The Milton-Madison Bridge made history when its new steel truss superstructure was moved 55 feet onto its permanent, rehabilitated piers using a technique called truss sliding. The 2,428-foot-long structure was slid along steel rails and plates into place, making it the longest bridge slide in North America. The bridge, which connects Milton, Kentucky and Madison, Indiana, opened to traffic one week later after final inspections were completed.
The team of Walsh Construction, Burgess & Niple and Buckland & Taylor designed and constructed the new bridge using the innovative truss sliding technique.
The new bridge truss superstructure was constructed downstream of the existing bridge on temporary piers. While the new superstructure was being built, the existing bridge piers were encased in concrete, strengthened and modernized to current bridge standards. Once the pier rehabilitation was complete, the old bridge superstructure was demolished and the new truss superstructure was moved into place.
The truss sliding technique allowed traffic to be maintained across this important bi-state connection with minimal closures – a few weeks compared to the 365 days that were originally estimated. The technique also helped secure Federal funding which required the new bridge to be built on the same alignment as the existing span.
The Milton-Madison Bridge project received recognition at the state and national level. Awards include:
- 2012 Best of What’s New Award, Popular Science Magazine
- 2014 Best Project, Lateral Slide Category, National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference
- 2015 Grand Project Award, American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Indiana
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