Fore River Bridge Replacement Support

The Fore River Bridge spans the Weymouth Fore River and carries Route 3A over the river between Quincy and Weymouth. A 15-year temporary bridge was opened in 2003 after its predecessor, built in 1936, was deemed unsafe.

The $244.6 million replacement of the temporary Fore River Bridge in the Quincy-Weymouth area of Greater Boston began in 2012 and should be completed in 2018. This project is part of the Mass. Dept. of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Accelerated Bridge Program.

The primary project involved the replacement of the temporary Fore River Bridge with a new, permanent, steel vertical lift bridge. A joint venture with J.F. White Contracting Company and Skanska was responsible for designing and building the Fore River Bridge replacement. CASHMAN was subcontracted to handle the dismantling and removal of what had been the existing temporary lift bridge over the Fore River.


PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• The new bridge connection work was completed and traffic transitioned to it in late summer 2017; CASHMAN then began the temporary bridge dismantling/removal phase. Bridge dolphin work continued after the temporary bridge removal.
• Demolition of the superstructure was completed in just 8 weeks. We were limited to one 7-day and one 8-day closure by the USCG to entirely remove the 210-foot lift span structure (topping out at over 200 feet off the water). The project included removal of a steel substructure and extraction of 24”-diameter concrete pipe piles.
• With lifts over 500,000 lbs., CASHMAN mounted a Manitowoc MLC650 on a barge. This is the first of Manitowoc’s MLC650s with the new shifting counterweight technology.
• CASHMAN was also responsible for the removal of an existing railroad bridge and abutment over a weekend closure.
• There are plans in place for CASHMAN to work with the Government of Haiti to reuse viable bridge parts to enhance existing transportation systems on the island.