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September 23 2020 Vol. XXI • No. 20
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New I-16/I-95 Interchange Will Benefit Port of Savannah By Eric Olson CEG CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Contractors are using a pre-engineered slide rail system during the excavation of the bridge foundations.
Georgia’s Port of Savannah is a major East Coast shipping and receiving center, home to the largest single-terminal container facility of its kind in North America. The port is made up of two modern, deep-water complexes: The Garden City Terminal and the Ocean Terminal. The first of the two is the fourth busiest container handling operation in the United States, encompassing more than 1,200 acres and moving millions of tons of containerized cargo annually. An endless number of container trucks are processed through the ports each day to and from points across the country. Along the Savannah River, the facilities are aided by their access to a pair of near-
by interstate highways: the 1,900-mi. I-95 northsouth freeway and the shorter, 154-mi.-long I-16, which connects Savannah to Macon and I-75, another primary U.S. transportation artery. Freeway Intersection Being Upgraded At the point where I-95 crosses over I-16, just a few miles west of downtown Savannah, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has undertaken a major construction project, primarily along I-16, to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently. The 16@95 Improvement Projects are being funded through the transportation agency’s Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP), a first-of-itskind enterprise to create more road capacity, improve freight movement and decrease travel times on Peach see PORT page 4
Page 2 • September 23, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
GDOT Discovers Rare Plant Species Growing Ahead of Highway Project The discovery of a rare, state-protected plant species growing along Georgia State Route 31 could lead to more legwork for an upcoming project by the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT). Lanier County Sheriff Nick Norton reached out to the GDOT in mid-August expressing concern over uncut grass on both sides of the Valdosta-Lakeland Highway, and the state agency informed him about its environmental study under way. The study is a routine, preliminary process carried out before any future GDOT roadwork project, such as the SR 31 work tentatively planned for 2022. Engineers are analyzing the existing environment in the area before committing to the drawing board. GDOT’s plan for SR 31 is to widen the road by at least 12 ft. at four locations to add 1 mi. passing lanes: two in Lowndes County and two in Lanier. “It’ll just be a three-lane section at each of those locations,” Jason Willingham, a district pre-construction engineer of GDOT, told WCTV. During their preparatory environmental study,
Willingham and his team came across carnivorous hooded pitcherplants along the road and halted further lawn care in the area. “That’s why there were sections not mowed because we’re trying to avoid those particular sections where those plants are located,” he explained. “If there are impacts to protected plants or any protected species, then we’re just going to try to mitigate those impacts.” Willingham has been with GDOT for 13 years and in that time, he said he has never personally encountered pitcherplants on any other project in southern Georgia. Although seven out of the eight pitcherplant species found in the United States are native to the state, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR), all are considered rare, vulnerable, threatened or endangered. That has put them on Georgia’s protected plants list and they are sheltered by the state’s Wildflower Preservation Act of 1973. “GDOT’S mission is to deliver a transportation system, but we’re also good stewards of the environment,” Willingham said. “So, we always do our due diligence to try to evaluate environmental impacts wherever we’re doing a project.” He added hooded pitcherplants seed and begin to grow throughout the summer, and the transportation department is supporting the process by not mowing. Gretchen Quarterman, a 10-year “Master Gardener” and the executive director of the WWALS Watershed Coalition, explained that hooded pitcherplants live in nutrient-poor bogs, or wetlands. They trap and consume insects to obtain nutrients for survival. “When a bug goes in there, that [top hood] closes up and is sticky on the inside, so they can’t get away,” she said. “Then the bug gets decomposed and digested by the plant.” Quarterman has had her own pitcherplant for about six years and said the best way to obtain one is by buying it from a special “native plant nursery” that is licensed to sell the species. But to find new clusters of the protected plants growing in the wild looks to Quarterman like environmental progress. Still, she recommends never touching them in their natural habitat. “I’m excited that they’re on the side of the road,” Quarterman said. “I think the fact that they’re coming back means that we’re doing something right in the environment. We’ve done a lot of things wrong, and we still do a lot of things wrong. But if some of the plants and animals and birds are coming back, we must be doing something right.” As part of the next step toward GDOT’s Highway 31 project, engineers will reach out to the state’s natural resources department for guidance on what to do with the plants. Willingham said his agency is looking into Although seven out of the eight pitcherplant species found in the either moving them, planning construction United States are native to the state, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR), all are considered around them or building an even better environrare, vulnerable, threatened or endangered. That has put them on ment for them to thrive in. “I’m happy to know that GDOT is protecting Georgia’s protected plants list and they are sheltered by the them,” Quarterman added. state’s Wildflower Preservation Act of 1973.
