The I-495 / I-90 Interchange Reconstruction Project is one of the largest and most complex transportation projects in Massachusetts, encompassing hundreds of acres of environmentally sensitive areas. As one of the busiest and most congested interchanges in the Commonwealth, over 100,000 vehicles travel on both I-90 and I-495 with about 75,000 vehicles traveling through the interchange on an average day, including approximately half of all trucking entering eastern Massachusetts. This massive project includes replacement/construction of 13 bridges, 37 retaining walls and a 1,200 linear foot temporary trestle. The improvements to this interchange will allow travelers to seamlessly transfer between I90 and I495 while maintaining typical highway speeds.
In support of this $466 Million transportation project, the Design-Build Team of Barletta Heavy Division / O&G Industries and Aetna Bridge retained GTR as Design Engineer for Temporary Earth Support structures as well as several Permanent structures. GTR partnered with Barletta/O&G to develop innovative solutions, using our decades of design and construction experience combined with our practical, geotechnical design approach. GTR also provided technical support and on-site Quality Control for phaseline support and retaining wall construction and performed Dynamic Pile Testing (PDA) for pile driving subcontractors, J.F. White Contracting Co. and Keller, North America.
Below are several of the proposed and designed temporary and permanent systems to support active highway traffic and construction surcharges:
- Temporary drilled soldier pile and lagging retaining walls with bracing support consisting of internal bracing and tieback support.
- Temporary cantilevered soldier pile and lagging walls
- Temporary soil nail retaining walls
- Temporary sheet pile retaining walls
- Temporary structural support of existing structures
- Temporary MSE walls for phaseline support of excavation
- Permanent soil nail retaining walls
- Permanent pile supported concrete cap
