I-895 Bridge Project was a 2.89-mile-long mega-project to construct two new bridges and rehabilitate the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (BHT) in Baltimore City. The existing 3,300-foot-long bridge was over 60 years old and MDTA’s only structurally deficient bridge in their inventory. The tunnel, also over 60 years old, was included in the contract to combine two major construction projects that had significant impacts to I-895 traffic.
The new bridge consisted of a 3,150 foot long, 19-span straight/curved steel girder bridge on I-895 and a new retained fill section at the south approach and along southbound I-895 for the Commercial Vehicle Inspection Area. The new Holabird Avenue Ramp (HAR) bridge consisted of a 410 foot long, 3-span curved steel girder bridge and a 260 foot long retained fill section at the end of the ramp. The I-895 bridge was replaced using two stages of construction while maintaining traffic in a single lane each direction. The I-895 bridge crossed 23 railroad tracks, three interstate ramps, three City Streets, and was adjacent to several businesses and utilities. I-895 passed under the I-95 viaduct for a length of 800 feet where the minimum clearance between I-895 and I-95 was 14’-7”, and the minimum clearance between the underside of I-895 and the existing railroad tracks was as 22’-4”. Span lengths were increased to minimize the number of piers, requiring up to 96-inch-deep steel plate girder webs. As a result, the profile of I-895 was raised up to 27 inches to maintain the vertical clearance over the railroads. The project employed solutions to overcome challenges associated with utility coordination, railroad coordination, contaminated soil and water, construction staging and access, variable soil conditions, geometric constraints, conflicts with existing bridge foundations, constructability and schedule, maintenance of traffic, and staging of the bridge replacement.