Reconstructing a Roadway

I-65 widened, refurbished near Montgomery

By Dana Crisson

Brasfield & Gorrie LLC of Birmingham, Ala., is well on its way to completing work on a nearly $80 million construction project, one of the largest Department of Transportation projects in Alabama.

The project, which began in July 2007, was prompted by complaints about the deteriorating concrete roadbed and the congestion through-traffic from the south side of Interstate 65 from Montgomery to Prattville, Ala.

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The scope of the project includes building additional lanes on I-65 from the north end of the Catoma Creek Bridge to the south end of the Mill Street Bridge, and bridge widening on I-65 from north of Fairview Avenue to the Alabama River Bridge in Montgomery.

“Brasfield & Gorrie doesn’t usually do DOT work, but there were several factors that attracted us to this job,” says project manager Temple Milsap. “In the beginning, we were interested in the type of work that would be required, as well as the number of bridges involved – seven sets, 14 bridges in all. Then the risk factors and the opportunity this project presented to our company were also attractive to us.”

The project, which encompasses almost 6 mi, includes widening 4.5 mi of road as well as building extra lanes to ease traffic congestion. Construction of the additional lanes includes grading, drainage, pavement, concrete pavement rubblization, bridge widening, lighting, signing and signals.

“The road is concrete now, and it will be replaced with asphalt,” Milsap says. “To accomplish this, we have to rubblize the existing concrete with a rubblization machine, which is a relatively new technology for our company.” If asphalt is overlaid on existing concrete, cracks may appear along the fault lines in the concrete, he adds. The rubblization machine is a resonant-frequency pavement breaker that uses amplitude to break the concrete up into small pieces, which provides a better road base.

The contract set a completion deadline of October 2009, and included an incentive/disincentive clause at certain phases of construction to minimize public impacts associated with ramp closures and disrupted traffic flow.

“This stretch of highway is a very highly traveled area, used by over 160,000 cars a day, so the timing of this construction and the shifting of traffic has to be handled properly,” he says. “We are used to working under time delays, but this is rather unusual. We have three months this summer to rehabilitate the entire roadway, including the bridges.”

The project has been divided into two phases, with the first phase, the northbound road, beginning in June and the second phase, the southbound road, taking place in August. The north or southbound traffic will be redirected into new lanes which are being built in the median for use while the construction is taking place.

“It is unusual for the DOT to separate traffic and reroute it in the median, so this is a huge undertaking,” Milsap says. “It is complicated to shift traffic, especially in such a heavy trafficked area, so it is crucial that we meet the deadlines.”

Extensive preparation work is taking place now, in advance of the construction work that will take place this summer.

“We are in the process of widening the median now,” Milsap says. “Once the traffic is rerouted, we have 23 days in each phase to rubblize the existing road and overlay the asphalt. After 23 days, we will be accessed $100,000 a day in liquidated damages.”

When the first phase is complete, northbound traffic will be routed back in place and southbound traffic will be routed into the median for the second phase. “Since the new road will be a higher grade, we also have to jack the bridges up 10 in,” Milsap adds. “We will have to tear off the existing bridge decks and repour new decks to match the new grades, then stripe the whole job.”

Although the majority of Brasfield & Gorrie’s work is in industrial development, Millsap says that the company successfully handled the aggressive schedule required for the I-65 Emergency Bridge Replacement in Birmingham in 2002. A tanker truck carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel collided with another vehicle under an I-65 underpass and the resulting explosion caused the 121-ft center span of the 31-year-old bridge to fail. Brasfield & Gorrie’s contract called for a replacement overpass that included a completely new three-span bridge and the repaving of approaches.

The work was to be completed in 90 days, but the dedicated crew completed the job in just 37 days - 54 days ahead of schedule.

“I have been with Brasfield & Gorrie for three years, and this is largest project of that I have ever been involved with,” Milsap says. “This project has been carefully planned, so now I just want to make sure everything flows properly.”