James Construction lands New Orleans interchange

06/22/2009

By Angelle Bergeron

Before the end of the summer, James Construction Group, Baton Rouge, La. will start construction of the $50.9 million Phase 2 of the Interstate 10/Causeway Blvd. interchange in Metairie, La.

JCG was the sole bidder on the project, which the DOTD estimated to be about “$63 million and some change,” says Danny Hester, James’ chief operating officer. “It is an A+B contract and, with time, our bid is about $55 million.”

Awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the contract will require different reporting procedures than the $35.6 million Phase I Causeway Boulevard interchange, which JCG has been working on since April.

The Causeway Boulevard interchange is part of a multi-phase project to widen I-10 through New Orleans and alleviate congestion. According to the DOTD, the project will improve efficiency and safety at the interchange, which has an average daily traffic of 178,000.

Phase I and Phase II both include construction of flyover on and off ramps for I-10, widening of the ground-level Causeway, and rerouting utilities.

“Because the projects will tie in together, the two contracts are written to where both contractors have to interface to a large degree,” Hester says. “It is obviously easier for the same contractor to work on both projects.”

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