Four Corners 16, July 30, 2023

Joint Venture Completes UDOT’s Largest Project of Decade

Oak Hills Constructors — a joint venture between Sterling Construction’s subsidiary, Ralph L. Wadsworth, and Granite Construction — recently celebrated a milestone on a Utah Department of Transportation construction project.

The completion of the U.S. 89 reconstruction is UDOT’s largest project completed project in a decade, when I-15 CORE in Utah County and the first section of Mountain View Corridor in Salt Lake County were both finished in 2012.

Crews widened the highway from Main Street in Farmington to SR 193 in Layton, installed new pavement and built four new interchanges with on- and off-ramps to improve traffic flow and enhance safety.

The project was completed in three years.

As part of an event to celebrate the milestone, approximately 100 people walked, ran or rode bikes on the highway’s new frontage road system. The event started at the Antelope Drive Park and Ride and ended at the Adams Canyon Trailhead parking lot, which was relocated and enlarged as part of the U.S. 89 project so local residents could more easily access this recreation area.

Members from the Oak Hills Constructors team, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, Mayor Joy Petro, Mayor Tamara Tran, other city and county officials, UDOT Region One Director Rob Wight, employees from UDOT and were on hand during the celebration as well.

Overall, the project upgrades included:

• Removed the old pavement on approximately nine miles of the highway and replaced it with new asphalt;

• Widened U.S. 89 to three lanes in both directions;

• Built four new interchanges with on- and offramps at 400 North in Fruit Heights and at Oak Hills Drive, Gordon Avenue, and Antelope Drive in Layton;

• Created a new frontage road system parallel to the highway to improve access to local neighborhoods and provide a safer route for cyclists.

see DECADE page 10

Oak Hills Constructors — a joint venture between Sterling Construction’s subsidiary — Ralph L. Wadsworth — and Granite Construction completed the U.S. 89 reconstruction project in Utah in three years.

LOGAN, UT 453 North 1000 West Logan, UT 84321 435-752-1533

SALT LAKE CITY, UT 4343 Century Dr. Salt Lake City, UT 84123 801-262-5761

CEDAR CITY, UT 482 North Main Street Cedar City, UT 84720 435-586-4406 Email: del.maxedon@centuryeq.com

SPRINGVILLE, UT 1350 South 2000 West Springville, UT 84663 801-794-1463

CLIFTON, CO 549 32nd Rd. Clifton, CO 81520 970-434-7363

DURANGO, CO 1097 Hwy 3 Durango, CO 81301 970-247-0522

ALBUQUERQUE, NM 6301 Edith Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87107 505-433-2246

IROCK Crushers, Road Machinery Host Demo Day in Ariz.

IROCK Crushers and Road Machinery recently co-hosted an event to showcase the latest IROCK equipment. Representatives from both companies were onsite in Litchfield, Ariz. to welcome guests and customers alike.

The event included two crushing demonstrations and lunch for all attendees.

“We were very excited to showcase our new line of equipment from IROCK,” said Chris Bennett, vice president of product support of Road Machinery. “These plants are in high demand due to infrastructure growth in Arizona and California. Everybody needs rock and concrete, and we’re excited to meet our customers’ needs.”

The IROCK equipment on display includ-

ed the TJ-2745 mobile jaw crusher, ITC-200 mobile cone crusher, TS-520 mobile finishing screen and the TC-20 mobile horizontal shaft impact (HSI) crusher.

“We provide for the needs of the fastpaced construction industry and know how important it is to manufacture equipment that outlasts the most demanding environments,” said Dan Davis, western region manager/senior technical sales manager of IROCK Crushers.

Nate Russell, director of sales and business development of IROCK, was thrilled with the success of the event.

“Our team was onsite to showcase the capabilities of IROCK equipment and also extend support by offering hands-on training

at the event,” he said. “Our customers find immense value in our equipment because it’s user friendly and backed by the best support in the industry.”

About Road Machinery

Road Machinery distributes IROCK equipment throughout southern California and Arizona. To learn more about Road Machinery and the services it provides, visit https://roadmachinery.com.

About IROCK Crushers

IROCK provides mobile and portable crushing plants, screening plants, conveying equipment and other related products for the demolition, recycling and aggregate indus-

tries. IROCK’s equipment will increase production and profits while also reducing downtime and operational expenses. In addition to a premier product line that is easy to service and operate, IROCK Crushers provides expertise and service and support from a staff of industry experts. Headquartered outside of Cleveland, Ohio, IROCK Crushers is committed to providing quality, innovative and productive equipment that has set the marketplace standard for close to 30 years.

