The I-10 Perryville Road Traffic Interchange was a critical connection in the Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) efforts to improve mobility in a commerce corridor of the state’s West Valley.
ADOT presented the project team with a major challenge-—to finish the Perryville Road Interchange ahead of the 303L/I-10 System Traffic Interchange, which was already close to completion. By finishing both projects simultaneously, all traffic-control devices on I-10 could be removed concurrently, leaving this truck-heavy stretch of I-10 open to commercial and public traffic without work-zone impacts.
The design-build team developed an innovative maintenace-of-traffic plan to keep I-10 open during the widening and resurfacing of the exisiting interstate, accommodating four new ramps and the reconstruction of 1,700 ft of Perryville Road from a two-lane roadway to a divided four-lane roadway—all under heavy traffic.
The scope of work included the removal and full reconstruction of two new two-span AASHTO girder bridges, replacing single-span structures, as well as two new double-barrel box culverts, two five-barrel box culvert extensions, storm drain-piping, five new retention basins, two signalized intersections and more than 50,000 sq yd of portland cement concrete pavement.
Traffic was managed in such a way as to keep ramp progress moving without cutting off commerce.
“I-10 is a critical highway for both local travelers and commerce. With average daily traffic counts approaching 70,000, we needed to minimize traffic impacts during construction,” Karen Hobbs, P.E., Gannett Fleming’s project manager, told Roads & Bridges. “Working with Skanska and ADOT, we developed a maintenance-of-traffic plan that kept I-10 traffic flowing throughout the construction process, eliminating delays for motorists and truckers.”
Contractors constructed 75% of ramps to their final configuration, then built a 19,000-sq-yd asphalt detour, on which traffic was diverted to allow for accelerated bridge construction. Traffic was returned to the I-10 alignment after only 85 days, enabling workers to complete all utility work and grading for the Perryville Road paving in one swoop, rather than breaking the process into pieces.
This maintenace-of-traffic plan turned out to be a touch of felicity, as on Sept. 14, 2014, the valley endured more than 3 in. of rain in less than eight hours, an event considered a “1,000-year storm.” Damage was limited by the foresight engaged in doing large blocks of work in tandem; the integrity of bridge components was uncompromised and concrete channel repairs were limited. R&B
Location: Maricopa County, Ariz.
Owner: Arizona Department of Transportation
Designer: Gannett Fleming Inc.
Contractors: Skansa USA Civil West Rocky Mountain District Inc.; CS Construction Inc.; Endo Steel Inc.
Cost: $19.7 million
LENGTH: 5,280 ft
Completion Date: Oct. 19, 2014
