Coastline Drive & Liberty Street Bridge Replacement

The Work

The existing structures were defective. Multiple parts of the Liberty Street structure had collapsed and had to be salvaged from under ten feet of mud. During the Coastline Drive demolition, a deteriorated fascia cap collapsed, resulting in an additional 500 tons of concrete that had to be removed from the bottom of the river by divers, using a wire saw to cut the reinforced concrete into manageable pieces. In addition, the area was a former dumping area from the 1901 Jacksonville fire — making the subsurface unpredictable. Fortunately, as this was a design-build project, Superior was able to adjust and adapt. Designs were continually modified for engineering, labor, and equipment in order to locate adequate subsurface areas for piles and load bearing.

Superior completed the work from barges on the water to minimize the impact on the urban environment and keep construction vehicles and equipment off of the adjacent roadways. Our marine fleet, including crane barges, deck barges, and a tug boat, were used to access the work areas and move equipment and materials on the St. Johns River. Every tugboat trip had to be carefully planned, as it took four hours to get from the worksite to the pier. Engineers constantly completed weight and buoyancy calculations for the floating cranes and equipment to keep the site safe and prevent the equipment, material, or the entire barge from rolling into the river. Crews and divers also battled the river flow, which could reach up to eight knots at this constricted point in the river. The dynamic environment meant prioritizing safety was essential.