Hoyle, Tanner is proud to announce the East Road Bundled Bridge Replacement project for the Town of Milton, Vermont has been recognized with a merit award! This award is in Engineering Excellence in the Transportation Category from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Vermont. Our design team helped the Town meet the goals of the project, which included: cost savings, roadway safety improvements, reduced construction impacts to the public, and inclusion of a path for cattle to safely cross under the bridge. Both bridges 5 and 6 were successfully designed, permitted and constructed in a total of 13 months.

As part of the replacement design, Bridge 5 incorporated roadway safety improvements that included raising the roadway profile to improve sight distance by over 100 feet and increasing the roadway width for improved shared use of vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic. A unique feature of this bridge crossing was incorporating a path adjacent to the stream, where cattle can now regularly cross, accessing pastureland on both sides of East Road. The path design utilizes interlocking concrete blocks with gravel infill to promote hoof travel that is also scour resistant in high flow stream events. The design of the Bridge 6 box culvert utilized 2D hydraulic modeling which identified stream flow characteristics that traditional one-dimensional analysis could not, allowing for optimal sizing of the structure yielding significant cost savings for the project. Both bridges utilized precast components and accelerated bridge construction techniques to allow for a three month construction schedule which minimized impacts to the traveling public.

The replacement project was managed by Jon Olin, PE with a supporting staff of experienced Hoyle, Tanner roadway and bridge engineers, permitting specialists, and technicians. Jon is the Regional Business Manager for our Vermont Office and brings over 20 years of experience as a project manager and lead project engineer on structural and civil engineering projects in rural, suburban, and urban settings. He has managed the rehabilitation and replacement of dozens of bridges and culverts throughout New England and is a registered Professional Engineer in Vermont, New Hampshire and California.

ACEC, the sponsor of the Engineering Excellence Awards, is the oldest and largest business association of engineering companies. Each year engineering firms submit projects that are judged based on the complexity, innovation and value to society. We are happy to thank and congratulate everyone who was involved to make this project a success, in particular the Town of Milton, whose staff provided a collaborative, team-focused approach to this successful project.

Photo collage of cattle crossing bridges in Vermont