Unique Project Solutions Recognized with 'Excellence in Concrete' Awards

Two unique projects, one in the City of Olathe, Kansas, and the other in the City of Prairie Village, Kansas, have been recognized by the Concrete Promotional Group (CPG) with Excellence in Concrete awards. The awards are presented each year to recognize outstanding work in concrete construction!

Old 56 Highway Bridge over Cedar Creek, Olathe, Kansas – Concrete Restoration

The rehabilitation of the Old 56 Highway Bridge over Cedar Creek in Olathe received the award in the “Concrete Restoration” category. For those of you who are technically inclined - and that's many of our followers - poor drainage was causing significant deterioration along the edges of the bridge deck, while the rest of the bridge was in good condition. The best and most cost-effective solution involved removing and replacing the deteriorated areas of the bridge, allowing the City to upgrade the safety barriers on the bridge while maintaining the basic structure. The new portions of the bridge deck and the improved safety barriers were constructed using KCMMB concrete. Bridge deck drainage was improved by using variable depth milling to increase the cross slope on the existing structure. The completed bridge deck was then covered with a multi-layer polymer concrete overlay. This project provided the City with a cost-effective means of extending the life of the existing concrete bridge.

Mission Lane Bridge Replacement, Prairie Village, Kansas – Concrete Bridges

This new concrete bridge, which is located in a high-traffic area of the busy Prairie Village Shopping Center, replaced a bridge originally built in the 1940s that was structurally deficient due to high levels of corrosive de-icing salt. If you can't make out the bridge in this picture, it's because the J.C. Nichols Company, which originally developed the area, enclosed the creek in a culvert in the 1960s to create additional parking. 

KCMMB concrete was used on the abutments and deck for this bridge replacement. Precast prestressed double-tee beams were used to form a single-span bridge over Brush Creek, improving the hydraulic aspects of the creek. Complicating construction were the existing culvert structure and masonry channel walls, which had to remain in place. Shoring was used to support the walls during construction, while special tiebacks permanently anchor the walls to the newly constructed abutments. To conserve materials used, the new concrete bridge approach slabs were set on the existing footings; to provide long-term resistance to heavy salts applied during the winter, epoxy coated reinforcing steel was used exclusively and a multi-layer polymer concrete overlay was applied to create the final driving surface.

Congratulations to all involved in these interesting projects!