Finishing the westbound bridge for the $127.6 million replacement of the NASA Causeway over the Indian River nearly a year early, Orion Marine Group expects to earn more than $1 million and the gratitude of the motorists heading to and from Cape Canaveral, Florida’s spaceport from Titusville, Florida.
“It’s pretty awesome what we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time,” said Tyler Satterfield, Project Manager for Orion in Tampa, Florida. “The engineers, superintendents, and craft personnel at Orion are experienced professionals who take pride in their work.”
Satterfield also credits the cooperation among the project’s team members for working well together. Lauren Giarmo, Construction Engineer for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), also lauded the teamwork for contributing to efficiencies.
WSP Project Manager Jim Lynch agreed, praising the partnerships. The Orlando, Florida-based company provided the project’s construction engineering and inspection services. The project required a great deal of coordination with NASA, with some lane closures needed during the oversized deliveries.
“There’s been a good team effort,” Lynch said. “The contractor deserves credit for a job well done. Orion did not let challenges get in the way. They just kept the project moving. It’s been a pleasure to work with them.”
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With roots dating back more than 80 years, the marine group, officially established as Orion in 1994, performs primarily specialty marine projects and concrete work spanning the United States and the Caribbean. The firm set a goal from the project’s start to finish early. Crews worked multiple shifts, around the clock, often seven days per week. The company also completed the eastbound bridge early in 2023, earning a $3 million incentive bonus.
Once the eastbound bridge construction wrapped up, all traffic was moved to it, so demolition of the old bridges and construction of it could commence. The oversized loads increased from 50 per year before the eastbound bridge opened to more than 50 per month, with some loads 24 feet wide and 80 feet tall.
The construction was not linear, with Orion working on different aspects of the bridge simultaneously.
The spaceport includes the Kennedy Space Center, the U.S. Space Force, and the U.S. Air Force. Florida’s space coast has become much busier than when the bascule causeway bridges were originally built in the 1960s. These days, sometimes two launches are scheduled on the same day. In 2024, the U.S. Space Force reported that 93 liftoffs took place. Nineteen occurred in January and February of this year.
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“The previous bridges no longer [could] hold the capacity or have the width needed for economic development and passage of oversized equipment,” Giarmo said. “It had come to the end of its life cycle.”
The federal government maintains authority for the bridges, with FDOT having entered a partnering agreement to maintain the structures. A proposed agreement for FDOT to lease the causeway remains on the table. The department received a federal U.S. Department of Transportation $90 million Rebuilding America Grant for the construction.
Volkert of Maitland, Florida, designed the new causeway on an expedited schedule to enable the marine construction to start as soon as possible.
The new 4,025-foot-long, high-rise bridges provide 65 feet of vertical clearance over the 185-foot-long main channel span. Each bridge has 26 spans and 3 percent approach grades, making it easier for the oversized loads rather than the traditional 5 percent to 7 percent grades. The team designed and built the eastbound bridge 11 feet wider than the westbound bridge to accommodate oversized loads headed to the spaceport. Both bridges have 78-inch to 96-inch-deep Florida I-beams and were paved with concrete.
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Orion’s subcontractor DT Read Steel Co. of South Mills, North Carolina, used TyBOT from Advanced Construction Robotics to tie the superstructure rebar, reducing labor costs and enhancing worker safety. Crews poured concrete from the eastbound bridge for the westbound structure, requiring some lane closures.
Both bridges have 25 hammerhead piers and consumed 1,105 prestressed, hollow 30-inch square, high-moment capacity concrete piles, driven to as deep as 140 feet. The foundations are the same for both bridges, in case the westbound structure has to carry heavy loads leaving the spaceport.
Those foundations proved challenging on the westbound bridge, when several of the piles cracked — letting river water stream in — due to geological issues. Overall, 2 percent of the piles cracked and were full of water when crews cut them off at the proper level. Underground in this area sits an artesian flow, creating pressure, which forced the water into the cracks. On the east side of the river, cracks occurred in 14 percent of the piles in piers 20 to 25 on the westbound bridge.
Although the eastbound structure experienced some cracked piles, it was minimal compared to the westbound bridge.
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Once the team discovered the cracks, Orion did not stop work. Its crews powered ahead on other aspects of the work, while determined to find a solution. The company also hired the specialty engineering firm, Centro Consulting Group of Wesley Chapel, Florida, to collaborate with WSP and Volkert to analyze the problem and come up with a solution. Lynch said that it took 100 days to develop a redesign.
“It did push the project longer,” said Satterfield, estimating that it added several months to the schedule.
To resolve the issue, crews water blasted the water and cardboard out of the pile and lowered a camera to find where the damage occurred. Then when only one pile had a crack, the contractor lowered a steel cage into the pile and filled it with concrete. Centro recalibrated the pile group foundation’s capacity and eliminated the damaged pile from the foundation’s bearing capacity. Additional piles were needed in some sections, requiring a redesign and the addition of more piles.
FDOT designed the 30-inch piles and is now studying the hammerhead piles to determine their functionality.
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Demolishing the old bridges also presented some challenges. Barges were carefully choreographed to avoid those structures.
The causeway crosses the Indian River and passes through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Dolphins, manatees, turtles, alligators, great blue herons, and osprey call the area home. Consequently, Orion had to carefully take apart the old bridges and remove all parts, using a crane with a clamshell on a barge. Nothing could fall into the river. Crews cut the pilings below the mud lines.
The four main concrete piers of the old bascule bridge proved difficult and took about one year to completely eliminate them. Orion built coffer dams to keep the area dry as it removed the steel and concrete. The company recycled the concrete it removed.
“Orion kept moving and did not let any obstacle get in the way,” Lynch said. “And overall, we are going to complete this project close to one year ahead of allowable contract time.”
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Hurricanes also presented delays. Orion had to tie down the barges to prevent them from moving in preparation for the storms and during the tropical events.
In March, Orion had completed more than 450,000 man-hours with no recordable events. The company will receive $8,000 each day for 250 days that the project finishes early. While traffic has begun traveling on the new causeway, Lynch anticipates completion in May, after grading swales and removing temporary asphalt.
Giarmo said she is proud that the community will have a new Indian River bridge that is safe and effective.
“Once done, access will be greatly improved,” Lynch said. “It has been a great team effort.”
