Bridges Replaced
Project Manager:
Chris Jordan, PE, DBIA
The Project
RK&K served as Lead Designer for Reeves Construction on an emergency, accelerated design-build package to replace four bridges across Greenville, York, and Greenwood Counties that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene in 2024. Recognizing the urgent need to restore safe and reliable transportation routes, RK&K delivered roadway, bridge, geotechnical, and hydraulic design services under an expedited schedule while managing subconsultants for surveys, geotechnical investigations, environmental permitting, and utility coordination.
The team conducted detailed site visits, surveys, and hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) analyses of both pre- and post-flood conditions, using HEC-RAS models to replicate effective floodplain conditions and guide resilient design solutions. Once the bridges were properly sized, our roadway design team developed horizontal and vertical alignments that minimized impacts to right-of-way, environmental, and utility concerns while adhering to the requirements set forth by SCDOT. Each bridge alternative was evaluated to ensure compliance with hydraulic design requirements, including flood conveyance, backwater, and clearance criteria, without increasing flood elevations. Flood Study reports with FEMA No-Rise Certifications were prepared and transmitted to both the Counties and FEMA for approval. To enhance resiliency and reduce waterway obstruction, the replacement bridges were designed with fewer spans than the originals and superstructures ranging from box beams to cored slabs, depending on span length.
Despite the complexity and breadth of coordination required—including roadway tie-ins, drainage improvements, scour protection measures, and demolition of the existing structures—RK&K produced Released for Construction (RFC) plans for all four bridges in under four months. Construction was completed and traffic restored in less than 10 months from the start of design, allowing all four bridges to reopen to the public just before the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene’s landfall.
RK&K served as Lead Designer for Reeves Construction on an emergency, accelerated design-build package to replace four bridges across Greenville, York, and Greenwood Counties that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene in 2024. Recognizing the urgent need to restore safe and reliable transportation routes, RK&K delivered roadway, bridge, geotechnical, and hydraulic design services under an expedited schedule while managing subconsultants for surveys, geotechnical investigations, environmental permitting, and utility coordination.
The team conducted detailed site visits, surveys, and hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) analyses of both pre- and post-flood conditions, using HEC-RAS models to replicate effective floodplain conditions and guide resilient design solutions. Once the bridges were properly sized, our roadway design team developed horizontal and vertical alignments that minimized impacts to right-of-way, environmental, and utility concerns while adhering to the requirements set forth by SCDOT. Each bridge alternative was evaluated to ensure compliance with hydraulic design requirements, including flood conveyance, backwater, and clearance criteria, without increasing flood elevations. Flood Study reports with FEMA No-Rise Certifications were prepared and transmitted to both the Counties and FEMA for approval. To enhance resiliency and reduce waterway obstruction, the replacement bridges were designed with fewer spans than the originals and superstructures ranging from box beams to cored slabs, depending on span length.
Despite the complexity and breadth of coordination required—including roadway tie-ins, drainage improvements, scour protection measures, and demolition of the existing structures—RK&K produced Released for Construction (RFC) plans for all four bridges in under four months. Construction was completed and traffic restored in less than 10 months from the start of design, allowing all four bridges to reopen to the public just before the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene’s landfall.
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