Connecting Linden’s Largest Logistics Hub to the Network
A 4.1 million-square-foot warehouse complex doesn’t mean much if trucks can’t get to it. The new Grasselli Road Bridge in Union County provides the critical connection to the newly developed Linden Logistics Center, carrying two traffic lanes and a sidewalk over two roadways and two Conrail spur lines on a four-span, 498-foot structurally continuous, horizontally curved steel girder bridge. A high-performance concrete bridge deck, placed in stages to achieve proper dead load deflection, is integral with the girders. The structure is founded on six-foot-diameter drilled shafts with rock sockets, concrete pier columns and hammerhead pier caps, and both gravity and semi-integral abutment systems.
The approximately 1,100 feet of raised roadway on the bridge’s north side is constructed on CMC ground improvements spanning 700 feet and retained with an MSE wall system. Additional project elements include asphalt and concrete pavement, guide rail, roadway lighting, traffic signals, and sidewalks with ADA-accessible curb ramps.
Full Design and Full-Time Field Presence
Our team provided final design engineering across structural, survey, traffic, roadway, drainage, lighting, geotechnical, and permitting disciplines. Utility coordination alone involved 11 different utility companies, and rail coordination required full Conrail review for work spanning active spur lines. That level of multi-stakeholder coordination defined the project from design through construction.
On the construction side, our firm provided full-time construction engineering and inspection services, reviewing installed elements for conformance with contract plans and specifications, preparing daily inspection reports and photo documentation, and managing shop drawing and RFI response. We provided ongoing support and engineering expertise to the project owner regarding construction methods, payments, scheduling, change of plan coordination, and contractor quantity and invoice reviews. The project earned the 2022 NJSPE Private Project of the Year Award, recognition that reflects the precision and coordination required to deliver a curved steel bridge over active rail lines on schedule and to spec.