Case Equipment Salesman, Brown, Passes Away at 77 Longtime Case Equipment salesman James W. Brown, age 77, of Lawrenceville, Ga., passed away on Sept. 10, 2020, following a long illness. Mr. Brown is survived by his wife of 51 years, June; sons Tyler (Shelbie) Brown and Chris Brown (Natalie); grandsons Evan and Corey, and granddaughters Brooke and Ava Brown. Mr. Brown proudly served his country in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War where he was a member of the Strategic Air Command's Elite Guard. Following his military service, he worked for many years for the former Case Power and Equipment dealership in Atlanta. Later, he was employed with the current area Case dealer, Border Equipment, before retiring. His wife, June, said Mr. Brown was working in the financial office at Case Power and Equipment when they married in 1969. About two years later, she said, he moved into sales where he spent the rest of his career. “He loved Case Equipment and he really loved his job and his customers," she said. “They were loyal to him and he had many of them for years and years. James was honest about the equipment and would tell them everything about each machine.” She added that Mr. Brown sold Case pieces of all shapes and sizes. His success consistently put him among the top Case salesmen in the country. “Each year, Case would pick the Top 100 salesman and James made that list many times,” she remembered. “The company would then take them and their wives to places like Hong Kong, China, Switzerland and other places in Europe as a reward. It was a lot of fun.” Mr. Brown was active in the Lawrenceville sports community, where he coached for many years. In addition, he was a member of Westhills Church in Villa Ricca, where his son, Tyler, serves as Pastor. A funeral service honoring the life of Mr. Brown was held on Sept. 13, followed by interment at Shadowlawn Cemetery in Lawrenceville, Ga.
Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • September 23, 2020 • Page 3
Page 4 • September 23, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Construction Crews Rebuild Six Bridges, Widen I-16 Corridor
Tied rebar is in place for a pier footing for one of the two new interchange bridges. PORT from page 1
State routes primarily used by heavy trucks. The effort is being built by the Savannah Mobility Contractors (SMC) Joint Venture, a group headed by the prime contractors, N.Y.-based Dragados USA and Prince Contracting in Tampa, Fla. The design team is led by Jacobs Engineering, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The SMC’s major subcontractors include Baker Constructors in Savannah and C.W. Matthews Contracting in Marietta. The estimated $295 million project began in early 2020, with an expected opening in 2022. I-16 Corridor’s Expansion, Bridge Work The main goals of the 16@95 work are to widen the I-16 mainline corridor, along with reconstructing six bridges along the route, replace four other spans and build three new bridges. The widening of I-16 will be toward the inside median, increasing the general purpose roadway from two lanes to three in each direction to create a six-lane freeway from just west of the I-16/I-95 interchange east to I-516 in downtown Savannah, one of three routes connecting to the port. Interstate 16’s lane expansion to the east of the interchange is also necessary to accommodate future growth, especially to support the continued expansion of the Georgia Ports Authority. Plans call for the GDOT and the SMC joint venture to replace two existing loop ramps within the 16@95 interchange, employing innovative turbine configuration system-to-system ramps, explained Denise Grabowski, a consultant with Symbioscity, a Savannah urban planning firm.
