2026 ACECNJ Fall Conference

Description
This session shifts from a single-project narrative to a set of transferable practices for applying a Design-Build approach in complex, high-volume urban corridors. Drawing on scope of the project being the rehabilitation of seven bridges along the Grand Central Parkway between Union Turnpike and Commonwealth Boulevard in Queens, New York, the session uses this project as a living laboratory – an ongoing, real-world setting in which broader delivery strategies can be observed, tested, and discussed – rather than as the primary subject itself. rather than the primary focus. The emphasis is on innovative concepts such as organizing work into design units aligned with construction staging, overlapping design and construction to compress schedule, and using structured Alternative Technical Concepts (ATCs) to refine traffic staging, structural details, and construction sequencing. Attendees will be exposed to strategies for executing complex staging (e.g., reducing stages and eliminating high-risk work-zone configurations), using advanced details like UHPC link slabs to extend service life, and building integrated quality, safety, and risk-management frameworks that reduce schedule risk. Rather than walking through a single project’s chronology, the presentation will focus on lessons learned and efficiency techniques employed, decision frameworks, and proven auditable workflows that practitioners can adapt to their own Design-Build and alternative-delivery programs.

Sophistication Level of Presentation: Advanced
The session assumes familiarity with highway/bridge rehabilitation, construction staging, and alternative delivery (Design-Build, CMGC, etc.). It is targeted to practitioners involved in planning, designing, managing, or administering complex transportation projects under innovative delivery models.

Learning Objectives:
After this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain and apply a reusable framework for structuring Design-Build contracts for corridor-wide bridge rehabilitation, including performance-based requirements, design units aligned with staging, and overlapping design-construction phases.
2. Implement systems-based thinking on multi-bridge programs in constrained right-of-way, coordinating deck replacements, targeted repairs, drainage, lighting, signing, and guide rail upgrades to minimize mobilizations and traffic impacts.
3. Design and evaluate Alternative Technical Concepts (ATCs) and other innovation mechanisms that optimize staging, traffic control, and structural details while maintaining safety, durability, and regulatory compliance.
4. Deploy integrated quality, safety, and risk-management systems tailored to Design-Build, including unified quality plans, independent verification strategies, critical-path risk tracking, and project-specific safety programs.
5. Adapt these innovation practices to their own agencies or organizations, including how to embed requirements for equity, environmental stewardship, and participation goals without stifling creativity.

Audience:
• Transportation and bridge project managers
• Owner-agency representatives (DOTs, public works, transportation authorities)
• Design-Build and alternative-delivery practitioners (designers, builders, CM/CEI)
• Structural and highway engineers involved in corridor or multi-bridge programs
• Construction managers and traffic operations engineers responsible for work-zone staging
• Quality, safety, and risk managers on large infrastructure projects
• Policy and program managers overseeing Design-Build and innovative delivery initiatives

This presentation details the evolution of the Irving Street Bridge replacement project in downtown Rahway, New Jersey. The bridge, a three-barrel stone and brick arch structure built circa 1875, is one of only two remaining stone-arch bridges in Union County and is considered a historically eligible structure. The project began in 2016 as a replacement for the structurally deficient bridge. However, the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office preferred a rehabilitation approach to preserve its historical character, leading to a new goal of building a "bridge within a
bridge". This plan was ultimately disrupted in 2021 when Hurricane Ida caused significant damage, including the collapse of the downstream parapet. The damage revealed that the spandrel walls were filled with large stone and debris, making rehabilitation no longer a viable option. Consequently, the project reverted to a full replacement, with a design that honors the bridge's original aesthetic while meeting modern standards. The new structure is a two-span bridge featuring precast concrete arches, cast-in-place foundations and an ashlar stone façade to maintain
its historic appearance. The parapet was designed to match the original shape while complying with current MASH safety standards. The presentation outlines the construction phase, which involves navigating tight site conditions and numerous utilities. The project, with a bid cost of $3,364,870.00, is scheduled for completion in October 2026.

Learning Objectives:
Following the presentation, participants will be able to describe the evolution of a historically significant bridge replacement project, including how unforeseen events like Hurricane Ida necessitated a complete change in design from rehabilitation to reconstruction. They will also gain insight into the specific engineering solutions, historical coordination, and construction management strategies used to execute this complex project in a dense urban environment.

Audience:
The session is intended for professionals in civil engineering, public works, construction management, and project management, particularly those who work on public infrastructure projects involving historical structures. It addresses the complex, multi-faceted challenge of replacing aging, historically significant infrastructure in a dense urban environment. It specifically details how to manage a project that is radically altered by a catastrophic recent event (a hurricane), forcing a shift from a planned rehabilitation to a full replacement. The presentation is a case study from the perspective of RVE, the firm that designed and managed the replacement. It showcases their process, challenges, and
solutions. The session covers the entire project lifecycle, including initial design, regulatory and historical approvals, crisis response and redesign after Hurricane Ida, and construction management and coordination. The presentation is heavily influenced by the damage caused by Hurricane Ida in 2021, which was the pivotal event that made the original plan to rehabilitate the bridge impossible and required a complete redesign.

The program will examine the Appellate Division's recent decision upholding a negotiated limitation of liability provision in an engineering services agreement. The presenters will discuss the court's analysis, the broader implications for design professionals and their insurers, practical contract-drafting considerations, and the role that ACECNJ played by filing an amicus curiae brief in support of the member engineering firm.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand how New Jersey courts analyze and enforce limitation  of liability provisions in engineering and other professional services agreement.
2. Identify the key contractual provisions and drafting considerations that can significantly affect the enforceability and scope of limitation of liability clauses.
3. Assess the relationship between limitation of liability provisions and professional liability insurance, including engineers' professional liability coverage, project-specific insurance options, Owner's Protective

Audience:
This session is designed for engineering firm principals, owners, executives, in-house counsel, risk managers, project managers, and other professionals responsible for negotiating, reviewing, or approving professional services agreements. The program will be particularly valuable for individuals involved in contract negotiations, professional liability risk management, and insurance procurement.