Kiewit keeps $61m California project on track: CEG

Launched in October 2020, the $61 million I-80/I-680/SR 12 Interchange Project: Lot 2A will be delivered in December 2022 as crews of Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. are making significant progress on the project that will reduce congestion and improve safety at a critical interchange in Solano, California.

Overseen by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Interstate 80, Interstate 680, and State Route 12:2A interchange project will upgrade and widen the Eastbound SR 12 Connector (EB SR 12) to EB I-80 on the I-80 Corridor, as well as improving connectivity between destinations of regional significance.

“The I-80/I-680/SR 12 interchange is a multi-year, multi-phase project located in Solano County,” said Pedro Quintana, a Caltrans District 4 public information officer. includes Packages 1 through Package 7, each to be built under separate contracts subject to availability of funds.

“Package 2A is the second of seven packages improving the distribution of three major freeway movements at this interchange by reconfiguring ramps and access to local streets,” said Quintana, who noted that the majority of funding is provided by the Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Trade Corridor Improvement Program (TCEP) funds, plus money from the State Transportation Improvement Program – Regional Improvement Program (STIP-RIP) and bridge toll funds from the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA).

Construction progress

Kiewit crews completed widening of Highway 12 to two lanes; built the new two-lane bridge over Highway 12 that crosses I-80 and demolished the old one-lane bridge after the traffic change; built a smaller bridge structure that will ultimately provide access from Highway 12 to eastbound I-80 and built numerous ramps and interchange ramps.

“What’s left to do is continue to build ramps on I-80 to Green Valley and I-80 South that will eliminate the weaving zone at those interchanges and improve public safety and also connect the two lanes on Highway 12, which will eliminate congestion on and make it a two-lane highway to I-80,” said Zach Reilly, project manager at Kiewit. “Highway 12 is currently at one lane eastbound. A big part of the project is to make it two lanes and part of the job is to provide additional ramps and separate traffic on I-80, I-680 and Route 12 which all come This work will allow them to separate the movement of traffic and improve safety by eliminating the zigzag in this area.

The project has many challenges, but many of these were addressed before construction began via the construction manager/general contractor delivery method.

“We were brought on board during the design phase to work in conjunction with the Caltrans and STA design team,” Reilly said. “This has helped with utility disputes, work area access and staging and phasing of work to minimize impacts on the traveling public. We have worked together to come up with six distinct stages and phases to not only reduce the impact on traffic, but build the new infrastructure in an efficient and safe manner, separated from traffic since the work is taking place at the intersection of three major highways. made it possible to develop a good plan.

Although the crew has plenty of space in some areas, it may be restricted in others, especially when the work is adjacent to a railroad track and between a railroad bridge and a motorist bridge.

Operations are mainly done by day shifts. “Although we are working night shifts on critical operations such as demolishing bridges and installing falsework,” said Reily, who noted that such work often involves partial lane closures. Much of the night work is concentrated on Highway 12 and I-80.

“This is a large, sprawling site with most of the major works focusing on drainage, utilities, structured sections of roadway, bridge construction and the placement of overhead signage structures,” said said Reilly. “It’s a lot of different scopes because it’s a phased project and you need to complete work in one area or region as much as possible while you have access to it before moving on to the next. It has been a fun job to do as the owners have been some of the best partners I have worked with – they are real partners and we have a great relationship with Caltrans and the STA. The project is on schedule and we will arrive under budget.

“We had our challenges with the pile driving,” he added. “It didn’t go to plan initially, but the team came together and came up with great solutions, being able to mitigate the impact, get the job done and stay on schedule. It’s a big project and you’re going to find some unknowns or unique aspects that are unforeseen.”

The bulk of the work is based on building new structures, including the two large cast-in-place concrete box girder bridges, one of which was built over active traffic on I-80 that had a system false labor below.

“The construction of the bridge went very well and we did a good job of managing it,” Reilly said. “We also have large MSE wall structures to protect the rail infrastructure. They were up to 40 feet high and 700 feet long and we were allowed to lay a pile of material next to the rail.”

The demolition operations had their challenges. Originally, two eight-hour weekend closures were planned through the contract.

“We worked with Caltrans and the design group and offered to do it in a weekend with a 10 a.m. shutdown,” Reilly said. “Caltrans secured us two more hours on a Saturday night/Sunday morning and we tore down the entire 500 foot long box girder bridge over I-80 and dropped everything. We placed two feet of fill on the freeway and knocked it down .We then removed it all and opened a lane by Sunday morning.It was a great success.

The aim is to build highways with a long service life.

“To do this, the tracks have a lime-treated subbase, an 18-inch concrete base, typical AB sections and three types of asphalt – AC, gauge and open grade,” Reilly said. “We’re building very strong sections of pavement. We’re extending Highway 12 and having a bunch of new pavement from the I-80 alignment to provide ramps and eliminate the braided weave.”

The demolition had crews tasked with the reinforced concrete and rebar, which were transported to local recycling centers for processing.

“The material was stored onsite so it could be processed to its components and transported by haul trucks,” Reilly said.

Reilly is assisted by Brandon Risso, a Kiewit project manager.

“Brandon did a great job managing the project on the ground,” Reilly said. “Fernando Dos Santos, Caltrans Resident Engineer and Field Manager, has been a great partner and really keeps the project on schedule and on schedule. We’re lucky to have good craftsmen here – that’s where the rubber meets the road They did a great job building a quality product and knowing the requirements of the project and executing a plan that was good but improving it Their knowledge is invaluable and nowadays it becomes really harder to find skilled craftsmanship and labor that really understands it.”

Kiewit said she has mechanics on site and is close to her yard. “Obviously we have a lot of wear and tear on equipment when you’re digging and building and operating machinery,” Reilly said. “We have fast repairs from our mechanics, who are only three kilometers away.”

Project information

The southwest boundaries of the project are near the Green Valley and Cordelia neighborhoods of Fairfield, while the northeast boundaries of the project are near Suisun City. I-80/I-680/SR 12 Interchange: Batch 1 was completed in 2017 with a new Green Valley highway interchange and westbound (WB) SR 12 connector from WB I-80 to WB SR 12.

“This section of the I-80/I-680/SR 12 interchange project replaces the existing single-lane EB SR 12 to EB I-80 connector with a new two-lane connector bridge structure that will be constructed and designed to accommodate future phases of the project,” Quintana said. “The project is also constructing a new slip ramp from EB SR 12 directly to Green Valley Road (GVR) and a new braided exit ramp from EB-I-80 to GVR and I-680 southbound. Motorists and the local community will benefit. improving travel times, reducing through traffic on local streets, and improving safety by streamlining connections for motorists transitioning between these three major routes connecting the Bay Area, Napa Valley, and Sacramento . » CEG