For more information about IROCK Crushers, email sales@irockcrushers.com or visit www.irockcrushers.com. 

(All photos courtesy of IROCK Crushers.)

Two Companies to Start Colorado Paving Project On U.S. 40

The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor partner United Companies/APC Southern Construction are advancing a paving project on U.S. Highway 40, on the west side of Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, beginning in early August. The severe freeze-thaw cycle this year has caused significant damage to many of Colorado’s roadways, but in particular U.S. 40 Berthoud Pass. After a difficult winter season, CDOT requested and received $25 million of additional funding from the Colorado Transportation Commission to address critical pavement conditions across the state such as permanent repair of potholes.

Since then, the CDOT maintenance team has led a rapid effort to prioritize where dollars were most needed, based on the extensive knowledge that local patrols’ plow operators have of the winter damage. They have worked closely with the CDOT engineering team to develop scopes of work for projects too large to execute in-house. Berthoud Pass is the largest project to result from this effort.

“The 2022-2023 winter season was one of

the most severe in recent decades,” said CDOT Executive Director Lew. “U.S. Highway 40 on the north side of Berthoud Pass, near Winter Park, has experienced badly deteriorating conditions since midwinter and maintenance crews have been making numerous temporary fixes since the seasonal freeze-thaw cycle began. However, it is important that we invest in more permanent repairs to this viral roadway, which is why this project is a priority for the Department’s broader effort to address the impacts of this winter. We appreciate the hard work of the CDOT team to implement interim repairs and identify where more extensive ones were needed.”

A 10-mi. section of Berthoud Pass will be milled and paved at a 2-in. depth from Mile Point 233-243, creating a smoother and safer ride for residents, businesses and visitors. Currently, the contracted team is crushing aggregate materials that make up the base for the asphalt that will be used for paving. Major paving operations on U.S. 40 at Berthoud Pass will begin in early August.

The project is anticipated to be complete by late October, 2023.

More than 250,000 sq. yds. of milling at a 2-in. depth will occur on the project. These millings will be recycled and incorporated with the newly crushed material into the asphalt mix. More than 30,000 tons of asphalt will be produced for the project. United Companies/APC Southern Construction worked with Grand County to allow additional truck traffic and additional permitting so that enough materials can be transported to the project site.

“CDOT thanks Grand County and contractor partner United Companies/APC Southern Construction for finding a way for more truck traffic to safely travel to and from the Granby gravel pit and the project site,” said Region 3 Transportation Director Jason Smith. “The coordination will help the project be completed more quickly.”

Colorado saw the second-most number of days with snowfall requiring road treatment, and the statewide snowpack peaked well above annual averages. Remote

weather stations on high mountain passes across the state have measured liquid precipitation above 40 in. from October 2022 to May 2023; this equates to roughly 400to-600 in. or more of snow. In addition to the impressive snowfall amounts, this season’s October-to-March period was the coldest since 2010. March 2023 was the fifth consecutive month with below-average temperatures and the coldest March since 1970. Arctic cold outbreaks affected the state in November, December, January and February; and two-day temperature swings in both December and February neared all-time records on the Front Range.

Twelve sections of roadway from across the state will receive part of the $25 million funding, including the U.S. 40 Berthoud Pass area. The projects will be performed either by CDOT maintenance, in accordance with state law, or will be contracted to a private construction firm overseen by CDOT maintenance supervisors. 

The IROCK equipment on display included the TJ-2745 mobile jaw crusher, ITC-200 mobile cone crusher, TS-520 mobile finishing screen and the TC-20 mobile horizontal shaft impact (HSI) crusher. The event included two crushing demonstrations and lunch for all attendees.

Jacobsen Names Its First Ever VP of Construction Innovation

By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT

Heather Soderquist was recently named Jacobsen Construction’s first ever vice-president of construction innovation, so it must follow that she’s pretty sharp about all the new technology transforming the industry. And it’s true, she is. But perhaps what Soderquist is even better at is good old-fashioned training.

“I lead all of our training, and what I’ve found is that you really can’t take technology or be innovative if you can’t bring your people along with you,” Soderquist said. “Training for me has been a real big focus. Construction continues to just get faster; it gets more complex and it really leaves a heavy strain on those people that are out there managing and building the projects.”

In her new role, Soderquist launched the addition of a comprehensive technology fair to Jacobsen’s quarterly operations training sessions. Leading-edge tech vendor partners and the firm’s own in-house tech experts attended the inaugural fair, demonstrating the latest jobsite uses of laser scanning, drones, virtual reality (VR), robotics and

more and presenting their insights to Jacobsen project leaders. The tech fair is expected to be a regular feature of Jacobsen workforce training sessions.

