JOB: Cooper River Bridge Project, South Carolina
CONTRACTOR: Palmetto Bridge Company
Bid-Well Pavers are Paving the Longest Cable Span Bridge in the United States

The bridge over the Cooper River will be the longest cable span bridge in the United States when the entire project is completed in late 2005. The Arthur Ravenal Bridge will span 1,596 feet from tower to tower. The BID-WELL 4800 pavers used on the project are setting records of their own, going to great lengths to get the job done well.

The Palmetto Bridge Company is the contractor on the $350 million Cooper River Bridge Project. It is using three BID-WELL 4800 pavers to pave the bridge deck as well as interchange ramps. The main deck pours are paved transversely, with a 4800 paver that has been lengthened to 174 feet, making it the longest BID-WELL paver ever made.

"The deck pours are done transversely to help take deflection out of the girders," Sam Erwin, Deck Superintendent for Palmetto, said. "The pours range from 450 to 950 cubic yards, and are generally 150 feet square.”

"The size of the span is impressive, and so is the size of the BID-WELL paver on the deck. It has maintained tolerances, which are one-eighth inch over ten feet."

The paver has poured over 10 miles of bridge deck of varying widths and sizes so far, and, according to Senior Superintendent Jim Barton, the BID-WELL 4800 has been performing well.

"With all the varying widths and sizes we're working with on this project, I'm impressed with how well the BID-WELL has held up," Barton said. "We've paved more than twelve-thousand cubic yards so far and the machine has been really sturdy. Plus it's a good combination of providing everything we need to get this job done and still being simple to operate."

Dave Kampan is the Assistant Senior Supervisor on the project and is in charge of the day-to-day operation of the paver. "We're working with some pretty extreme changes in skew angle," Kampan said. "We can be paving at 15-degrees on one slab and then 35-degrees on the next. The BID-WELL is easy to adjust, saving us time, while still maintaining the specs we have to meet."

In addition to the main bridge deck, Palmetto is also paving two sets of interchange ramps on either side of the bridge.

The bridge will connect Charleston and Mount Pleasant. The existing bridge, which is still in use while the new one is being built, is a five-lane bridge. The new bridge will have eight traffic lanes plus a bicycle path and sidewalk.

The Palmetto Bridge Company has had a very positive experience with the 4800 pavers and BID-WELL. "We have had no problems at all with these pavers," Erwin said. "All three have performed well and exceeded our expectations, and we've ordered a fourth machine, which is on its way to us."

And the responsiveness of the BID-WELL technicians has impressed Jim Barton. "The BID-WELL people have worked with us hand in hand, making sure everything is going well. When we started out we needed to re-modify the machine and they were right there, making sure everything worked right. They've done an excellent job of supporting us."

The BID-WELL Model 4800 pavers used by Palmetto Bridge Company are capable of paving super-wide slabs with the BID-WELL step-up truss system. The versatility of the Model 4800 was a huge benefit for their company in meeting the requirements of the Cooper River Bridge project.

The technology and design features that have been developed and refined over the years have made BID-WELL roller pavers the best ever offered to the construction industry. Some of these features are:

• Complete versatility paving all surfaces - matches flat, parabolic, crowned, skewed, super-elevated and tapered surfaces.
• Tubular frame spans the concrete and rides on pipe rail or form.
• All-welded steel construction for strength with a minimum of weight (paves up to 172 ft. - contact the factory).
• Paves roads, bridges and other slabs.
• Highest production rate with automatic machine paving functions or operations.
• Powered by two 23 HP (17.1 kw) or optional liquid-cooled diesel engines.
• Traveling carriage strikes off and paves with augers, Rota-Vibe® and paving rollers and textures the concrete with drag pan and burlap or Astroturf drag.
• Operator friendly with an easy-to-operate control console, swivel seat and controls to stop and start the paving carriage at any point.

BID-WELL has always been the industry leader in the development and manufacture of a wide variety of versatile and specialized concrete paving machines for the construction market. This includes bridge deck pavers and overlay machines, road and airport pavers, texturing/curing machines, work bridges, and specialized pavers and graders for slope and canal paving.