Parsons Sensitive ‐ Proprietary 2019 International Bridge Conference - Eugene C. Figg Medal  Page 2  Goethals Bridge Replacement Project 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The cash-strapped Port Authority of and (PANYNJ) desired a state-of-the-art, iconic structure to replace the functionally obsolete 1928 Goethals Bridge. This objective was fulfilled through visual quality performance requirements for tower shape, through exciting programmable aesthetic lighting, and through integrated team development of a winning proposal. [Photo 1] The new parallel dual-span structure, with its 900-foot main span and roughly 6,000-foot-long prestressed concrete girder approaches, features unparalleled operational and structural redundancy and first-of-their-kind stay-cable anchorages to accommodate tower height limitations. In addition to the bridge itself, the project also included connections to existing transportation network, access to Port Authority of New York and New Jersey facilities, roadway widening and reconstruction, the replacement of the Travis Spur Rail Bridge, permanent and temporary access roads, smart technology, six maintenance travelers, a maintenance and control facility for the developer, fire protection system, and a full suite of historic resource mitigation measures. The design team selected a tower configuration with outward leaning tower legs for the parallel structures that increase public safety by reducing the possibility of ice falling from an over-roadway structure, which provides the traveling public with an inspiring, airy feeling in stark contrast to the original structure with its heavy steel members. [Photo 2] Due to the proximity of the site to Newark Airport, the tower height was limited to an elevation unusually squat for a cable-stayed bridge, resulting in a unique structural form. To accommodate the effects of the shortened towers, the team introduced a new form of stay-cable anchorage within the tower tops. To provide slender, context-sensitive towers, the anchor boxes were extended to the full-width limit of the towers. To achieve the tightest cable-to-cable vertical spacing as possible, the anchor boxes would be independent, directly fixed to the towers’ concrete, and fully embedded while allowing easy inspection access. [Photo 3] The design of the anchor boxes was so unique that steel fabricators initially refused to bid on them, claiming that the anchor boxes would be impossible to fabricate. In response, the team printed a 3D model of the anchor box design. Upon seeing the model, the steel fabricators better understood the design and intended fabrication sequence and were able to produce the innovative anchor boxes. Overall bridge aesthetics were considered from the project’s inception, and project-wide, the team incorporated the driving vision of the visual quality manager to ensure a consistent aesthetic narrative throughout the project. Clean, simple lines were important, as were the shape and style of the towers. D- shaped in cross-section, the towers present a slender profile and are tapered in the longitudinal direction to further draw the eye towards the tower’s height. The bridge’s main towers are visible for miles, so the arrangement of the towers and stay cables was subject to intense review. [Photo 4] Various safety measures were incorporated to optimize user experience, such as incorporating additional traction to mitigate the steep grade; furnishing an aerodynamic nine-foot safety fence for pedestrians [Photo 5]; and providing an open structure with outward-leaning towers and cables and no overhead components, which facilitates a pleasant user experience and minimizes the danger of falling ice in winter months [Photo 6]. The project evaluated noise levels at adjacent facilities, including public schools, to ensure the comfort of the public. In addition to designing the bridge to meet the needs of the prescriptive and performance-driven technical requirements, the team provided considerable historical preservation support under the project’s resources and mitigation plan, including participating in a 30-minute PBS special and preparing a fourth-grade lesson plan and a history book. The Goethals Bridge Replacement Project had been in consideration for years, and the new Goethals Bridge provides PANYNJ and users an iconic replacement crossing that was worth the wait. Since its completion, both PANYNJ and the traveling public have welcomed the new Goethals Bridge with an overwhelmingly positive response. [One page]

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION [Four Pages]

INTRODUCTION

Originally opened in 1928, the Goethals Bridge, which crosses the between New York and New Jersey, was the first bridge designed and built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). As time passed, contemporary transportation demands rendered the original bridge functionally obsolete, forcing drivers to endure a harrowing experience, navigating steep grades and no shoulders on the bridge’s four 10-foot lanes while dealing with heavy truck traffic generated by the bridge’s proximity to the Howland Hook Marine Terminal. Solutions to these conditions had been explored for years to ensure the economic vitality of the region, but a very aggressive capital program resulted in a cash-flow crunch for PANYNJ. To move forward with the $1.5 billion project, PANYNJ chose for the first time in its history to use the P3 delivery method. After an open competition that resulted in a short list of three proponents, PANYNJ selected the NYNJ Link team, with Parsons as its lead designer, to design, build, finance, and maintain the replacement crossing.

