AECOM provided design services for the replacement of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, or Q-Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 over New Haven Harbor at the confluence of the Quinnipiac and Mill Rivers in Connecticut. The project was initiated because of the need for operational and safety upgrades to the I-95 corridor through this area due to the volume of traffic and the structural deficiencies of the existing bridge.
The project includes replacement of the entire mile long bridge viaduct structure, increasing the current six-lane configuration to ten lanes and providing full shoulder widths. The location of the I-95/I-91/State Route 34 Interchange at the western end of the bridge adds a complexity to the project because of the need for bifurcating ramps as part of the bridge viaduct.
The proposed bridge will be a viaduct composed of curved steel I girder approach structures and a main span unit, which give a combined length of more than a mile long. The main span unit of the new bridge will be an extradosed cable stayed bridge.
The extradosed system is a hybrid design that is a marriage between a concrete cable stressed girder bridge and a cable stayed bridge. Extradosed type bridges have been successfully constructed in Europe and in the Far East, but the new Q-Bridge will be the first extradosed cable stayed bridge built in the U.S.
The bridge’s unique structure is well suited for the 515-foot center span, and provides a unique signature for this crossing.