DBA is the geotechnical engineer for a pre-cast post-tensioned segmental concrete bridge that is part of what is called the “missing link” in the Foothills Parkway (see background information below) near the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The National Park Service has awarded a design/build contract to Bell & Associates Highway Construction of Brentwood, TN.  VSL will cast and erect the post-tensioned segmental bridge. The lead bridge designer is Corven Engineering, Inc. of Tallahassee, FL.  Palmer Engineering in Nashville, TN will be the structural/civil engineer for the project.  Some design work was begun by FHWA Eastern Federal Lands Division in the 1990’s but was never completed and let for bid due to lack of funding.  The process to complete the “missing link” has begun again using the design/build delivery system.

Since the purpose of the Parkway is to provide scenic views of the mountains and valleys, the project has strict requirements to minimize disturbance.  In addition to special design and construction techniques (to be discussed in a later post after design is complete),  Bell included significant attention to landscaping and site preservation.  Hedstrom Design of Knoxville, TN is the landscape architect for the project, providing services key to minimizing impact on the site from construction activities, as well as providing a finished look to the the project that blends with the surrounding landscape.

Design work is well under way and Bell has started work at the site.  The bridge is scheduled to be completed by November, 2011 – a very tight schedule!

A local news article about the project award is here in the Cherokee One Feather.

Click on the image to see a map of the Parkway (Source: Briefing Statement linked below):

Background information on the Parkway and the “Missing Link”:

Congress authorized the Foothills Parkway as a scenic parkway on February 22, 1944 (Public Law 232). The stated purpose of the Parkway is to provide beautiful vistas of the Great Smoky Mountains along their northern flank (TN) and to disperse traffic in the area. The entire 72-mile corridor is administered by Great Smoky Mountains National Park. To date, two discontinuous segments totaling 22.5 miles are completed and open. The Parkway parallels the Park’s northern boundary from Chilhowee Lake, TN (Section 8H) to I-40 near Cosby, TN (Section 8A).

Between 1966 and 1970, a 6.4-mile section of road between U.S. Highway 321 in Walland and Carr Creek (Section 8F), was constructed. In the 1980s, two contracts were awarded for construction of approximately 10 miles of road (Section 8E). Both projects experienced structural fill failures and erosion problems that caused the projects to be suspended in 1989, thus leaving a 1.65-mile segment uncompleted around Caylor Gap which is referred to as the “missing link.” In the 1990s, a new design was developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to complete the “missing link” using bridges, walls, and fills to minimize surface disturbance and environmental impacts.

Source: Briefing Statement, Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Completion of the Foothills Parkway, May 2009