Best Use - Bridge Structural Components
This Copano Bay Bridge Replacement project included the first cylindrical prestressed concrete pile to be used in Texas DOT highway construction.
Copano Bay Bridge Replacement project included using a record-breaking cylindrical prestressed concrete pile created by Texas Valley Prestress Products and measures 179’6” in length. Additionally, these 54 in. cylindrical concrete piles were the longest prestressed member to be plant manufactured, then shipped to a job site in the State of Texas.
Geographically, the Copano Bay bridge is located in Aransas County, 45 miles North of Corpus Christi, TX. The project scope included upgrading the existing 2 mile bridge over the Copano Bay from a two lane roadway to four lane roadway. The total cost was $98,162,587. This cost included the shipping of high performance concrete piles, the hammer used to drive the piles, Epoxy-Coated Reinforcing (ECR) Steel used in the deck, rails, abutments, bent caps and tie-beams, and columns.
The centerline of the new bridge is 40 feet east of the existing, 46 year old, 2-lane bridge. The project, 2.085 miles of bridge took four years to complete. The maximum vertical clearance of 75 feet and 2.085 miles consisted of 93 spans of 100 and 150 feet. The Copano Bay Bridge construction phasing and timeline of four years was broken into 3 phases: Demo – 3 months, Phase 1 – 3 years, and Phase 2 – 1 year.
- Precaster – Valley Prestress Products
- Engineer – TxDOT
