Two main alternatives under consideration are “Rehabilitation” alternatives and “Replacement” alternatives.
Rehabilitation alternatives are when the bridge is fixed on-site. One or more lanes on the freeway are closed as construction crews repair or replace parts of the bridge.
Replacement alternatives involve a new structure. Conventional (staged) replacement replaces the structure in stages to avoid full closure and take place over a long period of time. Rapid Replacement involves building a new bridge on a site near the existing bridge. Once the new bridge is ready, the highway is briefly closed (typically for 24-48 hours) while crews remove the old bridge and replace it with the new bridge.
While the highway would remain open under Rehabilitation options, lane closures can last for months, or even years at a time. This can lead to traffic delays and congestion during that period of time.
On the other hand, Rapid Replacement would either close several lanes or fully close one direction of the freeway, but for a very short period of time. Local media blitzes precede the closure advising travellers of the traffic management plan during the replacement process in order to mitigate the impact.