“The most unique aspect of the project is the interchange reconstruction, which will be the first partial-turbine interchange in Georgia,” continued Grabowski, who, through her company, is also the spokesperson for the SMC Joint Venture on the building enterprise. The project’s design will allow for traffic to move through the interchange at higher speeds with minimal impact to the existing interchange, she said, as the new bridges will move diverging and merging traffic away from the main interstate connection. Besides minimizing congestion and making I-16 at I95 safer overall, turbine configuration lowers the impacts to motorists and truckers during construction. Grabowski noted that minor upgrades will be made to two of the four current cloverleaf ramps (I-16 eastbound to I-95 northbound and I-95 northbound to I-16 westbound). In addition, crews will also eliminate the other two cloverleaf ramps (I-95 southbound to I-
Concrete pile after cutoff.
16 eastbound and I-16 westbound to I-95 southbound). “The full cloverleaf design was sufficient when the interchange was initially built, but with current and future traffic volumes, smoother, more direct, and more efficient connections are needed between I-95 and I16,” Grabowski continued. A collector-distributor (CD) lane on I-95 northbound will be built to separate the vehicles exiting and entering from the I-95 mainline traffic and allow unimpeded access from the I-16 cloverleaf ramps. CD lanes are designed to run parallel to the main travel lanes of a highway to connect them to access roads or entrance ramps to improve traffic flow, speed, and safety. Other upgrades to I-16 and its interchange with I-95 include: • The addition of ultramodern, energy efficient LED lighting at the intersection; • Installing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology, such as cameras
Drone overhead of I-95 passing over I-16. I-95 heads northwest toward the right side of the image; I-16 travels northeast from the bottom to the top.
and changeable message signs for fast incident response and improved real-time communication with traveling motorists through the GA 511 system; and • The construction of noise barriers at the southeast quadrant of the I-16/I-95 interchange and I-16 eastbound. There are three separate sound walls of 5,200 ft., 850 ft. and 2,700 ft. in length — all with a light gull gray color with a stone pattern and a graffiti-proof coating. Freeways Improved for Quicker Evacuation Most of the SMC Joint Venture’s work is along I-16 between I-95 and I-516. There are over seven mi. of roadwork on I-16, in contrast to only two mi. of construction on I-95. Both I-16 and I-95 serve as evacuation routes for any declared emergency in the area. In case of a mandatory evacuation from coastal Georgia, the I-16 eastbound lanes become contra-flow lanes in which all lanes of the freeway will only support westbound traffic from Savannah to U.S. 441 in Dublin, 125 mi. away. But Grabowski explained that hurricane preparation improvements are also part of the 16@95 project. “The Georgia DOT will replace the two existing one-lane, emergency-use median crossovers with one two-lane, emergencyuse median crossover between I-95 and Dean Forest Road, about three miles to the east of the interchange,” she said. “This crossover will improve speed variation, logistics, decrease delay and congestion, and better prepare the region for an evacuation, which is one of the most demanding set of circumstances regarding transportation operations and management.” see PORT page 6
Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • September 23, 2020 • Page 5
Page 6 • September 23, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
New Leadership at Georgia State Transportation Board The Georgia State Transportation Board elected its new executive leadership team at its board meeting on Aug. 20. Rudy Bowen was named chairman; Emily Dunn was named vice chairman; and Kevin Abel was named secretary. The new positions are effective immediately. Board elections are held annually to ensure that all regions of the state are represented at the executive leadership level. Chairman Rudy Bowen of Suwanee is a community and civic leader who represents the 7th Rudy Bowen Congressional District. He was elected to the board in 2007 and most recently served as board vice chairman. As chairman, Bowen serves as ex officio member of all committees. “I am extremely proud to continue my service to the citizens of Georgia, now as the chairman of the State Transportation Board,” said Bowen. “The team at GDOT, from the executive leadership to our district employees around the state are some of Georgia’s finest public servants. That fact was brought home these last few months as our teams continued the good work of the department in spite of a global pandemic that disrupted every corner of everyday life. I am honored to take on this role and to continue a legacy of stewardship and a commitment to
Vice Chairman Emily Dunn of Blue Ridge represents the 9th Congressional District on the State Transportation Board. She was elected to the board in 2011, and served as the first female chair in 2015-16 and most recently served as secretary. Dunn, a community and civic leader, has been named to the Engineering Georgia Magazine 100 Influential Women to Know list two years in a row. She is a registered nurse. Secretary Kevin Abel is the newest member of the State Emily Dunn Kevin Abel Transportation Board, elected in serve the citizens of Georgia.” 2019, and represents the 6th Congressional District. Abel is Bowen replaces Tim Golden of Valdosta, who has served a Leadership Atlanta graduate, a former finalist for Atlanta on the board since 2015 and represents Georgia’s 8th Small Business Person of the Year and was named to the Congressional District. Georgia Trend 40 Under 40 list. He was president of New Golden is credited with providing steady leadership to the American Pathways, a refugee resettlement non-profit. board, the department and the men and women of Georgia The 14-member State Transportation Board determines DOT during a global pandemic where essential crews policy and governs the Georgia Department of worked during unprecedented times to keep roadwork and Transportation. Each member is elected by a caucus of maintenance projects on or ahead of schedule. Golden Georgia General Assembly members from their specific served 24 years in the Georgia General Assembly — eight congressional district. Board members serve staggered, fiveterms in the Senate and four terms in the House. He has been year terms. named three times to Georgia Trend’s “100 Most Influential For more information, visit Georgians” list. http://www.dot.ga.gov/AboutGDOT/Board.
