Road structure – process – or apparatus – Process
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-03
2004-10-26
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Road structure, process, or apparatus
Process
C404S014000, C404S078000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06808335
ABSTRACT:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
Not Applicable
SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the field of reconstructing existing bridges and highways, specifically to methods of restoring structural integrity of existing roadways.
2. Prior Art
There are more and more vehicles that use existing transportation infrastructure every year. Due to a drastic increase in traffic load and volume, this aging infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating. At the same time, especially in urban areas, construction of new transportation facilities is severely restricted by environmental regulations, high costs, and existing land development. Therefore, reconstructing existing bridges and highways in order to restore their structural integrity very often remains the only choice available.
Several prior art methods of reconstructing existing roadways in order to restore their structural integrity are well known. One of the methods involves closing an existing roadway to traffic while detouring traffic onto alternative roadways. However, detours are not always possible and, when they are, traffic would spill over onto adjacent roadways, creating traffic jams and safety hazards resulting in increased air pollution, costly disruption of local businesses, and interference with local traffic.
Other methods utilize slowly advancing moveable elevated roadways that provide a travel path for existing traffic, while existing roadway restoration work is performed underneath. They are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,924,779 to B. H. Flynn (1933), 3,811,147 to R. C. Dix (1974), 4,698,866 to H. Kano (1987), 5,042,957 to M. Arita et al (1991), 5,105,494 to D. C. Ogg (1992), German Patents DE2653515 to G. Albersinger (1978), DE3107408 to H. R. Baser (1982), and British Patent GB2227268 to H. R. Fish (1990). Some of these moveable roadways provide an overpass with a single travel lane. They are designed for easier transport from site to site, however, in order to restore an entire width of an existing roadway, these moveable roadways have to make several passes over the same portion of the existing roadway. Other moveable roadways cover an entire width of an existing roadway, which can be restored in a single pass. But, due to their size, they are expensive to transport from site to site and require significant assembly and disassembly, which disrupt existing traffic. Also, due to significant additional weight that these devices impose on an underlying existing structure, their use on bridges is extremely limited.
Another method involves closing at least one of the existing roadway travel lanes to traffic for duration of its restoration, while traffic is rerouted onto those travel lanes that remain open. When restoration of the closed lane is completed, and the lane is reopened to traffic, the same procedure is then repeated for other existing travel lanes, resulting in restoration of the entire roadway. This method, however, is infrequently used because the existing travel lanes that remain open to traffic need to accommodate traffic from the closed lane. This can only take place on an existing roadway that has an overabundance of traffic capacity, which is a rare occurrence, especially in urban areas.
Therefore, if none of the previously described prior art methods can be utilized, which is currently the case on most existing bridges and highways, then a travel lane is closed to traffic for a relatively short duration of time, usually during night hours, and construction equipment, materials and personnel are moved to a roadway restoration area prior to start of restoration work. A relatively small area of the closed lane is then restored overnight, in sub-standard conditions and in a rushed manner. Construction equipment, materials and personnel are then removed from the restoration area prior to re-opening the previously closed travel lane in time for the next period of peak traffic, usually by early morning. As a result, the restoration work sometimes takes years to complete, quality of workmanship suffers, cost of restoration becomes excessive, and useful life of the roadway is shortened.
The previous discussion demonstrates that disruption of existing traffic due to inadequate traffic capacity of existing bridges and highways is the major reason why restoring structural integrity of existing roadways continuously remains one of the most frequently encountered problems in the field.
Transportation authorities, such as Federal, State, and Municipal Departments of Transportation, and public and private transportation agencies, that govern existing bridges and highways, recognize the problem of traffic disruption that occurs during restoration of existing roadways. And since traffic volumes on existing roadways vary significantly between peak and off-peak traffic, the authorities issue regulations that specify when and how many of existing travel lanes shall be open to traffic, and when and how many of them may be closed with minimal disruption of existing traffic. Generally, all travel lanes of existing roadways are required to be open during periods of peak traffic, from early morning to late afternoon, but a predetermined number of travel lanes are allowed to be closed during periods of off-peak traffic, mostly during night hours, with minimal disruption of existing traffic.
The aforementioned regulations provide a window of opportunity for developing methods of reconstructing existing roadways in order to restore their structural integrity with minimal disruption of traffic. Conceptually such a method would involve first increasing traffic capacity of an existing roadway by erecting a new elevated roadway above an existing roadway with minimal disruption of traffic, then rerouting existing traffic from the existing roadway onto the new elevated roadway, and then restoring structural integrity of the existing roadway with minimal disruption of existing traffic.
Prior art has not yet successfully developed such methods, and as a result, many existing bridges and highways, especially in urban areas, suffer from structural deficiencies for many years.
SUMMARY
A novel method of reconstructing existing roadways in order to restore their structural integrity with minimal disruption of traffic is provided. In accordance with this method roadway reconstructing is performed in two consecutive stages. During the first stage (Stage A), a new elevated roadway, which comprises a predetermined number of interconnected ramp units and bridging units, is erected above an existing roadway with minimal disruption of existing traffic. This new elevated roadway increases traffic capacity of the existing roadway by providing elevated travel lanes. During the second stage (Stage B), existing traffic is rerouted from the existing roadway onto the new elevated roadway, thus enabling restoration of structural integrity of the existing roadway to be performed with minimal disruption of existing traffic. This method is easily adapted for use on different types of bridges and highways.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
Structural deterioration of existing roadways is one of the most frequently encountered problems in the field of reconstructing existing bridges and highways. The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel, simple and economical solution that enables restoring structural integrity of existing roadways with minimal disruption of existing traffic. This object is accomplished by developing methods and utilizing devices that, working synergistically, offer a complete realization of the task.
Accordingly, a highly efficient method of reconstructing existing roadways in order to restore their structural integrity with minimal disruption of existing traffic is provided. This novel method of reconstructing comprises:
Stage A—erecting a new elevated roadway above an existing roadway with minimal disruption of existing traffic as described below, and
Stage B—rerouting existing traffic from the existing roadway onto the new elevated roadway, and then restoring structural in
Stamm Anna
Stamm Eugenia
Stamm Rolan
Pechhold Alexandra
Pezzuto Robert E.
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