R. J. Watson was selected by PCL Construction in 2017 to supply 81 disc bearings for a $138M Louisiana Dept. of Transportation & Development project to connect I-49 to I-220 near Shreveport and Caddo Parish in Louisiana.
This project is part of a $650M investment by the Louisiana Dept. of Transportation & Development to extend I-49 from the I-220 to the Arkansas state line.
The disc bearings, manufactured by R. J. Watson have a vertical service load ranging from 580 kips to 3,054 kips. The horizontal service load for all of the disc bearings ranged between 10% to 14% of the vertical service load. The longitudinal displacement for the expansion bearings ranged from 3.7” to 8.5” inches, with 2” of transverse displacement for the non-guided expansion bearings. The service rotational capacity ranged was +/- 0.020 radians.
The consulting engineers were TRC Solutions, and Finley Engineering Group.
The project was completed in October, 2018. This project received a 2019 Bridge Award of Excellence by the American Segmental Bridge Institute, and were the first precast segmental bridges built in Louisiana.