Highway Needs Smoother, More Direct, Efficient Connections PORT from page 4
Lane Lee Trucking LLC (DBE) shown delivering fill material at the SW quadrant of the interchange. This material was used to build a crane pad.
Construction Activities Ramping Up The GDOT had been planning the 16@95 Improvement Project for several years, with the environmental processing beginning in 2016, but land-clearing only started this past February. Contractor activities throughout the rest of this year will be concentrated in the first of three areas (Zones A, B and C) and will consist of more tree clearing and grubbing, construction of the foundations for the new interchange bridges, demolition of the existing I-95 northbound bridge and the expansion of lanes on I-16 from the interchange east to Dean Forest Road. In general, the widening part of the project will be performed from Zone A to Zone B (from just west of Dean Forest Road to just east of Chatham Parkway) to Zone C (Chatham Parkway to the I-16@I-516 interchange near the heart of the city). But Grabowski said some construction may span the length of the entire corridor and an overlap of activities can be expected in each of the zones. “Most of the improvements will be focused on one zone at a time in order to minimize disruptions to the community, businesses, and motorists,” she explained.
Bridge Pilings Taking a Hammering Crews are currently busy driving piles for the deep foundations required to supply the structural support necessary for the two new partialturbine interchange bridges. After conducting test piles to confirm soil conditions and stability, precast concrete piles are being manufactured specifically for the 16@95 Improvement Projects, with at least 700 piles estimated to be needed for the entire effort. After they are set in place, construction will begin on the footings, columns, and caps, Grabowski said. “Most of the footings for the columns include five piles for structural support,” she continued. “As currently scheduled, the foundation work for the two partial-turbine bridges is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year.” The equipment used by the SMC Joint Venture is going to be made up of entirely of earthmovers, hammers and cranes. In fact, the first crane arrived at the freeway interchange in May from Dozier Crane & Machinery, a dealership in nearby Pooler. Temporary paving operations began in July to accommodate lane shifts necessary for further construction, while more permanent road surfacing is predicted to start late this year. CEG
Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • September 23, 2020 • Page 7
Atlanta, GA 404.469.7210 Birmingham, AL 205.841.6666 Madison, AL 256.350.0006 Mobile, AL 251.633.4020 Montgomery, AL 334.262.6642 Oxford, AL 256.832.5053 Tuscaloosa, AL 205.848.4147 Pensacola, FL 850.479.3004
Page 8 • September 23, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Crews on Cusp of Opening Bridge 21 on I-285/SR 400 Job By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
are the 285 bridge over Glenridge Drive; 285 over 400 and 285 Peachtree Dunwoody Road. The collector-distributor lanes had to be expanded.” In adding the additional bridge work, crews ran into the unexpected challenge of uncovering utilities that they were not aware of. One of the biggest challenges came from the location of the project. “The project is located in one of the fastest growing areas of metro Atlanta,” Clowers said. “It’s high density with a lot of traffic going through the interchange that you have to allow to continue through the interchange. On top of it being in a densely populated business area, there’s also a significant residential area. It’s also adjacent to three different hospitals. With what’s going on right now in the world, you can’t block travel to and from the hospital. It’s a challenge to do everything that needs to be done and still allow access to the business community and the hospital.” The project features 32 bridges. Twenty of those are in the core of the interchange and 13 are under construction. There
