Hood River, OR, USA
For anyone who has traveled on the stretch of I-84 going through Cascade Locks to Hood River, knows how rough of a drive it can be, especially during the winter season. Over time, the surface of the road had developed pot holes and inconsistencies on the surface that would jar your vehicle suddenly or become a place where rain water would puddle causing treacherous conditions. As a result, Oregon Department of Transportation planned a reconstruction project spanning through 2015 and 2016. The main focus would be for the concrete barriers to be replaced followed by the repaving of the surface, taking place in the summer of 2016. In total, approximately 12 miles of center concrete barriers separating the eastbound lanes from the westbound lanes would need to be replaced.
As with any highway project requiring the replacement of concrete barrier, the barrier pins will also need to be replaced. The long string of concrete barrier that you see is made up of many smaller sections connected by a steel pin. The configuration of the ODOT connecting pin typically has a forged head on one end and is manufactured to the ASTM A449 specification. Although the standard ODOT connecting pin length is 29”, this project required that the length be a custom 32”. In total, approximately 5,300 pins were needed to complete the span. Being that the environment in the northwest is corrosive, due to the wet weather, all of the required pins were hot dip galvanized. Once all of the pins were manufactured and ready to be shipped to the jobsite, the total weight of the pins exceeded 41,000 lbs.
