Installation and Delivery Planning

Delivery is part of the installation plan

On a grid deck job, shipping is not a logistics afterthought, it is the hinge between the shop and the field. Panels are large, they are placed in a specific order, and most bridge sites have very little room to store them. A delivery plan that ignores the placement sequence turns a short closure into a long one.

The goal is simple: the panels that go down first arrive first, on trucks that can be unloaded in the order the crane needs them, at a time the site can receive them.

What shapes panel size

• Legal shipping width and length, and whether permits or escorts are acceptable to the project
• Crane capacity and reach from the positions actually available on site
• Laydown and staging area, or the absence of one
• The closure window and how much deck must be placed per shift
• Handling points, lifting provisions, and panel stiffness during the lift

Staged deliveries

Where there is no room to store a full deck, panels are shipped in stages timed to the installation sequence. Each load corresponds to a defined portion of the deck, and the shop production order is built to match. This keeps the site clear, reduces double handling, and limits the exposure of finished panels to damage while they wait.

Staging works only when the sequence is agreed in advance and someone owns the schedule on both ends. Changes in the field sequence need to reach the shop with enough lead time to reorder production.

Receiving panels at the site

• Confirm the access route, turning radii, and any weight or height restrictions on the approach
• Identify where trucks stage and how long they can be held
• Plan unloading equipment and rigging before the first truck arrives
• Inspect and document panel condition on arrival, including coating and galvanizing
• Support panels off the ground and avoid stacking arrangements that distort them
• Keep marking and orientation visible so the right panel goes to the right bay

Coordinating shop and field

The practical arrangement that works is a shared, dated delivery schedule tied to panel marks, reviewed by the contractor before fabrication release and updated as the field sequence firms up. Field verification of existing conditions should happen early enough that any adjustment is made in the shop rather than with a torch on the bridge.

Send us the installation sequence and the site constraints along with the drawings, and delivery will be planned around how you intend to build it. Call (814) 497-5001 to work through a delivery plan with the bridge team.