ALABAMA STATE EDITION
231
65
72 Florence
2
Huntsville
20 Decatur
72
565 59
43
A Supplement to:
231
431
31
5
Gadsden
78 59 Anniston
20
Birmingham Bessemer
82 Tuscaloosa
65 280
20 82 Auburn
80
85
Selma
Phenix City
Montgomery
82
June 27 2012 Vol. XXIIV • No. 13
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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
Dothan
65 98
Mobile
10
Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Montgomery Much-Needed Outer Loop Ahead of Schedule By Peter Hildebrandt CEG CORRESPONDENT
The new loop around Montgomery, Ala., will be an excellent way to speed traffic around the state’s capital city, smoothly and effortlessly. When all is done this new route will provide an excellent conduit for motorists driving from the busy Atlanta area down to Mobile, Ala.. This, too, will give both those driving around in downtown Montgomery and weary interstate travelers a break — by keeping them separate. Another section, to be built at a future date, should in turn be able to move motorists on the north side, from Atlanta to Auburn or Birmingham, Ala., without going through Montgomery. This work will effectively create a complete bypass for interstate travelers in the region. The project previously designated and known as the Montgomery Outer Loop is now the first leg of the extension of Interstate 85. Work previously done now needs to be completed, and now the funds previously set aside by congress for the I-85 extension can be used — providing a logical point from which to begin the extension. The first projects will add lanes and ramps on I-85, and then complete the roadway from I-85 to SR110 (Vaughn Road). The distance from I-85 to Vaughn road is approximately 3.4 mi. (5.47 km). An additional project, expected to begin at the conclusion of this project and take up to 24 months, will pave the roadway between I-85 and Vaughn Road before the route is opened to traffic. The section that is the first portion of the project will cost approx-
R.R. Dawson Bridge Co., Bessemer, Ala., pouring bridge column.
imately $150 million, consisting of 80 percent federal funding and 20 percent matching state funding. It will be necessary to add an auxiliary lane on I-85 between the new ramps and the Exit 16 (Waugh) interchange. The only changes to the Waugh interchange are slight re-alignments at the existing ramp locations. Bessemer, Ala.,-based R.R. Dawson Bridge Co. will realign portions of U.S. Highway 80 and state Route 126, make ramp changes at the Waugh Exit on I-85, and build a series of overpasses and bridges. The total amount of the contract on this phase of the work is $66 million dollars. Adam Patterson, Aecom Inc., project manager on the job, handled all inspections. This development is approximately 25 percent complete now, according to Patterson.
Construction began on this phase in September 2011. The estimated completion date is December 2014. The project actually got ahead of schedule. The weather stayed dry through early December, when they got a good jump on everything, according to Patterson. “Then, when January and February came along we had some pretty rough conditions weather wise,” said Patterson. “I would say we’re a little ahead of schedule now, but not as much as we would have been had the weather held up. This has been a warm winter, but also extraordinarily wet.” Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has a goal of completion by 2022, but that goal must be tempered by uncertainty in the amount of federal funding that will be available. As proposed, the I-85 extension is
approximately 126 mi. (202 km) from I-59 near the Mississippi state line to I-65. There is the potential for up to 27 interchanges. The portion from SR-110 to Carter Hill Road is tentatively scheduled to bid the grading and bridge work sometime in fiscal year 2012 for approximately $66.5 million with the paving project to follow completion at an estimated cost of $17 million. For the section from Carter Hill Road to U.S.-231 the grading and bridge work is tentatively scheduled for bidding in fiscal year 2012 for approximately $22 million with the paving to follow completion. One of the biggest challenges on the job involves the soil type at this location. Patterson terms the soil a “gumbo” or “fat” clay. It is relatively unique. “I’m not a geologist, but from my understanding, seashore stood
as the former environment here sometime in the ancient past,” explained Patterson. “The decomposed sea life from then left an area two miles wide in the Montgomery area and we are going right through it. This type of clay is actually unstable. We’re doing a lot of removal of this material and replacing it with better soil.” Another challenge with this project — as with other projects that Aecom is involved with — is storm water management, trying to keep the water leaving the project in a clean condition. “Even with normal rains, Alabama Department of Environmental Management requirements and an EPA requirement make it tough to build roads,” added Patterson. “Where before we’d just go and open everything up, not really worried about what kind of water we were discharging, now, as a project engineer, close to 50 percent of my energy is worried about water quality and storm water runoff.” When the ground is opened up, the dirt is exposed, when it rains, that soil can get carried offsite and form new sediment somewhere else. “It’s actually illegal now to let the soil runoff,” said Patterson. “It’s really just a matter of trying to manage your process so that as you are constructing the job you are stabilizing the soil at the same time to where if you reach the stone foundation it’s not going to hurt you.” Newell Roadbuilders, Hope Hull, Ala., is doing all the grading and storm drainage on this project. They also are doing the road work. Everything has been going fairly well so far according to Chris see LOOP page 6