Jun 24 2015
Easi-Set Worldwide, a subsidiary of the Smith-Midland Corporation (OTCQB: SMID), announced today that Cold River Bridges, Inc., of Walpole N.H., is using 240 linear feet of J-J Hooks barriers on a bridge rehabilitation project in Rockingham, Vt. Located on Route 121, the bridge requires a complete reconstruction that's being supported by the contractor's rental of J-J Hooks barriers from Easi-Set® Worldwide licensee S.D. Ireland of Williston, Vt. This represents the first use in Vermont of the new MASH TL3 approved J-J Hooks design.
Bridge rehabilitation project on route 121 in Rockingham, VT using J-J Hooks barriers
The Vermont Agency of Transportation job comprises a complete bridge rehabilitation on the Route 121 highway. Just one side of the bridge could be closed at a time, thus the need for reliable barriers to "protect the traveling public who are using the road while it's under construction," says Resident Engineer Chad Greenwood.
Jim Hollar, Cold River Bridges' Owner and Founder, says the 240 feet of J-J Hooks bolted-down barriers play a critical role in traffic management during the project, which is expected to be finished by October 2015. Located on a critical artery, the bridge couldn't be shut down during construction, nor could a temporary bridge be constructed. "We put a barrier right down the middle of it," says Hollar.
"We had to cut a bridge in half, so it's down to one-way traffic that we're controlling with the barriers," says Hollar, whose firm has used J-J Hooks barriers on previous projects. "These barriers are very easy to use; it's amazing how quickly they can be set up, in place, and ready to use."
Licensed by Easi-Set Worldwide, J-J Hooks comply with uniform federal guidelines (NCHRP 350 & MASH) for crash-testing permanent and temporary highway safety features. "Because J-J Hooks was already approved for use by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the precaster and contractor were able to move quickly and deliver the rental barriers promptly," said Moffette Tharpe, Managing Director for Easi-Set Worldwide. "Speed-of-response and other project constraints were easily addressed through the use of J-J Hooks."
Eric Barendse, Precast Concrete Sales/Estimator at S.D. Ireland, says the project, which started during the fall of 2014, was the precaster's first use of bolt-down, MASH test barriers. "We knew there would be demand for the bolt-down variation of the barrier, so we altered our form and had them ready to go when Cold River Bridges called," says Barendse, who has seen more overall demand for J-J Hooks in the state, particularly from out-of-state painting contractors that are hired to sand-blast and/or clean bridges and substructures. "We've provided the barriers on several jobs in the last few years and have two more lined up right now."
J-J Hooks, North America's most successful, proprietary precast concrete temporary barrier connection, has an extensive history of success and currently exceeds 12 million linear feet of product delivered. Installed on highway construction projects and in security barrier applications nationwide, J-J Hooks are being delivered at an average pace of one million feet annually.