Boring, OR, USA
In late 2017, the Oregon Department of Transportation declared that the Boring Road Overpass was too low to accommodate some over-height vehicles on US 26, which was resulting in detours for many commercial vehicles. The height of the overpass clearance at the time was 15 feet, but standard overpass clearance for this section of US 26 should have been 17 feet, 4 inches. To rectify this, ODOT began working on a project to raise the overpass as well as repair structural elements and repave the roadway surface on the overpass. In addition, ODOT built new stormwater ponds, which collect and store stormwater runoff, which helps reduce pollution and prevents downstream flooding. The project as a whole took approximately five months, beginning in June of 2018 and ending in the Fall of 2018.
In the Spring of 2018, the highway contractor working on the project contacted Portland Bolt to manufacture a unique type of anchor rod. A large portion of the anchor rods required were fully threaded and straight, however, they are accompanied by another similar rod, which is threaded on each end with a small unthreaded portion in the middle, which is bent at a precise angle, in this case, 35 degrees. These anchor rods fasten the concrete barrier wall to the bridge deck. The ASTM grade required for the anchor rods was F1554 Grade 36 and was accompanied by domestic hardware and square anchor plates. Because of the exposure to weather, which is corrosive in nature, the required hardware was hot-dip galvanized. Since Portland Bolt is a domestic manufacturer and performs the hot-dip galvanizing process in house, the fasteners were completed and shipped to the job site with time to spare.
