COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS Gonzalez Companies was chosen by the Illinois Department of Transportation under PTB 192 item 6. Gonzalez is currently providing Phase III Construction Management services for the rehabilitation of the Montrose Avenue bridge. Montrose Avenue carries traffic and pedestrians over the inbound and outbound Kennedy locals, reversible lanes, Edens Expressway and the CTA Blue Line railway.
Work included replacement of the existing 3 span, cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete tee beams and deck with cast-in-place concrete deck and steel beam girders. Due to the existing structures dilapidated condition and the Expressway’s reduced ADT due to the Covid-19 pandemic Gonzalez worked closely with IDOT to develop traffic staging and revised demolition procedure to completely close the inbound and outbound lanes for two consecutive weekends allowing the collapse and processing of the old structure. Opening of the Expressway on each weekend was ahead of schedule, and allowed the entire project schedule to be advanced. Partial reconstruction and repairs of the abutment and pier are to be performed to increase the vertical clearance over the Kennedy and Edens Expressway. Complicating the repairs is the complex traffic staging required due to the structures proximity to the “Junction” interchange and reversible lanes. Given the dilapidated, existing conditions of the piers on either side of the CTA station, Gonzalez proposed, based on previous experience with Carbon Fiber Structural repair, to use it instead of the planned substructure repair. This provided a suitable alternative and the structural support necessary for the repair all while keeping the project on schedule.
Improvements to the structure also included bridge and underpass lighting, scupper and drainage system installation, and traffic signal improvements. The new bridge superstructure includes two motorist lanes and one bicycle lane in each direction along with a 10-foot barrier median.
