Fulton Road Reconstruction

Fulton Road Reconstruction City of Santa Rosa Save California Streets Efficient and Sustainable Road Maintenance, Construction, and Reconstruction Projects

Project Description

Figure: Fulton Road ‐ Before Condition

Project Description and Need Construction Completion 2019 ‐ 2020

Project Cost $3.8 Million

Project Owner City of Santa Rosa’s Bold Team:  Jason Nutt ‐ Director  Lori Urbanek – Capital Engineer  Greg Dwyer – Project Manager

Ghilotti Brothers Construction Team   

GBI ‐ Mario Ghilotti P.M. Urata & Sons Concrete River Ready Mix

Special Acknowledgements   

CNCA – Clay Slocum Green Valley – Sean Lawson Kennedy Jenks – Tom Gorman

The City of Santa Rosa’s Fulton Road Reconstruction Project rehabilitated approximately 24,000 square yards of this principal arterial between W. 3rd Street and Occidental Road. Fulton Road itself is a North‐South arterial with two lanes and bike bath in each direction as well as a landscaped median. It serves as the primary access route along the western border of the City. The project also included new fiber optic cables, drainage improvements, and much‐needed pedestrian ramps.

Traffic counts are on the order of 25,000 vehicles per direction per day as highway 12, school, residential, retail, and industrial traffic all utilize Fulton Road. It even serves as a primary alternate route for oversize/overweight vehicles traveling North‐South through Santa Rosa. In combination with the fire recovery and reconstruction traffic that has impacted Santa Rosa, Fulton Road was in dire need of repair. Alligator cracking, utility cuts, and potholing were frequent complaints by residents who rely on this corridor.

Construction

Figure: Above ‐ Urata & Sons Concrete places concrete with laser screed ‐ River Ready Mix provided concrete – pavement below

Traffic Control Considerations The public traffic during construction was impacted, especially due to the proximity of the project to Highway 12‐Occidental Road exit. With nearby schools, residences and retail centers all contributing to the complexity. Fulton Road is also the primary alternate route for oversize/overweight vehicles traveling north/south through Santa Rosa.

Several traffic control plans (TCP) were developed in order to accomplish closure on one side of the roadway, while maintaining continuous 2‐way traffic on the alternate side. Caltrans‐approved TCP’s were integrated along with the City TCP’s to mitigate significant impacts anticipated within the immediate project area, local streets and the Highway 12 Occidental Road off‐ramp. The collaboration and communication with the impacted entities as well as public outreach proved to be vital to the success of the construction.

Construction The final construction overcame all issues: construction material changes, rainy season construction, cold temperatures, and of course the Kincade fire. GBI produced a phenomenal product that will last for decades!

Innovation & Challenges

Innovation and Its Challenges The City decided to utilize roller compacted concrete (RCC) paving on Fulton Road and thus be the first agency to use RCC technology in the San Francisco Bay Area. The City opened the Fulton Road project to new roller compacted concrete (RCC) paving technology by allowing it to compete head‐to‐head with our conventional asphalt pavement. The bidding process showed that RCC could save our taxpayers over a million dollars on this roadway project alone. The cost savings did not end there as we expected to see less future maintenance with this new pavement type compared to asphalt pavement. The cost savings made the decision to use RCC an easy one, but it brought about new challenges. There is always an upfront learning curve when implementing a new technology such as this, and the City was committed to making sure the first project is a success.

Outside materials and production are often used when implementing RCC technology; however, it was in the City’s best interest to use local materials and local production plants. Replicability and sustainability for future projects were priorities. A lot of progress had been made towards achieving this local material mixture. However, the development process is iterative as different ingredients are balanced to create an optimal “mix design”. There is also a balance of economics, environmental sustainability, and durability that occurs while formulating a mixture that meets the City’s strength and aesthetic needs. This eventually led to a time crunch to meet all the project criteria.

There is a lot of interest in this technology, as the cost implications would indicate, and Santa Rosa prides itself on being a trailblazer in bringing innovative new solutions to the region. The region is also unique in a climatic sense in so much that it is favorable to concrete materials. Sections of PCC paved Austin Way in Santa Rosa were built during World War 2; and multiple concrete roads in Calistoga have exceeded 100 years.

