| Better Bridges
Nebraska Opens Flooded
I-80 Bridge Approaches in 5 Days
by Mary Jo Hall, Nebraska
Department of Roads.
 A deluge in
western Nebraska caused the closure of a 7-mile stretch of Interstate 80,
America’s busiest highway, while two bridge approaches that washed out
in the weekend flood were repaired.
After Nebraska Department of Roads Director John Craig declared that
fixing I-80 was top priority, a massive effort was launched to mobilize
forces and begin repairing the damaged bridge approaches near Ogallala.
Fifty workers from 10 different contracting companies and 30 state DOR
employees worked around the clock to restore the cross-country freeway.
Before Saturday morning’s flood, an estimated 20,000 vehicles per day
traveled that stretch of interstate.
 As soon as
the flooding receded the following Monday, engineers determined that the
bridges were structurally sound and only the approaches needed rebuilding.
Because Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns quickly declared the area a
disaster, the DOR was allowed to forgo the usual bidding process to find a
contractor. Paulsen Construction Company in Cozad, Nebraska was selected
as the primary contractor, with 10 other contractors involved in the
cooperative effort. With an estimated completion date of the following
Monday, and an estimated repair cost of less than $1 million, the work
began.
Equipment was mobilized from across the state and lights were erected
so work could continue through the night hours. Six massive floodlight
units were brought in.
 On Tuesday,
heavy equipment was used to break up the massive slabs of concrete that
dropped into the Western Canal when the ground beneath it was carried
away. On Tuesday and Wednesday, workers hauled in the tons of dirt needed
to fill in the washed-out approaches. More than 20,000 cubic yards of fill
were required for the job, and more than 25 trucks were hauling at one
time. There were also 12 loaders, two excavators, and two or three
bulldozers.
On Wednesday evening, workers finished the embankment required for the
bridge abutments. They also hauled in asphalt milling for the embankment.
About 560 tons of asphalt were needed to replace the roadway.
On Thursday morning, a 3-inch asphalt lift was laid and, later, another
4-inch lift was laid. The final 2-inch lift was in place by midnight
Thursday, for a total of 9 inches of asphalt pavement. Cooler weather
aided the asphalt placement to run ahead of schedule. Also on Thursday,
concrete riprap was laid to stabilize the canal banks.
On Friday, the guardrail was placed. After some finishing touches, I-80
was completed and opened Friday at 8:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, two
days before the one-week target. This was attributed to the extraordinary
cooperation and teamwork between the contractors. The final repair cost
was $499,736.37, less than half the $1-million estimate.
Another amazing aspect of the emergency construction project was its
perfect safety record, both on the job site and along the detour routes.
No accidents occurred during the round-the-clock intense interaction among
contractors, construction crews, and state maintenance crews, where the
hub of major activity was confined to within 1,000 feet and man-hours were
at 2,500 to 3,000 over the work period. Interstate traffic was detoured
for seven days onto two different two-lane, secondary, rural highways.
Although a truck driver was killed during the flooding when the bridge
approaches initially were swept away, there were no major safety incidents
along the detour routes.
Mary Jo Hall represents the Nebraska
Department of Roads.
Reprinted from Better Roads Magazine
May 2003 |
