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
MacMillan Pier Floating Deck
During its first year of service, the dock failed during a winter storm. Over the next two years, SGH consulted on the investigation and rehabilitation of the structure.
Northeast
Longfellow Bridge
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) was concerned about the condition of the 1907 bridge. Working with a team of consultants, SGH investigated the stone masonry and concrete substructures and the steel-supported concrete sidewalks.