Soderquist started in the construction industry with an entry-level job in high school, then majored in college in construction management. She’s been with the Salt Lake City-based Jacobsen for 18 years, most recently in the role of director of operations training and development. She also previously worked as a project manager, leading

Jacobsen’s work on the Heber Valley Hospital campus reconfiguration, University of Utah College of Nursing, Fidelity Office Tower at The Gateway, Varex Imaging expansion, University of Utah Midvalley Health Center and several other major projects She’s also played a key leadership role in pioneering Jacobsen’s company-wide use of essential jobsite technologies such as building information modeling (BIM), laser scanning, Viewpoint, Bluebeam, Autodesk Build and others.

Her recent promotion comes with the responsibility of “elevating innovative practices as a core competitive differentiator for the firm.” Training the crews will be a crucial part of that, though it is one that is often overlooked, she said.

“What we're starting to really see a lot of is automation,” she said. “Technology that actually is going to be made to create value ... but then also freeing people up to do what they really are experts in doing. Once you put in this technology and create this automation, you really need to be supporting your teams, helping them understand and trust it. A fundamental piece that a lot of people forget when we're talking about technol-

ogy activation is employees adopting and trusting the automation.”

When employees have difficulty with new technology, Soderquist tries to overcome that challenge by asking for their feedback and then listening and responding to their responses — good or bad.

“We definitely recognize that with persistent labor shortages, our best defense is keeping those project teams focused on the present task and letting the right technology and automation, and handle the rest,” she said.

In the future, Soderquist believes projects will rely more and more on modeling, and if companies are going be competitive, they’ll need to continue advancing with the rapidly evolving world of technology. The best way to do that, she said, is by having a member who knows the business.

“Having someone like me with actual field experience and an interest in technology would go a long way toward selecting the right technology,” Soderquist said. “I think a lot of contractors are concerned about ‘Is this the right technology for us or are we going to waste our money?’ And I will say that getting a resource with field experience to help you navigate it will make a big difference.” 

Arizona Utilizing First-of-Its-Kind System for State On Highway

Motorists driving Interstate 17 north of Phoenix over the last year have seen crews moving dirt and blasting rock to make way for a wider and safer 23-mi. stretch of highway between Anthem Way and Sunset Point, as part of the I-17 Improvement Project.

When the project is completed in 2025, drivers traveling the approximately 8 mi. between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point will experience the first flex lanes on Arizona’s state highway system.

The Arizona Department of Transportation recently unveiled an animated video created to help explain how the new flex lanes will work. The video can be found on a newly launched webpage dedicated to explaining the system, along with providing information and resources for drivers.

“The flex lanes are an innovative solution that increases safety and helps address congestion in a very challenging geographic area,” said Annette Riley, ADOT’s project manager of the I-17 Improvement Project.

The two-lane flex lane system is being constructed adjacent to the existing southbound lanes and will carry one direction of traffic at a time. The flex lanes are a proven system that safely addresses traffic congestion during peak trav-

el times, or if an unplanned incident creates delays. Typically, the flex lanes will be open to northbound traffic Monday through Saturday and open to southbound traffic on Sunday. However, the flex lanes will be open, as needed, to whichever direction has the heaviest traffic. They will be operational at all times seven days a week.

The new animated video shows how vehicles will use new crossover lanes to safely access the flex lanes, which will be separated from the existing southbound lanes by a concrete barrier. Steel gates will be installed in the concrete barrier in four locations, allowing emergency responders to clear traffic out of the flex lanes and into the general purpose lanes in the event of an incident.

ADOT’s Traffic Operations Center will manage and monitor the flex lanes remotely using cameras that will be placed throughout the corridor. Highlights of the system include:

• Dynamic overhead guide signs will alert drivers to the open direction of the flex lanes;

• Safety systems will be in place to prevent vehicles from entering the flex lanes when traffic is flowing in the opposite direction;

• A specialized automated net barrier and swing gate system will operate at both ends of the flex lanes;

• When one direction of the flex lanes is closed, a series of swing gates will be extended. These gates get progressively wider and block access to the flex lanes;

• Beyond the swing gates, a vehicle-arresting barrier with a net in the down position will also prevent vehicles from entering the flex lanes in the wrong direction;

• These components of the flex lanes safety system are designed specifically for reversible lane operations in controlling the direction of traffic.

For more information on the entire 23-mi. I-17 Improvement Project between Anthem Way and Sunset Point, visit improvingI17.com.. 

