AAP's DOT Gravix® Barrier Wall Selected for PA I-95 Bridge Closure/Repair Project
Douglassville, PA – Atlantic American Precast (AAP) is excited to announce that its Gravix® DOT Traffic Barrier Units have been selected for use in Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT’s) I-95 Cottman Ave. Emergency Bridge Closure/Repair project. This closure resulted from a June 11, 2023 accident and explosive fire involving an 8,500-gallon tanker truck carrying gasoline, which occurred beneath the Cottman Ave. overpass and triggered collapse of the bridge.
Given emergency closure of one of Pennsylvania’s, and the nation’s, major north-south interstate highway systems, immediate steps were taken by Pennsylvania Governor, Josh Shapiro, and PennDOT to establish a temporary reconstruction/reopening plan for the roadway. Working directly with PennDOT’s design engineer, Benesch, and AAP’s design/licensing partner, Earth Wall Products, Gravix® DOT Traffic Barrier Units were selected as the ideal precast safety barrier wall for the top of the reconstructed temporary roadway system.
AAP began mobilizing Gravix® DOT Traffic Barrier Units, a component of the Gravix® DOT Wall System, from its manufacturing facility in Douglassville, PA, on Friday, June 16th, with product arriving at the I-95 project site on Monday, June 19th. By mid-day Tuesday, June 20th, Gravix® Barrier was being installed on the temporary roadway surface. The innovative design characteristics of this AAP product, combined with the efforts of Buckley & Co., Benesch, and countless support personnel has enabled PennDOT and The Governor’s Office to announce reopening of the temporary I-95 roadway by the weekend of June 24, 2023, one full week ahead of schedule.
Gravix® entered the highway market after becoming the first all precast traffic barrier to pass the MASH TL-4 impact test. In 2013, a test Gravix® wall was constructed at the Texas Transportation Research Institute (TTI) testing and proving grounds in College Station, Texas. The test wall successfully passed the MASH TL-4 test and upon a thorough review, Gravix® received its Letter of Eligibility from the Federal Highway Administration.
As one of the region’s premier precasting facilities, Atlantic American Precast is constantly adapting to meet the needs of the growing heavy civil infrastructure sector. Beyond the high-quality Gravix and Forix products they produce, AAP also manufactures Precast Barrier and Sound Wall Products that remain key components in today’s heavy highway/infrastructure sector. Further information on Atlantic American Precast can be found by browsing atlanticamericanprecast.com or by calling 610.222.3062.
CLICK HERE to browse AAP’s I-95 Gravix® Traffic Barrier project photo gallery.