At the time of discovery the shell was worn down significantly into the bronze and the adjacent counterweight sheave journal had severe wear.

A consulting engineering firm was brought in to assess the options for repair and also the continued operation of the bridge until repairs could be completed.

Various repairs were discussed including replacement of the bearing shell and in place machining of the journal vs replacement of the complete sheave and bearing assembly. Replacement was decided to be the proper course of action since it left to owner with a complete rebuildable spare sheave and bearing assembly. Testing and analysis by the consultants concluded that the deterioration was at a point where continued operation was feasible for the time necessary to procure materials and effect repairs.

A replacement sheave and two bearing assemblies were ordered and delivered to White Marine°Øs facility in New Jersey where the units were placed on a barge owned by White Marine for transport to the worksite. In conjunction with the consultants special tooling and procedures has been developed during the procurement stage to facilitate the changeout of the sheave.

Since the span was designed to be in the lowered position for this work it was necessary to close a major waterway during the sheave changeout. This shutdown was coordinated with the USCG to minimize disruption of marine traffic. Rail traffic could be maintained with a reduced speed when on the span. The entire changeout of the sheave and bearings along with associated alignment of bearing pedestals as scheduled for a five-day period working 24 hours per day.

All materials and equipment were staged on the work barge and moored at the site prior to commencement.

A large floating crane was positioned adjacent to the span for the duration of the project.

On Day 1 of the shutdown all necessary tooling and components were lifted to the appropriate tower and the lifting (jacking) of the counterweight was setup and started. It was necessary to constantly monitor and adjust the position of the 900-ton counterweight during jacking to preclude damaging the counterweight guide rails. After jacking the counterweight to a sufficient height the counterweight suspension ropes were disconnected and removed to allow access to the counterweight sheave.

The counterweight sheave and its associated trunnion bearings and housings were removed as an assembly and the replacement 25 ton sheave and bearing assembly was lifted in place. After shimming the assembly to its proper elevation and clearance the trunnion bearing housings were drilled to match the tower and custom hold down bolts were manufactured at White Marines Perth Amboy facility. By the end of Day 3 the replacement sheave was bolted in place and we were ready to start installing the suspension ropes.

Day 4 was spent installing the suspension ropes and tensioning them by lowering the counterweight. Again this was a time consuming procedure since the counterweight required constant monitoring to avoid damaging the counterweight guide rails. By the end of day 4 the ropes were tensioned and we were ready to remove the supporting false work and all tools to the barge below.

Day 5 included closing up guards general cleaning and painting of the jobsite. Testing which had begun at 8am showed that the span was operating normally. One suspension rope required additional tensioning and this was adjusted using equipment designed specifically for this project and application.

The span was put back in service at 16:00 on the 5th day of the operation, approximately 8 hrs before the USCG deadline for the project.

Subsequent testing of the suspension ropes after 1 month of operation showed that additional tensioning was necessary. Again this was accomplished without bridge shutdown using equipment designed and fabricated for this project.

All components removed from the bridge were transported by barge to White Marines Perth Amboy facility where the damaged main trunnion was removed from the sheave and a replacement trunnion machined at White Marine was installed. The sheave was returned to the owner to be utilized as a spare for that span.