Precision Pipe & Products partnered with a consulting engineering firm and Norfolk Southern Railway to rehabilitate two deteriorating reinforced concrete arch structures supporting a busy rail corridor in West Chester, Ohio, just north of the Sharonville Yard. Originally constructed in 1911, the bridge required a structural rehabilitation solution capable of extending its service life while meeting modern E-80 railroad loading requirements.

Rather than replacing the existing structures, the project team selected the InfraSteel® Bottomless Top Arch Liner System to provide a durable, long-term structural solution with minimal disruption to railroad operations.

The existing bridge consisted of two cast-in-place concrete arch barrels, each approximately 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 14 feet high. The structures supported approximately 16 feet of cover beneath two active railroad tracks and crossed beneath the rail line at a 42-degree skew.

After more than a century of service, the concrete arches exhibited age-related deterioration, and the bridge headwalls also required structural rehabilitation. Because the bridge serves a heavily traveled rail corridor in an affluent commercial area near a major roadway intersection, the rehabilitation solution needed to minimize construction time while maintaining the structural integrity of the existing bridge.

Working closely with Norfolk Southern’s consulting engineer, Precision Pipe & Products designed and manufactured two custom InfraSteel® Bottomless Top Arch liners specifically engineered for the project. During the design process, the engineering team completed eleven drawing revisions to optimize the liner geometry and accommodate the unique conditions of the existing structure.

The final design incorporated a 1½-inch-thick InfraSteel® Top Arch Liner with a 224-inch inside span and a 168-inch inside rise. Custom skewed end sections were manufactured to match the existing 42-degree skew of the concrete arch barrels, allowing the liners to fit precisely within the original structures.