Trials and Tribulations Strength and performance related issues were experienced during RCC testing causing time delays. With schools back in session, the rainy season fast approaching, and the contract running low on working days. The City now faced a difficult decision. However, GBI adeptly recognized the challenges and came up with a construction season‐saving alternative in using traditional PCC concrete pavement!

Their experience of collaboration with the City facilitated the Value Engineering Proposal’s acceptance.

They then set forth placing over 5,100 cubic yards of quality concrete pavement in two weeks.

Figure: Silver Street in Calistoga, Built in 1919

The trust and collaboration amongst the partners was key!

New Approach

Figure: Laser screed construction on Fulton Road

A New Approach GBI proposed the substitution for Portland cement concrete (PCC) paving, which shared similar benefits to RCC. The City had concerns regarding excavating the roadway during the rainy season.

Heavy rains could saturate and eventually pond within the excavation resulting in prolonged road closures and increased risk to storm water quality. Rebuilding efforts in the wake of the Tubbs fire put concrete in high demand that raised questions regarding product availability. The City and GBI received assurances regarding concrete supply and implemented night paving to minimize supply issues and impacts to traffic. Additional impacts included construction noise to residents. A laser screed with 3D capability using a total station eliminated the need for form work, resulting in faster placement.

In order to expedite project delivery, traffic control plans included full directional closure of one side at a time while maintaining existing traffic flows on the other. A detour plan was implemented to provide an alternate route for the closure. A full closure had never been done before on a principal arterial within City limits. Concerns included vehicles self‐detouring through the neighborhoods, increased flow to local streets, increased emergency response times and changing transit routes.

After careful consideration, the City made the bold decision to substitute PCC and continue with construction. PCC paving had never been done before on a principal arterial. Within days, the City drafted new technical specifications and worked with GBI to develop and execute a contract change for the work. An extensive outreach campaign was implemented including press releases, City website development, local radio stations, traffic apps and changeable message boards. There was strong support from the community to get this project completed and they responded well.

PCC paving work was successfully completed, and the full design strength has been reached. Diamond grinding operations are currently underway to be followed by permanent striping placement. Project completion is scheduled for the end of January 2020. The project is expected to last at least 40 years with little to no maintenance, increased visibility, reduced heat island effect and completed at almost $1 million dollars lower than conventional asphalt concrete.

Fire Impact

Figure: Santa Rosa Fire Engine E6

Fire Impact The Kincade Fire started northeast of Geyserville and later progressed towards City limits. Roadway excavation work was under way as mandatory evacuation orders were issued. Fulton road was reopened as the primary evacuation route for the entire area. GBI responded immediately by providing temporary ramps, light towers and generators for this effort. The community was able to evacuate, and the fire was eventually contained after burning Figure: Kincade Fire ‐ photo source = cbsnews.com Noah Berger over 77,000 acres. The City was very fortunate that the subbase layer held up surprisingly well.

Traffic Implications from Fire Cleanup The fire recovery continues in the community with ongoing debris removal, and subsequent reconstruction efforts. These are vital steps in the recovery effort, but the toll is felt by the roadway infrastructure that carries these heavy and unintended truck loads.

Figure: Typical fire debris removal truck

Successful Results

Project Results The project is a big success despite all the challenges that arose. The City would not have been able to deliver this project for the community without the collaborative efforts from the City, GBI and CNCA. Special thanks to our Director of Transportation and Public Works/Assistant City Manager Jason Nutt and to our Deputy Director of Capital Projects Engineering Lori Urbanek for making the bold decision to move forward with bringing this important project to our community, despite all the adversity. The City would also like to thank GBI’s project manager Mario Ghilotti and the City’s project manager Gregory Dwyer, P.E. for their efforts working through the many challenges and successfully completing the project. Special thanks also to Clay Slocum, P.E. for all his efforts and many timely contributions from project conception to completion.

Figure: Above is the before conditions near 3rd St.. Below is the concrete pavement receiving its smoothness finish.