Photo courtesy Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.

Close preconstruction collaboration between Caltrans and the project team yielded a host of cost-saving innovations that helped reduce the budget by nearly $40 million while also helping expedite the process of elevating SR 58 across U.S. Route 395 and an adjacent freight rail line. One of the largest cost savings included lowering the entire grade of the project to significantly reduce fill material requirements, a move that also reduced the number of new drainage systems required across the new highway. Kiewit also located a nearby borrow site and optimized the haul route to keep trucks off the already truck-congested SR 58 without damaging the surrounding environment. Constructing a temporary detour for Route 395 behind the abutments allowed nighttime girder installation to proceed without interrupting traffic. To mitigate the risk of water availability at the desert construction site, Kiewit developed a number of conservation and reuse solutions that reduced the Caltrans-authorized water allowance by more than a third. The project also included 51 lane miles of jointed plain concrete paving using a GZ 850 paver with automated machine guidance. Through continual focus on improving operations, the paving crew set a company record by paving more than 1.5 miles in a 10-hour shift.