Page 52 • January 11, 2014 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE
Alaska Way Job Requires Road Access for Heavy Vehicles BYPASS from page 50
properly anticipated and implemented. “They know that they can contact us any time with concerns and that we will respond rapidly,” said Ma. “The BNSF and the Port of Seattle are helping us a lot. We are constantly trying to do a good job as everyone has the same goal — open the bridge as soon as possible, as was the case for the falsework removal operation.” The Alaska Way (SR 99 Tunnel — Design-Build Project) being constructed by Seattle Tunnel Partners, a joint-venture of Dragados USA and Tutor-Perini Corp., requires road access for a variety of heavy vehicles to access the tunnel via the haul route and this meant passing through areas where the falsework was installed and removed. “We planned the falsework to accommodate their trucks and drive by the bridge daily,” said Ma. “We meet with Tutor-Perini officials every two weeks and they know what we are doing at all times. We’re in constant communication. As long as you let people know what is going on, there are no surprises. Open communication is the key.”
Atkinson did not purchase any equipment for this project. The company, based in Denver, maintains fleets of vehicles and equipment in several key centers. For the bypass, Atkinson has brought in several Link Belt rough terrain RTC8065 cranes, Manitowoc Model 2892C 28-ton (25.4 t) boom trucks, several Ingersoll Rand VR1056C forklifts, several F-150 (vehicles), and several F-450 (vehicles). Ma does not have any onsite mechanics, but has access to Atkinson mechanics who visit a number of area construction sites on a regular basis for scheduled maintenance and unexpected breakdowns. For the cranes, Ma has access to dealers for repairs and for the forklifts, various vehicles and machinery, the company’s mechanics. “They come in for the typical repairs,” he said. “The forklifts experience a lot of flat tires and hydraulic chords snap. Right now I have four forklifts on site and we recently had one down, but were able to continue on schedule. The stripping work can take its toll.” He added that his superintendent handles equipment issues and deals with the
operators, who each day must do a thorough inspection of the vehicles and equipment they use, which includes filling in a daily report and a 360 walkaround the equipment. “This way defects and problems are reported and the superintendent can take care of it and call in the mechanics,” said Ma. Atkinson has set aside space for spare parts, the storage of fuel and oils, and repairs. Ma said the bypass project is valuable in terms of experience. “We are learning a lot,” he said. “This is probably the most complicated bridge I’ve ever built in my lifetime and it’s the same for a lot of the people involved. The concrete work is pretty complicated as the bridge is on a big curve with high radiuses and trying to accommodate that requires a lot of engineering and a lot of thinking outside the box to get it done.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG
The ongoing construction of the $29.37 million Holgate to King Street project — an h-shaped bridge (elevated bypass) in downtown Seattle, Wash. — is expected to be complete next March and is part of the ongoing work to build the Alaska Way Tunnel.
The bypass, designed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and built for WSDOT, is being integrated into the existing road infrastructure.
Corporate Responsibility…
Trimble Allows for Early I-84 Hyundai Heavy Sends Aid to Job Completion By Two Years Philippines Typhoon Victims
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, effort is in line with the support rendered for Hyundai Construction Equipment’s parent several other recent natural disasters in company, recently made a donation of Brazil, Japan, China and Haiti. (This story also can be found on $200,000 via the Korean Red Cross in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, which caused cat- Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at astrophic damage to the Philippines. The www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) company also dispatched a 21-ton class excavator, a backhoe loader and experienced operators to the area to assist in recovery efforts. “We express our deep condolences to the victims of the typhoon,” said Lee Jai-Seong, Hyundai Heavy’s president and CEO. “We will provide as much assistance as we can in order to help the victims reclaim their normal lives.” As a responsible corpo- Hyundai Heavy Industries Group dispatched a 21-ton rate citizen in the countries class excavator, a backhoe loader and experienced HHI operates in, this aid operators to the area to assist in recovery efforts.
PAVING from page 12
in. (2.2 m) drum. The cross section required the grinder to make nine passes across the roadbed. It could have been completed in seven passes, but two additional passes were required in the 9-in. (22.9 cm) deep section. “We wanted to grind from the lesser depths to the deepest so we wouldn’t leave ground asphalt behind,” Swenson said. “Performing this milling task over a 9.5 mile project, 19 miles of roadway, with additional milling to 12-inch depth in the concrete portion at the starting end and the bridges for the sleeper slabs and anchors was definitely a challenge.” Once the milling was completed, Oregon Mainline Paving used 62,000 tons (56,245 t) of asphalt and 154,000 sq. yds. (128,764 sq m) of concrete at 9 in. (22.9 cm) thick to pave the road. “It was tremendously important to have an accurate milled surface for the paving,” said Swenson. “Our pay depends on the IRI (International Roughness Index) score, which Oregon requires a score of 45. On this project, we were significantly below that mark at 35. Additionally, ODOT has a zero-
out-of-tolerance expectation and measures concrete depth randomly, but always within a 200-ft. (61 m) section. The concrete subcontractor had estimated a three percent overrun, but in actuality they were at one percent. Needless to say, ODOT is very pleased with the results.” The project is completed and the I-84, Baldock Slough — South Baker Interchange section of the one time Oregon Trail is handling traffic. Swenson said, “This was our first job where we used a robotic total station with machine control. I’m impressed with how efficient the Trimble Universal Total Stations were and how well they worked. Think about it, in 24 days we ground 9.5 miles of highway, 9 passes across. That’s an incredible amount of grinding which we completed accurately with the help of the technology. Our schedule was a bit of a grind — pun intended — but we finished the project in one year, half the time, which was incredible.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)