INNOVATION

[Photo right]The completion of the new Goethals Bridge Replacement Project, which spans the Arthur Kill between , New York, and Elizabeth, New Jersey, represents a significant achievement due to the size and complexity of the effort, the PANYNJ’s first use of the public-private partnership (P3) delivery method, the speed of delivery, the complex site, and the incorporation of various unique elements. Due to the proximity of the site to Newark Airport, the tower height was limited to an elevation unusually squat for a cable-stayed bridge, impacting stay-cable efficiency, aerodynamic performance, material quantities, and aesthetic. To minimize these impacts, the team introduced a new form of stay-cable anchorage. . To provide slender, context-sensitive towers, the anchor boxes were extended to the full height limit of the towers. . To achieve the tightest cable-to-cable vertical spacing as possible, the team developed anchor boxes that would be independent and that would be directly fixed to the towers’ concrete and fully embedded while allowing easy inspection access.

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These anchor boxes represent a new form in the industry. Steel fabricators initially refused to bid on the team’s anchor box design, claiming that it would be impossible to fabricate. In response, the team printed a 3D model of the anchor box design. Upon seeing the model, the steel fabricators better understood the design and intended fabrication sequence, and were able to produce the innovative anchor boxes without undue difficulty.

SUSTAINABILITY, COMMUNITY INTEGRATION, AND SAFETY

Parsons developed an extensive corrosion protection plan, in which each component was assigned a specific exposure category and has its own corrosion prevention strategy, ensuring that select critical components of the structure itself won’t require significant rehabilitation for 150 years. The design utilizes a dual structure crossing, allowing for operational redundancy, where full traffic can be carried on a single bridge if one of the structures is ever taken out of service. The crossing itself is fully integrated with the regional transportation network, and the operations of the facility are linked to PANYNJ’s Staten Island Bridge control center operations room. Additionally, there is a newly constructed developer’s maintenance and control facility, which is fully resilient in the event of future storm surges, such as the one that accompanied Superstorm Sandy, and which is located along the project alignment to minimize response time and lane closures for traffic accidents. The roadway was provided with TL-5 traffic barriers and a nine-foot pedestrian safety fence, and the outward lean of the towers and stay cables minimizes the likelihood of falling ice in the winter months, increasing the crossing’s operational reliability and the safety of the public. As mentioned, if one structure should become unavailable due to security or operational reasons, either direction of traffic can be shifted to the available structure, resulting in operational redundancy. Detailed grounding analysis was performed as part of the bridge’s vessel collision design, thereby obviating the need for in-water pier protection cells, vastly improving the character of the navigation channel.

COMPLEXITY The Goethals Bridge Replacement, delivered via the P3 delivery method, consists of a dual cable- stayed bridge with a 900-foot main span and roughly 7,000-foot-long prestressed concrete girder approaches. New parallel structures carry westbound and eastbound traffic independently, and a future mass transit corridor can be accommodated by stitching together the eastbound and westbound cable-stayed bridges. In addition, the project included the following: . Connections to existing transportation facilities at both ends of the bridge, including the toll plaza . Access to PANYNJ facilities . Roadway widening and reconstruction . The replacement of the Travis Spur Rail Bridge, which involved incorporating five spans of heavy rail bridge during a single weekend closure using roll-in accelerated bridge construction methods . Permanent and temporary access roads . Smart technology, including structural health monitoring

