Description of Services
This project involved the rehabilitation and improvement of the historic Bayonne Bridge, a 1,600-foot-span steel trussed arch bridge crossing the Kill Van Kull between Staten Island, New York, and Bayonne, New Jersey. The initiative aimed to upgrade the existing roadway while increasing navigational clearance to accommodate larger vessels accessing the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Principal Engineer, Sena Kumarasena, Ph.D., P.E., served as Task Manager for the roadway upgrade component of the project. His work included the design of a redundancy girder system and the development of a comprehensive feasibility study evaluating multiple improvement options. These options included lifting the existing arch by sliding it on extended abutments, staged construction of a new elevated roadway through the existing arch, and the construction of a completely new bridge. The study also confirmed the feasibility of raising the approach roadways and provided comparative construction schedules, cost estimates, and logistical assessments for each alternative.
This work played a critical role in shaping the final direction of the Bayonne Bridge Navigational Clearance Program, balancing structural feasibility with cost, constructability, and long-term operational needs.