The most recent meeting of the Civil Engineering & Construction club was held on September 14, 2005 at the offices of the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation in Newark. An evening of information and networking, the event featured a fascinating presentation on the replacement of bridge bearings, widening of the bridge deck, and lowering of the bridge profile of the span carrying the Eastern line of Turnpike where it passes beneath the Pulaski Skyway in Kearny, NJ.

Presented by fellow alumnus Scott Johnsen, Supervising Bridge Engineer at the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and Bill Matre, Project Manager for Koch-Skanska, the contractor on the project, the discussion gave us an up-close look at how this project was undertaken, from planning right on through construction. Amazingly, the bridge profile was lowered by as much as four feet, and the existing rocker bearings replaced with state-of-the-art elastomeric bearings, all during daylight hours while the bridge was fully open to traffic! The work was carried out from below the span using innovative jacking and support techniques developed especially for this project.

A question and answer session followed Scott and Bill's presentation, followed by some networking by the over 20 club members in attendance. This was a really enjoyable and interesting evening. Make plans to join us for the next meeting in January 2006!