Spring weather brings infrastructure projects out of hibernation and one of the first on the list for Pittsburgh's Department of Public Works has been the Braddock Ave / Kenmawr Ave ramp in Rankin. The existing ramp averaged over 8,000 vehicles daily and carried a rating of 4 (poor condition) according to the National Bridge Inspection Standards. Mosites Construction Co. has taken on the project to which Matcon Diamond Inc. is subcontracted.
After the initial closure in February, demolition of the ramp and its support pillars had begun which left the abutments structurally sound. Rather than rebuilding these units, it was in the best interest of Mosites to gain a fresh start by removing the top portion of each abutment for a secure installation of the new ramp. This phase of the project cannot begin until these final demolition cuts were made. Concrete sawing firms are always under the gun but luckily for the project's managers, nobody handles deadlines like Team Matcon! Time was of the essence but with the most seasoned technicians utilizing the newest technologies, Matcon Diamond Inc. was ready for the challenge and gearing up to exceed expectations.
Starting with a flat saw, a start-of-work cut was made on either side of the connecting roadways. Then Matcon's crew worked with a purpose and installed custom brackets to over 60 foot of track to make a half-way cut through each side of the 3 1/2 foot thick concrete abutments. Along with 30 foot of vertical end-wall chainsaw cuts, our track-mounted wall saws took on a total 120 foot of horizontal cuts to the heavily reinforced concrete.
Once these abutment heads were given a clean cut, Matcon's crew remounted their wall saw tracking for a total of 700 foot lineal cuts to the 20 inch thick side walls on the lower ramp entrance. To expedite the job we even employed the practice of running tandem wall saws running simultaneously. The first provides the initial guide cut while the next follows through with the desired depth cut. All the work in half the time!
This $9.3 million ramp will finish in 2025 with new sidewalks, guard rails, lighting, traffic signals, and pavement markings. By that time, the work we completed on this project will barely be noticeable yet was vital to the success of the project.
Mosites, the project's general contractor, called for over 800 lineal feet of up to 42 inches of heavily reinforced concrete to be sawed in 8 shifts - Matcon Diamond Inc. did it in 6 with zero injuries or hazardous incidents.
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