Crews lift beams into place at the site of a new four-lane Interstate 95 overpass on Fall Hill Avenue in the city of Fredericksburg.
A project in Fredericksburg, Va., is on schedule for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), involving the widening of Fall Hill Avenue and the replacement of the I-95 overpass. Fall Hill Avenue carries approximately 17,200 vehicles per day, and the number of vehicles is expected to double in the next 20 years.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded a $30.7 million design-build contract for the project to Corman Construction Inc. and Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP in April 2014. Construction on the project began in February 2015, and project completion is anticipated in early 2017.
Corman's project manager is Pete Palko, and the project superintendent is Kyle Kern. Jo Ellen Sines, vice president of business development of Corman Construction, was the design-build project manager. Michael Coffey, VDOT assistant district administrator of construction, Fredericksburg District, is the VDOT project manager.
According to VDOT, Fall Hill Avenue is a major east-west connector road in the city of Fredericksburg that links residential and commercial areas. Fall Hill Avenue also serves as a critical alternate route in the community to Route 1 and Route 3, which can quickly become congested by overflow traffic from adjacent Interstate 95.
The contract calls for the widening of Fall Hill Avenue from two lanes to four lanes between the Central Park shopping area and the Rappahannock Canal, effectively doubling its capacity. New pedestrian accommodations are being built for the first time along much of the corridor. A shared use path will line the northern side of Fall Hill Avenue, with sidewalk on the southern side. This widening required the construction of a new, four-lane overpass where Fall Hill Avenue crosses Interstate 95.
Another project benefit noted by VDOT is new access to one of the region's medical campuses at Mary Washington Hospital. Mary Washington Boulevard will be extended to intersect with Fall Hill Avenue in a roundabout. Extending Mary Washington Boulevard provides a new connection between Route 1 and Fall Hill Avenue.
“The project required substantial relocation of dry utilities, including a transmission line pole relocation,” said Kelly Hannon, communications manager of VDOT's Fredericksburg District. “Close coordination was performed with multiple cultural and historic resource stakeholders due to the presence of Civil War trenches and other historically significant artifacts. Fall Hill Avenue is a densely populated residential area with a mix of apartments, townhomes and single-family homes funneling traffic into the project work zone, accompanied by heavy pedestrian traffic. Several medical offices experienced an access change during the project, requiring communication and outreach with several physicians, their staff and patients. Several municipal athletic fields and a playground are being rebuilt.”
Major subcontractors include Lorton Stone for relocation of historic walls, Terra Site Constructors, Hurricane Fence for bridge fence, Eastern Clearing for clearing of grub and trees, Interlock for rebar tier, Fairchild Trucking for hauling of dirt and stone, WC Spratt for waterline and sanitary sewer relocation, A-Annandale for temporary and permanent pavement striping, Virginia Paving for asphalt, B&B Signal for installation of signal poles, Tavares Concrete for curb and gutter, The Fishel Company for boring for dry utilities, RSG Landscaping for temporary and permanent seeding, DRM Associates for deck pan installer, Richmond Traffic Control for traffic control for 95 lane closures, Tennis Courts Inc. for installation of basketball courts, National Tool and Drilling for the saw cut of asphalt, LS Lee Inc. for installation of guardrail, Long Fence for horse fence, DOT Diamond Core Drilling for bridge deck grooving, Eastern Supply Inc. for handrail installation, Waco Inc. for lead and asbestos removal and Cunningham Recreation for playground equipment.
Equipment used for excavation of materials, drilling of chance anchors and demolition of the existing bridge includes a Cat 308D mini-excavator, a Cat 321DL excavator, a Cat 329EL excavator with quick coupler, a Cat 330DL excavator (muncher attachment), a Cat 328D excavator, an Alban CAT Cat 329 FL excavator, an H&E excavator, a Carter CAT Cat 320 excavator, and a Sunbelt mini-hoe.
Equipment used for grading slopes and subgrade as well as stone placement includes a John Deere 450J crawler dozer, a John Deere 450J crawler dozer (GPS), and a Cat D6N dozer w/ 3D GPS and stone box.
Equipment used for a variety of loading materials with booms and buckets includes an 800-0047 John Deere 544K loader, a John Deere 544K loader and a Mustang 2100RT track loader.
Equipment used for compaction of materials includes a Cat CS433E smooth drum roller 66-in. (167.6 cm) and a Cat CS56B roller (sheep foot attachment).
Equipment used for erection of beams, erection of miscellaneous materials and unloading of materials includes an RT760E 60-ton (54 t) RT crane and a 300T RT crane.
Miscellaneous other equipment includes a Ford F450 crew cab rack truck, a Peterbilt 389 tractor, a Ford 15-passenger van, a 2,000 gal. FL70 water truck, a Sunbelt 60-ft. (18 m) manlift, an offroad truck and an Alban motorgrader. CEG
Brenda Ruggiero
Brenda Ruggiero has written for CEG for over 20 years. She lives near the town of Accident in far western Maryland. Her favorite assignments so far involved interviews with Survivor’s Boston Rob and hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut. Both were involved in construction at one time.
Brenda holds a BA in Mass Communication with a writing focus from Frostburg State University and minors in Public Relations and Political Science. She works full time as a staff writer for a weekly newspaper, the Garrett County Republican. She enjoys feature writing the most, which gives her the opportunity to talk to people and share their stories.
Brenda and her middle school sweetheart, Reuben, have been married for over 34 years and have three grown children and four cats.
Read more from Brenda Ruggiero here.
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