The rehabilitation of I-691 in the Meriden, Conn., area, which began in September 2021, is continuing with resurfacing, bridge upgrades and drainage and guiderail replacement. (Manafort Brothers photo)
The rehabilitation of I-691 in the Meriden, Conn., area, which began in September 2021, is continuing with resurfacing, bridge upgrades and drainage and guiderail replacement.
Manafort Brothers of Plainville, Conn., is the lead contractor for a project with a budget of $48,865,177 that is planned for completion in August 2023. The project is entirely state funded, according to Josh Morgan, Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) spokesperson.
According to CTDOT, the project will be completed in four stages. In 2021, work was completed on the eastbound portion of the highway (Stage 1 and 2) with work this year focusing on completion of the eastbound and westbound sections (Stages 3 and 4).
"All stages have had the existing roadway overlay removed," CTDOT reported. "Concrete repairs have been completed on the eastbound section and are under way on the westbound section. The concrete patches currently visible are areas the contractor has removed and replaced the failing concrete substructure. Once the sub-slab concrete repair and drainage work are completed, the contractor will pave the roadway."
Currently, crews are repairing pipes, installing light pole bases on the westbound section and conducting tree clearing on the eastbound section. Next, they will trench and backfill the westbound section and install conduit, according to CTDOT.
Justin Gill, Manafort's program manager, said the company has completed 28,000 linear ft. of drainage pipe cleaning, 7 mi. of pavement coring, 5.5 mi. of milling to remove existing hot wax asphalt and expose the existing core pavement, bridge deck rehabilitation on four of 15 structures, parapet modifications on six of 15 bridges, 8,000 linear ft. of haunch removal and 3,000 linear ft. of drainage pipe installation.
Crews currently are working on concrete pavement repairs, bridge deck rehabilitation, trenching and backfilling for illumination, bridge end block reconstruction and large diameter drainage pipe reconstruction, he added.
When asked if there are any problems with the job, Gill said, "One of the challenges has been the quantity of concrete pavement repairs was estimated in the contract and in the field, we have experienced a significant increase in concrete repairs necessary to rehabilitate the Portland Cement concrete basis. To mitigate the impact on the schedule we have increased resources by about 30 percent."
Construction equipment Manafort Brothers is using on the job includes Caterpillar M322D excavators, ProAll Mobile concrete mixers, Freightliner Impact Attenuation trucks and triaxles, a Caterpillar AP1000 asphalt paver, a Caterpillar 64 double-drum roller, a Bomag 284 double-drum roller, a Wirtgen 220 milling machine and EZ Drill Multi-Gang drills.
Subcontractors on the project include Tilcon Connecticut, New Britain, Conn.; The Quaker Corp., Plantsville, Conn.; Santoro Inc., Newington, Conn.; Safety Marking Inc., Bridgeport, Conn.; and ETC Electrical, Southbury, Conn.
"The purpose of the project is to improve travel conditions and increase safety for all users along I-691 from Meriden to Southington," CTDOT reported. "The need for the project includes addressing the poor condition and continued degradation of the roadway, making critical repairs to the bridge infrastructure and completing safety enhancements including improved signage and new guardrails."
Work will continue into the fall of 2022, but since much of the work is weather and temperature related most of the remaining work will be placed on hold this winter and resume in spring 2023. CEG
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