VST Shoring Towers and VPS Soffit offer fast assembly and integrated safety features, making them ideal for bridge cap installations.

Mt. Vernon Avenue Bridge
San Bernardino, CA, United States

PERI USA Engineers Safe, Sustainable Formwork Solutions for California Bridge Project

Connecting Communities, Revitalizing Infrastructure

A landmark structure in San Bernardino, California, the Mt. Vernon Avenue Bridge connected communities on the city’s west side for nearly a century. After inspectors determined that the bridge was severely deficient, the city of San Bernadino and the San Bernadino County Transportation Authority closed the structure in late 2020 and had it disassembled the following spring.

This was the first key step in a full bridge replacement project projected to cost nearly $250 million. 

The key challenge for project managers: The bridge spanned over one of the largest railyards in the region, requiring careful coordination to maintain operations. This meant making critical lane adjustments to allow both construction of the new bridge and the continuous movement of rail traffic below.

Due to the tight space restrictions and regulations of the rail yard underneath, the project team approached PERI USA to assemble versatile formwork solutions for pier caps, walls, and shoring for the biodock.

Build Better, Faster, Safer

Project managers selected VARIOKIT Pier System (VPS) for use on the bridge pier caps. PERI's VPS revolutionizes bridge construction with a customizable, rental solution that enhances safety and efficiency. The system includes lateral fall protection, soffit panels, speed beams, platform brackets, and unique IPE 600 VARIOKIT steel beams. VPS reduces cycle time by enabling independent side formwork from the soffit, requiring a lighter crane and fewer manhours. Additionally, it provides a spacious, crane-independent work area ideal for setting and working on the rebar cage.

“With the VPS Pier Cap system, they were able to cycle, erect, and pour the eight different caps in a very fast way, faster than they thought before, so they were able to beat the schedule and set the precast girders on the bridge in a timely manner,” said German Ordonez, sales representative at PERI USA.

Crews used MAXIMO Panel Formwork System for the pier cap seats. MAXIMO is significantly faster than conventional panel formwork while requiring lower personnel requirements. With innovative tie technology, working time can be reduced by up to 50%.

Planners chose PERI’s VST Heavy-Duty Shoring Towers to support the VPS Soffit tables. The VST Heavy-Duty Shoring Tower serves as shoring and is used in projects that require the central transfer of large loads. It can be erected and used either as an individual tower, main beam, or birdcage scaffolding.

“The customer also saw the benefit of adding PERI UP aluminum stair towers to access the caps at the same time,” added Ordonez. “The crews were able to use our plywood sheets, which was a very universal solution that could be utilized on multiple systems.”

Back on Track

The City of San Bernardino expects construction on the Mt. Vernon Avenue Bridge to be complete by summer 2025.

 

Main Application
Bridges

The Project

Impressions from the project process

Project Information

Related Products

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VST Shoring Towers and VPS Soffit offer fast assembly and integrated safety features, making them ideal for bridge cap installations.
VST Shoring Towers and VPS Soffit offer fast assembly and integrated safety features, making them ideal for bridge cap installations.