2025 ACEC-NH & NHDOT Technical Exchange Conference

Session 7A: The Replacement of the Park Avenue Viaduct: Micropile Foundations and Innovative Construction Techniques
Speakers: Arsanious Guirguis, Hardesty & Hanover
- The 130-year-old Park Avenue Viaduct, an elevated steel structure, services over 200,000 commuters every weekday. Last rehabilitated in 1993, the viaduct is being replaced and made more resilient using a rapid construction approach with minimal disruption to commuters. The project, located between East 115th and East 123rd Streets, required rock-socketed drilled micropile foundations installed in low overhead conditions utilizing innovative construction techniques while minimizing disturbances to the neighborhood and surrounding structures. The project's quality assurance program included a comprehensive testing program comprised of verification testing on sacrificial micropiles, proof tests at substructure locations, and rock socket video inspections.

Session 7B: Sturbridge MA Bridge Replacement - Micropiles/Integral Abutments
Speaker: Michael Sullivan, CHA; Sam Turek, CHA
- Following MassDOT’s 2023 moratorium on the use of integral abutment bridges founded on micropiles, CHA worked with MassDOT to design and construct two such trial bridges, including the recently completed Champeaux Road Bridge in Sturbridge, MA. CHA developed a structural monitoring plan to measure the bridge’s performance over three years. The real-time monitoring includes strain gauges in the superstructure and micropiles, and inclinometers and pressure sensors at the back of abutments. A data acquisition logger will take continuous readings from all the devices. CHA will use the information to develop design standards for future MassDOT bridge projects.