(Photo courtesy of ADOT.)

Jacobsen Construction photo Heather Soderquist

Williams Construction Starts Slope Stabilization Project

The Colorado Department of Transportation and contractor Williams Construction began work on Colorado Highway 133 north of Paonia on July 10. Work is taking place from Mile Point 24.55 to MP 25.77. The project consists of slope stabilization using a soil nail wall to improve the integrity of the slope and function of the roadway as well as culvert replacement. The soil nail walls will be constructed at four sites along the corridor. The roadway will have to be repaired after the construction of the soil nail wall is complete. The project is expected to be complete in the fall of 2023. The project is not related to the permanent repairs to road and culvert damage that took place on CO 133 in May and July.

The slope stabilization project will significantly improve the safety and functionality of the highway. The work being done ensures motorists can move safely and reliably through this section of the roadway for years to come by making it more stable and reducing the erosion potential.

A key element in the repairs will be placing a temporary bridge. The temporary

bridge will allow CO 133 to reopen to motorists. Permanent repairs to the damaged section of CO 133 are anticipated to begin once the temporary bridge is installed. The highway is open and will continue to be open during work on this project.

Repairs Necessary

A safety closure has been in place on CO 133 since Tuesday, May 2, at Mile Points 14-19. The safety closure is due to significant road damage. The damage originally began with a small sinkhole and lane closure during the weekend of Saturday, April 29. Major flooding from nearby Bear Creek early the week of May 1 filled a culvert with debris and flooded the roadway, pushing the culvert through the other side of the road and eroded roadway embankment, causing the road to collapse. The damage and safety closure are near Somerset, just north of Paonia. Access to Somerset from the north, via CO 133 McClure Pass, continues to be open. 

(All photos courtesy of Colorado Department of Transportation.)

UDOT Decides On Preferred Cottonwood Construction

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) recently released the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Little Cottonwood Canyon Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The ROD is the final step in the EIS process and selects Gondola Alternative B, with phased implementation of Enhanced Bus Service Alternative components, to improve transportation in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The ROD can be reviewed on the project website.

Gondola Alternative B, with phased implementation, overall best meets the project purpose and need and the short and long term transportation needs for the canyon. The gondola provides the highest travel reliability, as it can operate independently of SR 210, avoiding delays related to adverse weather, crashes, slide offs and slow moving traffic. While the gondola does have high visual impacts, it has low impacts to the watershed, wildlife movement, and climbing boulders, along with low operations and maintenance costs.

Full implementation of Gondola B depends on available funding.

“This decision will help improve transportation in Little Cottonwood Canyon now and into the future,” said Josh Van Jura, UDOT Trails and Group director and Little Cottonwood EIS project manager.“It took more than five years of thorough research, analysis, engineering, public outreach and the careful review of roughly 50,000 formal public comments, more than any previous environmental study in UDOT’s history, to come to this decision.”

Recognizing that safety, mobility and reliability are issues on SR 210 today, UDOT will implement the selected alternative in phases, starting with components of the Enhanced Bus Service Alternative. With the funding granted by SB2 (2023), Phase 1 planning and design is expected to begin this summer and includes coordinating with the USDA Forest Service and the Federal Highway Administration for the required permitting and easements, identify-

ing a bus service provider, procuring buses and tolling equipment, and design for a mobility hub and resort bus stops at Snowbird and Alta.

PHASE 1: When implemented, Phase 1 will include improved and increased bus service scaled to meet demand (with no canyon roadway widening), constructing resort bus stops and a mobility hub at the Gravel Pit, tolling and winter roadside parking restrictions.

Increased bus service, tolling and resort stops will be assessed further for Big Cottonwood Canyon in Phase 1. Phase 1 is anticipated to be operational in the fall of 2025.

PHASE 2: Based on available funding, Phase 2 improvements will include widening and other improvements to Wasatch Boulevard, constructing snow sheds and implementing trailhead parking improvements.

PHASE 3: Implementation of

Gondola Alternative B in Phase 3 is dependent on available funding. During this phase, UDOT will construct a base station with 2,500 parking spaces near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon where all users would travel directly to the base station without needing to take a bus from a mobility hub. Each gondola cabin would hold up to 35 people and travelers could expect a cabin to arrive every two minutes. Once the gondola is operational in Phase 3, bus service in Little Cottonwood Canyon would be discontinued.

