This project is located on County Highway 21 (N. Pokey Road) at its crossing of a tributary to Shoal Creek, approximately 3.0 miles southeast of Old Ripley, Illinois. It involved the removal of an existing single-span structure on timber piles, which measured approximately 42’-6” back-to-back of abutments and 26’-0” out-to-out of deck with 12’ lanes. The new three-span replacement structure consists of precast, prestressed concrete deck beams with a hot-mix asphalt wearing surface and waterproofing membrane system. The new bridge spans 38’-9”, 40’-0”, and 38’-9”, totaling 120′-0″ back-to-back of abutments with a clear roadway width of 36′-0″ at 0° skew.

Designed in accordance with AASHTO LRFD HL-93 loading standards, the bridge is located in Seismic Performance Zone 2 and on Soil Site Class D. The substructure includes spill-through pile bent abutments on driven piles and piers with piles set in rock. Additionally, the project required approximately 2,830 feet of approach roadway work, including improved roadway realignment through two horizontal curves and a sag vertical curve over the bridge to reduce overall bridge length. Roadwork was staged over two construction years to allow for settlement of large fills, which reached up to approximately 10 feet.

HMG provided a range of services for this project, including funding application assistance, topographic and property surveys, legal surveys, geometric design, easement and right-of-way plats, permitting, bridge hydraulics and design, and preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates. The awarded bid was $1,169,276.47, with most of the funding provided through IDOT’s Major Bridge Program under the Federal Highway Bridge Program.