Skip to main content

JMT and Parsons get a Nice Bridge contract in the US state of Maryland

In the US state of Maryland, a joint venture of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT) and Parsons Brinckerhoff has won a contract to replace the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge. The Maryland Transportation Authority awarded the $1 billion contract to replace the bridge, also known as the Potomac River Bridge and which was opened in 1940. The tolled 2.7km two-lane continuous truss bridge on US 301 spans the Potomac River between Newburg in Maryland and Dahlgren in the state of Virginia. Construction of the
July 7, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSIn the US state of Maryland, a joint venture of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (1309 JMT) and 2693 Parsons Brinckerhoff has won a contract to replace the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge.

The Maryland Transportation Authority awarded the $1 billion contract to replace the bridge, also known as the Potomac River Bridge and which was opened in 1940. The tolled 2.7km two-lane continuous truss bridge on US 301 spans the Potomac River between Newburg in Maryland and Dahlgren in the state of Virginia.

Construction of the new bridge is expected to start between 2020-2025, with completion within five years.

The JMT/Parsons Brinckerhoff joint venture will provide comprehensive programme management for preliminary engineering, final design and construction management and inspection.

Work includes determining bridge type - cable-stayed, concrete segmental or other – and project delivery method. A tolling study will be conducted to determine optimal toll operations and a study will be done focusing on financial and funding analyses as well as risk, financial and project management plans.

The old bridge is narrow, with both lanes only 3.4 m wide and with no shoulders. It is also steep with a gradient of nearly 4%. Traffic bottlenecks occur because the approach roads on either side are four-lane, resulting in slow traffic as it merges down to the bridge’s two lanes.

A 2012 planning phase report by the Maryland’s Transportation Authority said a new bridge will provide four 3.6m lanes, two 1.2m inside shoulders, two 3.6m outside shoulders, a median barrier to separate opposing flows and a single barrier-separated, two-way bicycle/pedestrian path.

The new bridge will be built beside the old bridge which would be demolished, the report concluded.

WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff is as global engineering consultancy employing around 32,000 people in 39 countries.

Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, founded in 1971, is an employee-owned firm providing engineering, architectural and related services to clients in the United States. JMT has more than 1,100 professionals working on projects in the transportation, buildings & facilities, water/wastewater, energy, Federal and information technology sectors.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Ritchie Bros planning major equipment auction in US
    August 2, 2012
    Equipment auction specialist Ritchie Bros is planning a huge sale of used equipment in the US state of North Carolina in September 2012. This unreserved sale of equipment includes no less than 60 Caterpillar D11 bulldozers as well as 20 other bulldozers. Also up for auction are over 30 large wheeled loaders and over 35 Caterpillar 777 trucks, as well as graders and other items of machinery. This particular sale is of note as the 60 D11 bulldozers are more than the firm has sold of this model over the last f
  • New York governor aims to freeze Thruway tolls, including Tappaen Zee Bridge
    January 11, 2016
    The governor of the US state New York, Andrew Cuomo, said he wants to spend US$22 billion over the next five year on maintaining aging roads and bridges. Cuomo also wants to give the agency responsible for maintaining the state’s major cross-state tolled freeway, the 920km Thruway, $1 billion so the agency – New York State Thruway Authority - can freeze tolls at their current rate until 2020. US media reported that his plan would also eliminate tolls for agricultural traffic. He would also offer a t
  • Golden route to success
    July 20, 2012
    Built in 1937 and still the ninth longest suspension bridge in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay remains in fine shape despite its age - Andrew Bardin Williams writes The Golden Gate Bridge turned 75 years old on May 27 and continues to play a key role in the transportation, engineering, construction and ITS communities. The structure has played an important historical role, an engineering success that boosted the economy of the region. And it also led the way as the first major pub
  • PB designing infrastructure for connected vehicle project
    April 24, 2012
    Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) has been selected to design and supervise deployment of technology infrastructure for a US Department of Transportation (US DoT) pilot programme to study the potential of operating connected vehicles on the streets and highways of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Called the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Model Deployment project, the $15 million research effort is being undertaken by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and its partners on behalf of the US DoT.