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. Weigh-in-motion stations, lane control signalization, variable message signs, and full supervisory control and data acquisition . Six maintenance travelers; . A maintenance and control facility for the developer . A new fire protection system In addition to the technical challenges and solutions discussed above, third-party coordination and approvals were identified early on as a potential schedule issue, so third parties were contacted early in the design for their input to facilitate a favorable review process. Major third-party stakeholders included the U.S. Coast Guard, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Authority, Conrail, the City of Elizabeth, the Department of Transportation, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Specific obstacles that were overcome included operations on the New Jersey Turnpike that had to be maintained during construction staging and Conrail’s specific requirements for crane picks over and adjacent to its tracks. The treatment of stormwater runoff was challenged by site conditions. Low-lying areas at end of the bridge on the New York side drove a design solution outside the New York Department of Environmental Protection’s standards, requiring approval from the department commissioner. Through communication, constant contact, incremental reviews, and a thorough comment-resolution process, all required approvals were achieved in accordance with the project schedule.

EXCEEDING CLIENT/OWNER NEEDS

PANYNJ desired a state-of-the-art, iconic structure, which was implemented through visual quality performance requirements for tower shape (i.e., no vertical smokestack towers) and performance criteria related to programmable aesthetic lighting as well as project-specific constraints. In addition, Parsons solved one of the project’s most critical challenges through the development of unique stay- cable anchorages. Project-wide, the team incorporated the driving vision of the visual quality manager, which ensured a consistent aesthetic narrative throughout the project. The project evaluated noise levels at adjacent facilities, including public schools, to ensure the comfort of the public. The bridge’s main towers are visible for miles, so the arrangement of the towers and stay cables was subject to intense review. The team elected to avoid any over-roadway structure to provide the traveling public an open experience.

Total project budgeted cost $ 1,500,000,000 Total construction budgeted cost $ 934,000,000 Total project actual cost $ 1,500,000,000 Total construction actual cost $ 934,000,000 Scheduled: December 31, 2018 Completion dates Substantial Completion: June 2018

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WORTHINESS OF ICON STATUS IN THE INDUSTRY AND THE COMMUNITY

The stay-cable anchorages described above represent a solution to similar bridge design challenges, and the level of redundancy built into the new Goethals Bridge sets a new standard for future bridge projects. The new parallel dual-span structure carries westbound and eastbound traffic independently and with built-in structural and operational redundancy. The new crossing will also accommodate a potential future mass transit corridor by stitching together the eastbound and westbound cable-stayed bridges. In addition to the bridge itself, the project includes several significant features to benefit both users and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), such as connections to existing transportation networks at both ends of the bridge, including the toll plaza; access to PANYNJ facilities; roadway widening and reconstruction; the replacement of the Travis Spur Rail Bridge, which involved the weekend replacement of five spans of heavy rail bridge during a single weekend closure used roll-in accelerated bridge construction methods; permanent and temporary access roads; smart technology, including structural health monitoring, weigh-in-motion stations, lane control signalization, variable message signs, and full supervisory control and data acquisition; six maintenance travelers; a maintenance and control facility for the developer; fire protection system; and a full suite of historic resource mitigation measures, including a 30-minute PBS special, a fourth-grade lesson plan, and a history book documenting the original crossing and PANYNJ. Aesthetics were considered from the project’s inception. Clean, simple lines were important, as were the shape and style of the towers, which were subject to extensive review to ensure that the project’s visual quality requirements were met. In addition to designing the bridge to meet the needs of the prescriptive and performance-driven technical requirements, the team provided considerable historical preservation support under the project’s resources and mitigation plan, including participating in a 30-minute PBS special, preparing a fourth-grade lesson plan, and a history book. Various safety measures were incorporated to optimize user experience, such as incorporating additional traction to mitigate the steep grade; furnishing a nine- foot safety fence for pedestrians; and providing an open structure with outward-leaning towers and cables and no overhead components, which facilitates a pleasant user experience and minimizes the danger of falling ice in winter months. [Photo right] As a result of this intensive effort and attention to detail, the public response to the new bridge has been overwhelmingly positive, and with its programmable aesthetic lighting, the new bridge’s towers are visible for miles, providing a constant reminder of the momentous achievement of the Goethals Bridge Replacement Project.