Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85927
course, says Diggs, it can be more expensive. to access the median via a temporary bridge with access ramps. The spec'd out proposal was presented to NCDOT and went through the usual review process. And NCDOT had to review and approve not only the bridge's construction but also its later disas- sembly and removal. The temporary access bridge snapped up the attention of Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez who visited the project. Mendez has constantly urged more innovations and creativity to reduce delivery time and add value to transportation infrastructure projects. "The flexibility for all the experts to come together and put together the solutions that are needed like this temporary work bridge, and separating the traffic and the general public, is very, very creative." Mendez told local television station WBTV during that visit. While the bridge was an unexpected move Diggs says NCDOT and Lane worked seamlessly to make it work. "The project originally had some pretty restrictive time constraints for median access," says Diggs. "Lane's bridge allowed them to do a lot of things, including working during the day when restrictions would have limited them. Without the bridge there would have been more night work because of the daytime restric- tion, and night work is more dangerous." And of With the bridge Lane could work at night without interacting with traffic. The safety improvements resulting from this concept are significant. The need to haul loads of material across major feeeder road and interstate traffic into the median has been completely eliminated. Thousands of trips by construction and NCDOT inspection staff have also been made safely and without entering traffic, says Lane's spokesperson. The temporary bridge and its access ramps allowed Lane to make a bid with a more aggressive schedule that NCDOT had expected. The project, begun in 2011, will be done in 2014. Engineers on ropes doing specialized structural inspections Lane looked for an existing bridge as a jumping off point in this project, but the traffic load and contract hauling restrictions meant no go. This is the point where innovative thinking stepped in. And, says Lane, as far as Better Roads August 2012 27 The problem of course is the work zone. There is traf- fic to deal with, the safety of workers, and the develop- ment of a schedule for equipment and material supply (40,000 loads of material had to cross the interstate to reach the median) and the need for personal from both Lane and NCDOT to come and go. And a backup plan when something goes awry. In this case two factors stood out beyond the predictable: The existing roadway badly deteriorated and there was an average daily traffic flow of more than 100,000 vehicles. On the outskirts of Charlotte, N.C., all lanes keeping running normally on I-85 as Lane Construction builds a new road in the median. Photo courtesy of: NCDOT