South Market Street Bridge Rehabilitation

The South Market Street Bridge, a landmark bascule bridge known officially as the John E. Reilly, Sr. Bridge, has seen heavy use carrying U.S. Route 13 traffic over the Christina River since it opened in 1927. In addition to the engineering and design challenges, the bridge rehabilitation strategy had to meet several other criteria: it needed to adhere to both AASHTO and DelDOT standards, and it had to satisfy standards of the City of Wilmington’s urban renewal plans for the Christina River waterfront.

 

Modjeski and Masters provided both preliminary and final design services for structural, mechanical, and electrical rehabilitation. The project included complete replacement of the bridge operating machinery and electrical control system, structural steel repair and a seismic retrofit of the movable span. With our experience in highway/interchange design and engineering, we were able to provide recommendations for traffic control and staging, a detour, and approach roadway improvements.