1,100 bridges were either Condition 3 (serious) or Condition 4 (poor). A key component of the Safe and Sound program was the $487-million design-build effort to replace 554 bridges in 111 counties.
The program presented significant management challenges due to its critical nature, extremely tight schedule, alternative delivery method, and sheer size. The team’s successful strategy was a tightly run plan that addressed everything from safety and logistics to subcontractor management. The key to maintaining the aggressive design schedule was across-the-board standardization of the superstructures and decks, as well as the substructures.
As design-build contractor, the team worked closely with MoDOT personnel on design-related tasks, such as right-of-way acquisition, identification of environmental impacts, and acquisition of permits, as well as providing guidance on preferred design concepts through a constructability review process. A portion of the 554 bridges were self-performed by the joint venture.
Two additional bridges were added to the project through contract modifications. The team completed the project two years early.