|
The Louisiana Department of Transportation will open bids Jan. 11 for the first phase of painting and repairs on the mile-long Huey P. Long Bridge in Baton Rouge—a project estimated at $70 million to $100 million.
 |
|
Christopherlin / Wikimedia Commons |
| The Huey P. Long Bridge in Baton Rouge is similar in design and vintage to its downstream neighbor of the same name. |
The truss cantilever bridge carries US 190 and one rail line between East and West Baton Rouge Parish 113 feet above the Mississippi River. The structure is similar in design to its better-known New Orleans counterpart, which is also named for the legendary Louisiana governor.
Scope of Work
The project involves cleaning and recoating nearly 3.7 million square feet of structural steel surfaces on the 5,879-foot-long bridge: 230,000 square feet on the east approach, 510,000 square feet on the west approach, and 2.9 million square feet on the main span.
The steel will be high-pressure-washed at 5,000 psi spot-power-tool cleaned to SP 15; and abrasive blast-cleaned to SP 10 (near white). It will then be recoated with an organic zinc-rich primer, an epoxy intermediate, and a polyurethane finish. Some repairs will also be required.
The existing coatings contain lead; containment according to SSPC-Guide 6 and waste disposal according to Guide 7 will be required. SSPC-QP 1 and QP 2 certifications are also required.
A mandatory pre-bid conference for all prospective bidders was held Nov. 29.
About the Bridge
The bridge was built in August 1940 at a cost of $8.36 million; nine workers lost their lives during construction.
Today, the span carries 17,300 vehicles per day. Unusual in its continued dual use for both rail and vehicular traffic, the bridge has extremely narrow lanes and in in poor repair, with hairline cracks in the girder foundations of both railroad approach spans.
The bridge was originally painted blue, but dust from the nearby Kaiser Aluminum plant kept coating the structure in orange aluminum oxide (bauxite). In the 1960s, authorities decided to paint the bridge to match the dust, according to southeastroads.com.
Reported by Paint BidTracker, a construction reporting service devoted to identifying contracting opportunities for the coatings community. Visit us on Facebook!
|
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Facebook