Three and a half years after work began on Georgia’s Transform 285/400 project, construction crews are nearing a major milestone on the job to improve traffic congestion and enhance safety in the area near the I-285/SR 400 interchange in metro Atlanta. “We are just on the cusp of opening Bridge 21,” said Marlo Clowers, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project manager. “That’s the southbound 400 to 285 eastbound flyover bridge. It’s the tallest and longest in the interchange. It’s over 80 feet tall and just over a mile long.” The bridge utilizes a mix of concrete and steel beams, then the steel is used to accommodate the many curves on the structure. The $800 million priority project adds new flyover ramps, new collector-distributor lanes and other facilities to aid eastwest travel along I-285 and north-south travel along SR 400. The project will improve 4.3 mi. of I-285 from west of Roswell Road to east of Ashford Dunwoody Road and 6.2 miles along SR 400 from the Glenridge Connector to Spalding Drive. North Perimeter Contractors, a subsidiary of Serovial Agromine US Corps, was awarded the contract. Work on the design/build/finance project got underway in February 2017. The original completion date was set for October 2020, but that was pushed back to December 2021 after GDOT expanded the scope of the project, adding $26 million to the original cost. “We saw there was an opportunity because we had so much construction going on,” said Clowers. “We thought we’d go ahead and take advantage of replacing these The original completion date was set for October 2020, but that was pushed three bridges that were getting close back to December 2021 after GDOT expanded the scope of the project, to the end of their life. The bridges adding $26 million to the original cost.
The project will improve 4.3 mi. of I-285 from west of Roswell Road to east of Ashford Dunwoody Road and 6.2 miles along SR 400 from the Glenridge Connector to Spalding Drive.
are also 154 walls and 16 noise barriers. The contract requires a significant amount of employees on the job site on a daily basis, said Stephan Lively, P3 program construction manager. “The quality model is another innovative way of how we are managing quality,” Lively said. “In this instance, we contract with the developer not only for them to one stop shop, but they’re responsible for final design, construction of the project and responsible for quality control and quality assurance. The remaining part of the work is done through consultants that support GDOT. They have on their side the quality assurance that performs what traditional GDOT would perform. On the owner side, we have an oversight team that performs at a minimal 10 percent verification. That verification firm works as a consultant for GDOT. They do 10 percent over the shoulder testing to confirm the results are what the developers quality assurance has done. You’ve got 100 percent by the developer and 10 percent verification by the consultant for GDOT.” CEG
Bridge 21 is the tallest and longest in the interchange; it’s over 80 ft. tall and just over one mi. long.
By the Numbers: The average size cranes used for beam settings are 300 tons. North Perimeter Contractors (NPC) contracts with the local crane rental companies that have available cranes.
Equipment:
• Supplier: ALL Crane • Crane size: 550 tons • Home base of cranes: 485 Riverside Parkway, Austell, Georgia • Crew size: up to 10 • Support vehicles (i.e. semis with parts, erection crane, etc.): 11 truckloads of counter weight and boom • Schedule lead time: Usually 3 to 4 weeks • Approx. cost/hour: Freight for one crane in and out is around $40k plus $700 per hour to operate. • Earth moved: more than 2 million yards have been excavated and embanked • Dump truck loads: more than 200,000 loads • Barrier wall: approximately 250,000 linear ft. • Concrete paving: approximately 250,000 sq. yds. • Asphalt: approximately 350,000 tons • Rock removed: over 150,000 cu. yds.
Quantities:
• North Perimeter Contractors, LLC (NPC): 324 • Subcontractors: 633 • Total: 957
Employees:
Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • September 23, 2020 • Page 9
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Page 10 • September 23, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • September 23, 2020 • Page 11
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