Fall River, MA
Brightman Street Bridge
Scope/Solutions
During the six-year rehabilitation of the Brightman Street Bridge, SGH provided investigation and concrete design services and performed testing, analysis, and thermal modeling of mass concrete placements.
SGH helped evaluate the following:
- Issues with tremie placement for an underwater cofferdam seal that compromised concrete quality
- Contractor concerns about a concrete mix for approach span pier pile caps and bascule span fender beams
- Plugged concrete pumplines during placement of the east bascule pier pile cap in cold weather
- Mass concrete placements
Over the course of these projects, SGH completed the following:
- Investigated tremie failure and blocked pumplines
- Determined the cause of the failed mass concrete placement in the cofferdam seal
- Performed petrographic analysis, adiabatic heat signature testing, and thermal simulations at varying placement temperatures, weather conditions, and curing periods
- Modeled heat generation during curing
- Retrieved and tested concrete core samples
- Designed and tested physical properties of a replacement tremie concrete mix and monitored a trial placement
- Proposed concrete aggregate and mixes to suit each project
- Specified tremie and mass concrete sequencing and placement methodology
- Recommended ways to avoid freezing pumplines, including increasing the concrete temperature, insulating pumplines, and filling the pumplines with hot water prior to pumping the concrete
- Monitored concrete placements for the 2002 and 2004 projects
Project Summary
Solutions
Repair & Rehabilitation
Services
Structures | Advanced Analysis | Applied Science & Research
Markets
Infrastructure & Transportation
Client(s)
Modern Continental Construction
Specialized Capabilities
Temporary Construction | Marine & Civil Works | Computational Mechanics | Physical Testing | Materials Science | Microscopy
Key team members
Additional Projects
Northeast
Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, Beacon Street Line
Constructed in the 1870s, the Beacon Street Line carries water under the MBTA Green Line tracks in the busy Brookline neighborhood. SGH evaluated the pipe to determine if workers could safely enter, designed the repair, and provided engineering support during construction.
Northeast
Hultman Aqueduct
Following the completion of the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel, MWRA was able to dewater a section of the Hultman Aqueduct for the first time since its construction in the late 1930s. SGH conducted a condition inspection of the 1.8 mi long, dewatered section of the aqueduct.