“Transportation improvements in Little Cottonwood Canyon at all phases will improve air quality, protect the watershed and increase the quality of life for residents and canyon users by reducing traffic congestion as private vehicles shift to transit,” Van Jura added. “The transit-based actions in Phases 1 and 3 demonstrate a commitment in shifting to multimodal transportation solutions for everyone.”

This portion of the road suffered damage on Colorado Highway 133.

The damage on CO 133 caused a portion of the road to collapse.

CDOT maintenance crews have been managing CO 133 road damage around the clock since April 29.

Utah Department of Transportation photo

A rendering of a proposed gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Metso Delivering Grinding Plant Equip. to Mineral Park Project

Metso has been awarded orders for the delivery of grinding plant equipment to Origin Mining Company LLC’s brownfield Mineral Park Mill Restart Project.

Origin Mining is managed under the Waterton Global Resource Management Inc. umbrella of investments. Mineral Park is in a historic, copper-rich mining district next to Kingman, Ariz. The total value of the order is EUR 16 million. The order has been booked in Minerals’ second-quarter order intake.

“We have been impressed with Metso’s commitment to support our vision to grow the USA copper supply. Metso’s leading comminution and beneficiation process equipment technologies will help us do our part to contribute to the transition to an electrified future,” said Jack McMahon, president of Origin Mining.

“Metso has actively supported the project in a time responsive, technical and open manner, allowing for ‘fit for purpose’ process solutions. We also value Metso’s ability to provide the necessary value added after-sales services in Arizona to support our operation.”

Metso’s scope of delivery includes two Planet Positive Premier SAG mills and Skega Poly-Met mill liners, and the possibility to supply other comminution and beneficiation process equipment technologies later.

“We are very excited to support Origin Mining in their drive to develop and supply locally key battery minerals, like copper, in the USA. Our industry-leading products and large service team in Arizona is committed to supporting them in this quest,” said Tim Robinson, vice president, Minerals Sales in North and Central America (NCA).

For more information, visit metso.com/mining. 

Metso has been awarded orders for the delivery of grinding plant equipment to Origin Mining Company LLC’s brownfield Mineral Park Mill Restart Project.

Metso photo

Oak Hills Constructors Rebuilds U.S. 89 With Upgrades

DECADE from page 1

• Constructed a total of six new bridges crossing the highway at the four interchanges and at Nicholls Road in Fruit Heights and Crestwood Road in Kaysville to improve connections between communities.

• Added a new right-turn lane from eastbound I-84 to southbound U.S. 89 that allows drivers to continue through the intersection without stopping, and extended the on-ramp entrance for drivers traveling on northbound US-89 to eastbound I-84.

• Extended Gordon Avenue to create a new east-west connection from I-15 to US-89 and accommodate Layton City’s plans for a future town center.

• Installed three new pedestrian tunnels to enable future city and county trail expansions, and built a new multi-use

trail to connect the South Weber frontage road to Valley View Drive.

“With this project, we set out to improve our transportation system for everyone, whether they’re in a car, on a bike, riding a motorcycle, walking or using a wheelchair,” Wight said. “This newly upgraded highway will help everyone in this area get where they want to go more safely and efficiently than they could before.”

Input from the community and local cities was incorporated throughout design and construction, from determining whether US-89 would cross under or over local streets to selecting the aesthetics for the bridges over the highway.

Project Challenges

“The most challenging aspect of this project, by a long

shot, has been the relocation of existing utilities,” said Michael Romero, U.S. 89 project director. “There are more than 150 miles of utilities in our project area. Originally, U.S. 89 was envisioned as crossing over the local streets, but based on public input we changed the design, and now U.S. 89 crosses under local streets. This change added a ton of complexity to the design.

“Another main challenge is maintaining access to the local communities while we rebuild the highway,” Romero added. “Our contractor had a complex phasing plan that kept all existing lanes open on U.S. 89 during weekdays, limiting most lane closures to nights and weekends and keeps local streets open.” 

(All photos courtesy of UDOT.)

The completion of the U.S. 89 reconstruction is UDOT’s largest project completed project in a decade, when I-15 CORE in Utah County and the first section of Mountain View Corridor in Salt Lake County were both finished in 2012.

The project carried a cost of nearly $500 million, which included the widening of the highway from Main Street in Farmington to SR 193 in Layton, installation of a new pavement and construction of four new interchanges with on- and off-ramps to improve traffic flow and enhance safety.

As part of an event to celebrate the milestone, approximately 100 people walked, ran or rode bikes on the highway’s new frontage road system.

“The most challenging aspect of this project, by a long shot, has been the relocation of existing utilities,” said Michael Romero, U.S. 89 project director.

FOUR CORNERS

2023