NTM Engineering’s SR 3005 Beckville Road Bridge over Branch of the Schuylkill River will soon be featured in PCI Mid-Atlantic. The Beckville Road Bridge, located in North Manheim Township of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, was a structurally deficient bridge on a designated truck route. The original concrete T-beam bridge was built in 1927, consisted of two spans totaling 82 feet with an average traffic count of almost 2,000 vehicles per day. Due to limited bridge width and a horizontal curve, it was essentially a “one truck at a time” bridge.
NTM was awarded the design in early 2013 and construction was let in early 2019. Fabrication of the precast bridge began in February 2020, with construction completion in the fall of 2020. NTM’s team included Michael Baker International; McTish, Kunkel & Associates; and A.D. Marble & Company. The team also included Kamlesh Ashar, PE, District 5-0 Bridge Engineer, PennDOT District 5-0 (owner); Zachary Artim, Project Engineer, Susquehanna Valley Construction Corporation (Contractor); and Troy Jenkins, PE, Vice President and Chief Engineer, Northeast Prestressed Products, LLC (NPP) (Precast Producer).
project and a major win for
the community. It started
with a well-thought-out
and detailed set of contract
plans that made planning
our manufacturing of
the product simple and
repetitive. From that, NPP
was able to generate shop
drawings and complete
the manufacturing
process smoothly.”
Troy Jenkins,
Chief Engineer, NPP
The SR 3005 Bridge was one of two bridges in the design agreement; 100 yards downstream, SR 901 also crossed this Branch of the Schuylkill River. In addition to two bridges, our team designed a difficult skewed intersection, a turn lane on SR 901, a temporary runaround with temporary bridge for the 901 replacement and phasing and traffic control for two bridge replacements constructed over a two-year period. The coordination and design of this project was all encompassing, from extensive environmental studies, alternatives analysis, closing a Township Road and relocating a homeowner. Coordination with NPP was also critical since construction limits encompassed one of their primary shipping entrances.
NTM performed an alternatives analysis to evaluate three alignments for the bridge replacements, which allowed us to determine the level of impact that the work would have on the surrounding area. Because this bridge was part of a truck route, a shorter construction timeline was needed. The new bridge was designed as a spread box beam superstructure on top of a total precast substructure. The new bridge spans 73 feet and is 44 feet wide.
NTM’s H&H Department performed a detailed hydraulic model to account for both proposed bridges, a lateral weir for flow bypassing the site, and a temporary bridge. We also secured a Joint Permit application from the Northeast Region of PA DEP. A boat launch for kayaks and canoes will also be at the site since this is a navigable waterway.
Our Stormwater Department also prepared an NPDES permit for this project, with no official technical deficiencies issued and only minor questions related to erosion and sediment control.
The use of a total precast bridge allowed the team to satisfy the tight timeline demanded. The meticulously detailed plans provided by our Bridge Department enabled the NPP team to complete the manufacturing process smoothly.
