Dive Brief:
- Skanska USA Civil has announced completion of the 12,000-foot-long Choctawhatchee Bay Bridge in Walton County, FL.
- The new bridge will manage northbound traffic across Choctawhatchee Bay, while an existing bridge will handle southbound travel. In addition to the 2.5-mile bridge, Skanska also completed construction on a 400-foot fishing pier, boat ramps, docks, a public park and associated roadwork.
- During construction, Skanska had to accommodate fish windows — a moratorium on certain construction and pile driving to protect nearby marine life and endangered species — as well as comply with local noise ordinances, which were also instituted to protect the bay's wildlife.
Dive Insight:
The Florida Department of Transportation also selected Skanska to build a $398.5 million replacement of the Pensacola Bay Bridge in Pensacola, FL. The Bay Bridge replacement is the largest construction project ever for Pensacola, and officials said it will use up a year's worth of state bridge funds.
A Skanska Koch/Kiewit joint venture has also seen success recently with the "Raise the Roadway" portion of a $1.6 billion overhaul of the Bayonne Bridge connecting Bayonne, NJ, and Staten Island, NY. The project is six months ahead of revised estimates after a delay, with construction crews completing the bridge's new elevation in February. The joint venture is currently working to dismantle the old bridge and expects to be complete next month. After work is finished, the bridge will be able to accommodate much larger ships, giving post-Panamax ships access to the Port of New York and New Jersey, one of the largest container terminals in the region.
Skanska USA announced a management change late last month that resulted in former Skanska USA President and CEO Richard Cavallaro exiting that post and returning to his former position as president of Skanska USA Civil. The change — which the company said aimed to improve the operational results of its civil division — was effective June 1.
