Longview Bridge and Road serves as the general contractor for the I-30 project, which includes demolishing an existing four-lane interstate and widening it to a six-lane highway; along with reconstructing a
32,940-sq- ft. bridge; and subsequent grading and drainage improvements.
Longview Bridge and Road is reconstructing 6 mi. of I-30 from the Arkansas State Line to Kings Highway in the city of Texarkana [Bowie County], replacing the four-lane [two lanes in each direction separated by a median] asphalt highway with six concrete lanes to handle an increase in traffic that is impacting the area.
The $88.8 million project, taking place in the Texas Department of Transportation's Atlanta District, began last August and is scheduled to be completed in June 2024. The initiative is being funded by TxDOT.
The work includes demolishing an existing four-lane interstate and widening 5.91 mi. to a six-lane highway; along with a 32,940-sq. ft. bridge; and subsequent grading and drainage improvements.
The project was designed by H.W. Lochner Inc. and TxDOT. The work has started with the inside lanes adjacent to the median.
Project Progress
To date, the contractor has completed Phase 1A scope consisting of the shoulder widening on the eastbound and westbound of I-30 in order to shift traffic to the outer extremities of the highway and is in the middle of completing a portable concrete barrier delineation [Phase 1B] on the inner lanes, which has enabled work to commence in the median work zone. The 2021 construction season is focusing on installing 170,000 sq. yds. of subgrade and pavingoperations for the 48-ft. long median section.
"Additionally, we will demolish and reconstruct a section of the bridge over the KCS railroad near the Arkansas state line," said Alvaro Lopez Jr., Longview's project manager.
The new lanes are based on an 8-in. cement treated soil; a 6-in. cement treated base; a 1-in. layer of bond-breaker [hot-mix asphalt]; and topped with 13 in. of concrete pavement. To produce the 450,000 sq. yds. of concrete, Longview has brought in a REXCON concrete batch plant and a new GOMACO GP-3000 slipform paver to place pavement.
"Access to the job site with the heavy traffic is a major challenge for us," said Lopez. "To mitigate this issue we have worked with TxDOT and our engineers to propose/design an access to interstate from our adjacent project yard and TxDOT right-of-way in order to allow for safer work zone entrance. The setup of our concrete plant, pugmill plant and concrete crusher within a couple thousand feet from the project start is projected to be a vital source of savings and construction planning to better suit us for a successful project execution. We have worked with TxDOT Atlanta District since the 1990s and we have a great working relationship. We have completed multiple projects together in east Texas and we plan to grow with our community and build many more in the future.
"We have re-phased traffic control plans in order to have access and expedite subgrade operations in Phase ," added Lopez. "Additionally, we have produced barrier in-house instead of purchasing from a vendor with heavy trucking costs from the major cities — Houston, Dallas, etc."
This project has implemented a smart traffic monitoring system, which is capable of providing traffic information to motorists when traffic slows down, as well as the use of message boards with real time traffic data.
Paving crews are maximizing their efforts to help reduce construction time.
"We use the temporary access ramp that we constructed from the yard to bring the concrete to the job site," said Bobby Fuller, Longview's project engineer. "This gives us direct access to I-30 about three miles before Kings Highway. The concrete we are using typically reaches the desired strength within seven to 14 days. We have work vehicles driving on this surface after that strength value is reached, but full traffic access, naturally, comes well after when all traffic markings, barriers and signs are in place.
"Most of these time frames, however, are largely dependent on weather conditions as temperatures have a large impact on when we can pour concrete that achieves the desired quality and strength outcomes," Fuller added. "As seen, the recent snow storms and lower temperatures have halted our operations. The coronavirus outbreak has also provided another unique challenge to day-to-day operations. We have had to, in some cases, shut down crews that had potential exposure to the coronavirus. Fortunately for this project, we are yet to have any major setbacks."
New Construction
The plan of attack to construct the new bridge [which is 275-ft. long and crosses the KCS Railroad] is to push traffic to outer shoulders and place a concrete barrier to delineate traffic; demolish the inside section of WB bridge and re-build inner portion that is 32 ft.; push traffic onto the newly constructed WB section of the bridge and demolish the outer portion of the WB section; rebuild the outer WB bridge and tie it into the newly-constructed inner WB section; push all the EB and WB traffic onto the newly constructed WB bridge (60 ft.); demolish all of the existing EB section of bridge; reconstruct EB side and tie into the WB side to create a complete bridge unit with new concrete barrier to separate east and westbound traffic.
The demolition and excavation is expected to generate 275,469 cu. yds. of excavation and more than 300,000 sq. yds. of asphalt removal. Newly constructed pavement includes over 162,000 cu. yds. of concrete; 15,431,751 lbs. of steel; and more than 41,000 tons of asphalt.
"Wood County Asphalt, our sister company, produces multiple asphalt products, which allows us to recycle RAP for our projects," said Lopez. "We have a commitment to recycle materials to make improvements for the community by avoiding waste and keeping material.
"Our mechanic are dealing with hydraulic leaks, hoses, radiator and routine mechanical maintenance," added Alvaro. "Daily inspections and properly reporting any issues/malfunctions to our mechanical department are the keys to good maintenance on a project."
Longview purchases and rents equipment from Holt CAT, Howard-McAnear Equipment, ROMCO Equipment, Louisiana Machinery, Bane Machinery, as well as United Rentals and Sunbelt for small equipment needs.
This stretch of highway was constructed approximately 60 years ago and has undergone several repairs and upgrades since. Average daily traffic in 2018 was measured at 52,199 and is expected to increase to 73,079 in 2038. CEG
Equipment Used
Cranes:
Link-Belt 218HSL
Link-Belt 118
Grove RT 750
Excavators:
Cat 325-E
Cat 329-E
Komatsu PC210
Volvo C250E
Dozers:
Cat D5
Cat D6
John Deere 750
Motor graders:
Cat 140 M
Cat 140 H
Loaders:
Cat 950G
Cat 924G
Komatsu WA380-8
Rollers:
Ingersoll Rand 125R
Cat C5S
Volvo SD100
Pavers:
RoadTec 4223
Cat AP 100E
Irwin Rapoport
A journalist who started his career at a weekly community newspaper, Irwin Rapoport has written about construction and architecture for more than 15 years, as well as a variety of other subjects, such as recycling, environmental issues, business supply chains, property development, pulp and paper, agriculture, solar power and energy, and education. Getting the story right and illustrating the hard work and professionalism that goes into completing road, bridge, and building projects is important to him. A key element of his construction articles is to provide readers with an opportunity to see how general contractors and departments of transportation complete their projects and address challenges so that lessons learned can be shared with a wider audience.
Rapoport has a BA in History and a Minor in Political Science from Concordia University. His hobbies include hiking, birding, cycling, reading, going to concerts and plays, hanging out with friends and family, and architecture. He is keen to one day write an MA thesis on military and economic planning by the Great Powers prior to the start of the First World War.
Read more from Irwin Rapoport here.
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