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                   Rocky Mountain Construction Magazine

Arizona: Granite2 Plus Sundt Equals $184M Freeway Rehab

By: Robert Damora

During morning and evening rush hour traffic on U.S. 60, many drivers endure the daily grind of bumper-to-bumper traffic, hoping to arrive at their destination unscathed. This experience may soon be a memory due to some clever civil engineering work.
In an effort to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution along U.S. 60, also known to residents as The Superstition Freeway, an accelerated road reconstruction project is currently underway to redesign and rebuild the same freeway, simultaneously. This modern engineering method is known as design-build.
The project, which began in June 2001, is scheduled to be completed in two years. This abbreviated schedule is shorter than the original three-year timetable calculated by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Named after the Superstition Mountain Range, the Superstition Freeway reconstruction project will cost $184 million garnered from both state and federal funds. The cost of the improvements means that more traffic can efficiently move in and out of the east valley’s cities of Tempe, Mesa and Apache Junction — the fastest growing areas.
The work is a joint effort between Granite Construction’s Watsonville, CA, office, its Tucson, AZ, office and Tucson-based, Sundt Construction. Granite Construction spokesman Dan Galvin said the combined efforts of Granite’s California and Arizona offices prompted the name Granite2
In the past, Granite Construction worked on a Phoenix project involving the reconstruction of 7 mi. of Interstate 17, which was expanded to handle more traffic. The price tag for the work — $80 million.
When the work is finished in the summer 2003, the updated Superstition Freeway will offer many state-of-the-art improvements such as a rubberized asphalt for a smoother ride and longer road life, and a Freeway Management System, or FMS. The FMS is a combination of ramp meters, electronic signs, video cameras and traffic sensors. These will be tied together through a network of fiber optic cables. The FMS, connected to a command center in downtown Phoenix, will help with monitoring traffic control in the event of a motor-vehicle accident.
Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Burdick said that the design-build technique was the answer ADOT was looking for in order to save time and money. “This [design-build] shaved off a lot of time,” he said.
Galvin said design-build is a relatively new method that came into use in recent years. “While it’s much more efficient, the advantage of design-build is that it reduces mistakes,” he said. He added that the process is made more efficient because the design team, construction team and the ADOT are all working under the same roof. He went on to say that the standard design/bid build method is still being used.
“The difference is that the design-build method works for big projects, not all projects.” He said the beauty of the design build is that the contractor has a hand in the design process.
Burdick said he sees the accelerated construction time as a temporary inconvenience because drivers would endure a few years of road construction rather than eight.
“We needed to keep pace with the traffic volume on the Superstition [Freeway], and we knew we needed to get this work done,” he said.
Before work began, an environmental and archeological assessment study was deemed necessary.
Based on long-range planning by ADOT, FHWA and MAG, the study concluded that in order to maintain the quality of life, which meant reducing traffic congestion and air pollution during high-use periods, improvements were needed on U.S. 60. Other conclusions found population growth and projected congestion levels underscored the need for additional general-use lanes, and freeway management systems, to complement high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) improvements.
When the entities involved agreed that a modernized roadway was needed, a search began for a contractor. The word went out, and the bidding war began.
The smoke cleared and four companies had bid on the work. Galvin said that ADOT gave all the bidders a completion deadline and a minimum dollar figure of approximately $220 million required to secure the work. During the process of determining a final dollar figure to bid, ADOT informed the bidders that there would be monetary incentives for construction milestones.
“There are eight different (incentive) categories, and there is an incentive for each,” Galvin said. “There were also $192,000 worth of incentives for public relations.”
When Granite2 Sundt came in at $184 million, Galvin said their bid was $15 million below the next lowest bidder. Coming in ahead of schedule, Granite2 Sundt were awarded the bid as the companies qualified for the job.
Galvin said all the companies involved during the bidding phase of the project used the design-build method.
“We just happened to be the lowest bidder,” Galvin said. “The real advantage of the design-build is that everybody is in the front end,” Galvin said. “Rather than a vertical structure, the design-build is horizontal where everybody is at the table at the same time, coming up with a plan.”
Along with widening the freeway, some other major planned improvements will be part of the overall project.
According to Galvin, work is going along as planned. “Everything is right on schedule,” he said.
As construction crews are well into their work, riparian work (saving native plants which have been removed, and replanting them in the areas as needed) has begun, as well as clearing trees and shrubs from the highway landscaping. A total of 10,000 new trees will be planted throughout the project while 300 of the Superstition’s existing trees will be salvaged and reused.
Other major improvements will be a new HOV-lane with full shoulders running both east and westbound between I-10 and Val Vista Drive, two new general purpose lanes from Loop 101 to Gilbert Road, a general purpose lane from Gilbert Road to Val Vista Drive, new HOV auxiliary lanes, a continuous lane from entrance ramp to exit ramp to improve traffic merging between all crossroad interchanges, and direct HOV connections between U.S. 60 and I-10.
Also, a good portion of earthwork has already begun between Country Club Drive and Mesa Drive as 100,000 cu. yds. (76,456 cu m) of earth will be used for new lanes and sound mitigation.
Burdick said that the freeway renovations were needed in order to keep pace with the population growth in the Valley.
“We needed to keep pace with the pace of the traffic volume in the Superstition Freeway,” Burdick said.
“We knew we needed to get this work done.”

Region: Western Edition | StoryID: 1468 | Published On:

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