Interstate 580 Freeway Repair

The California 580/880 Interchange project was a very challenging job because there were two problems to deal with. The first problem was the distortion from the fuel burning from the tanker. The second was the fact that 880 being above 580, when 880 came crashing down on top of 580, it caused the 580 freeway to go into a negative camber of about 7-11".

We were called in to heat straighten the damaged bent caps of 880 which were twisted from 880 span hanging off of them. The 580 span was severely damaged by the 880 span falling on top of it. Additionally the burning fuel from the tanker ran down top of the pier of 580 span caused all of the girders underneath to distort. These girders, which were about 10 feet tall and ¾ inches thick, had as much as 4 ¾ inches of buckling in them.

We worked 7 days a week and 12-16 hours per day to set the girders back up in line and to have all of the webs within ¼ of an inch, which most were within 1/8th of an inch over 4 feet. All of this was restored to California Transportation Specs by heat straightening.