Whittier Bridge

The Whittier Bridge/I-95 Improvement Project is a mega project that included the replacement of the John Greenleaf Whittier Memorial Bridge over the Merrimack River and the replacement and/or improvement of eight additional bridges to accommodate the widening of Interstate 95. The John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge was built in 1951 and has served as a key link in the highway transportation network of the Commonwealth for over half a century. The existing through truss bridge will be replaced with a pair of new Network Arch bridges to remedy the structural deficiencies and functional obsolescence of the existing bridge. Green provided Civil, Structural, and Survey services for the Whittier Bridge Design/ Build project.

As part of the project, Interstate 95 was reconstructed by widening the existing six-lane cross section to an eight-lane cross section along a 4.25-mile segment of I-95 through Newburyport/ Amesbury/ Salisbury. Included in the roadway improvements was the construction of a new shared-use path and access road, drainage improvements, utility relocations, a new ITS network, and improvements to the highway lighting.

The eight additional bridges along the I-95 alignment were widened, rehabilitated, or replaced as necessary to accommodate the widened I-95 roadway and to improve the conditions of the structures. Green’s project responsibilities included drainage and utility design, hydrologic/hydraulic analysis, preparation of the hydraulic reports, coordination of the highway lighting design, and independent check of structural calculations for the replacement design of these bridges.