Main Street Texas Gets a $1.9-Billion Makeover
It's been nearly a half century since the Texas Dept. of Transportation has taken on a project this ambitious. The $1.9-billion widening and upgrading of 96 miles of Interstate 35 in Central Texas from Salado to Hillsboro make up the most miles of new construction the agency has tackled simultaneously since it first built the state's highway system.
As a key north-south transportation and economic corridor in the center of state that stretches a total of 492 miles, I-35 is known as "Main Street Texas." Given the upgrade program's massive scope, the main challenge has been synchronizing 17 construction contracts in the 96-mile upgrade zone while minimizing disruptions for the 60,000 to 100,000 daily vehicles that travel there. Currently, eight projects covering 60 to 65 miles and totaling $938.4 million are under construction.
TxDOT contracted the Texas Transportation Institute in Austin to assist with mobility coordination and traveler information during construction. Other agency districts are providing engineering and construction management support.
"Each contract that was bid had incentives for early completion," says Andy Petter, deputy district engineer for TxDOT's Waco District, the project owner. "We also included incentives for windowed milestones, which limit days of closure for certain phases." The project includes widening I-35 to six lanes with four frontage roads—six through the city of Temple. It is funded by a mixture of federal money and funds from Texas Proposition 12 and Proposition 14.
TxDOT began planning in 1999 to determine how to prioritize and break up the project areas and coordinate maintenance in the interim, Petter says. "We used a lot of consultants because we didn't have the manpower to do all the advanced planning work and project development in-house."
Individual phases present their own considerable challenges. A $205-million contract, scheduled to be let in September, is arguably the most complex portion of the project. Section 2B is a 5.85-mile section that "goes right through the heart of Temple, in an urban, population-dense area," Petter says. "It will require dealing with the railroads, two overpasses and one underpass, a lot of retaining walls and drainage challenges, replacing interchanges and working with local citizens, school districts and emergency folks."
Sequence of Events
Six contracts totaling $414.5 million have already been completed, with only two more left for award following the one in September. One $17-million contract is set to be bid in July 2013, and a 7.9-mile section in Waco set to cost $280 million is not yet funded. All are expected to be completed by mid-2017, except for the Waco project.
James Construction Group, Baton Rouge, La., has the lion's share of contracts currently under construction with four projects, totaling $421.5 million. The firm began work on the first eight-mile project known as Section 1C in December 2010, but the other three recently began in March, June and July. Within the scope of the four projects, James will excavate 3.19 million cu yd, build 26 bridges, build and install 50,015 linear ft of concrete box culverts, install 121,381 linear ft of reinforced concrete pipe and lay down hundreds of thousands of sq yd of concrete and retaining wall.
The contractor is challenged with coordinating personnel and equipment at the four contract locations, says Danny Hester, president of James Construction. With a local office in Belton, James has the benefit of familiarity with the local work force, subs and suppliers.
"Among [the company's] subsidiaries is a quarry located in the vicinity of the projects that will supply much of the paving aggregate over the next several years," Hester says. "This streamlining of material production and delivery will facilitate construction progress." Additionally, James has partnered with Holt Caterpillar "to utilize electronically controlled equipment for greater efficiency and accuracy," Hester says.
Other contractors with I-35 projects under contract include Williams Brothers Construction Co., Houston ($166.8 million), Webber, Houston ($100.9 million), SpawGlass Construction, Houston ($15.1 million) and The Lane Construction Corp., Cheshire, Conn. ($212 million).
A Bridge Runs Through It
Lane's contract, the project's largest single contract award, includes a 9.79-mile reconstruction of I-35 in McLennan County and two extradosed bridges spanning the Brazos River in Waco that connect the frontage roads on either side.
The contract is the largest stand-alone contract in Lane's history, says Eric Pruemer, assistant project manager. Lane will have an onsite concrete batch plant to deliver the 440,000 cu yd of concrete and a hot-mix asphalt plant to deliver about 300 tons for the project.
The interstate portion includes a 17-span direct connector bridge near Hewitt, construction of 19 other bridges, 2.4 million cu yd of excavation, 1.2 million cu yd of embankment, 9.24 mile of reinforced concrete storm drainage pipe, 4.19 mile of precast concrete box culverts and four crossings over I-35.
Lane mobilized on that portion of the project in the spring, and began work on the extradosed bridges in early July.
AECOM of Los Angeles worked with TxDOT's bridge division on the design of the 620-ft-long extradosed bridges with continuous steel trapezoidal box girders. When completed, this will be only the third bridge project of its kind in the U.S. Extradosed is a hybrid of the girder and cable-stayed design. The bridges include a 250-ft main span and 46-ft-tall twin towers.
"There was a lot of discussion about what kind of bridges to put there," Petter says. "The City of Waco, Baylor University and McLennan County all wanted these bridges to have a signature look."
The bridges are expected to add a dramatic new look to the city for travelers on I-35, especially in conjunction with Baylor University's new stadium that is being constructed immediately adjacent.
Both will add a decidedly modern flair to the nearby historic Waco Suspension Bridge, a 475-ft long pedestrian bridge that opened in 1869 as the first crossing of the Brazos River. "The extradosed bridges are good looking and more economical than a suspension or cable stayed bridge," Petter says. "AECOM did the bridge details and plan work."
AECOM also is reviewing Lane's shop drawings during construction, Pruemer says. Lane has engaged Finley Engineering Group Inc., Tallahassee, Fla., to design temporary shoring, conduct stay-cable construction analysis and design the steel superstructure erection sequence. Paris-based Freyssinet will install the proprietary stay-cable system.
Lane plans to begin installing the drill shaft foundations by September. "It's pretty much a bridge that we've built before, but it's got these cables," says Pruemer, who is more concerned with the speed of delivery than complexity. TxDOT has offered Lane an $800,000 early-completion bonus if the contractor can deliver the bridges by Baylor's 2014 football season. "Contractually, we don't have to be done until fall 2015, but there's a big push to get both the bridges and stadium done early," Pruemer says.
Coordinating with the stadium contractor, a tight worksite, nearby businesses and plenty of university pedestrian and recreational river traffic are some of the challenges for Lane. But the contractor's exposure to traffic is its biggest concern, Pruemer says. In preparation, Lane has beefed up safety training for all staff, from craft level to supervisors, and also organized and sponsored four-hour work zone safety classes for more than 423 police officers, firefighters and dispatchers.
"This area is one of the most heavily traveled and deadliest parts of I-35 for traffic fatalities," Pruemer says. "Law enforcement helps us control speeds and traffic during construction. We are trying to get every officer we work with to go through this training, and we pay for it all."
