Photo courtesy of MnDOT
Construction crews are hard at work on the $120 million pavement project along I-94 to improve traffic congestion and road user safety in Minnesota.
Construction crews are hard at work on the $120 million pavement project along I-94 to improve traffic congestion and road user safety in Minnesota. This is a primary interstate connection and heavy freight corridor entering the Twin Cities Metro Area from the east and a busy route for Wisconsin residents commuting into the Twin Cities. Work began in fall 2022 and is expected to be completed in fall 2024. This project is one of the Minnesota Department of Transportation's (MnDOT) 183 road and bridge projects statewide for 2023. Funding sources include local and state funds as well as funds from the national highway freight program and the national highway performance program.
Photo courtesy of MnDOT
The pavement on I-94 between Hwy 120/Century Avenue and the St. Croix River/Minnesota-Wisconsin border was originally constructed in the mid-1980s, rehabbed in 2004 and repaired again in 2009. Daily traffic volumes on this stretch of I-94 in the east metro area range from 72,000 to 113,000 vehicles per day, shared Troy Vrieze, assistant concrete engineer of Shafer Contracting Company, the prime contractor on this project. The company specializes in earthwork, underground utilities, concrete paving, curb and gutter and traffic control.
Shafer is using sub-contractors for different tasks associated with the project including Central MN Sawing LLC; Collins Electrical Constructions Co; J&R Larson Grounds Maintenance; Minnesota Paving and Materials; and North Pine Aggregate Inc. among several others. Crews are working six days a week in 10-12-hour shifts and are on track to deliver the project by deadline. Updated drainage and extended pavement life will be other benefits from the construction work, which involves resurfacing the pavement and ramps.
"Although it is difficult to find skilled workers and trucking forces are scarce, it has fortunately not affected this project. So far, the weather this season has been phenomenal, we have hardly lost a day," said Vrieze.
This project involves concrete paving to the magnitude of 830,000 sq. yds. (118 lane mi.). This requires around 230,000 cu. yds. of concrete, the majority of which will be produced out of a high-capacity central mix plant. An average of three different concrete pavers will be used in each of the major phases. The use of local aggregates in the concrete mix resulted in cost savings due to hauler trucks having to travel shorter distances. One subcontractor, St. Michael, Minn.-based PCiRoads, set up a mobile concrete plant to produce the concrete needed to pave the stage 2 overlay.
Shafer Contracting set up a mobile concrete plant to produce the concrete needed to pave the stage 3 overlay. All other concrete came from a nearby Aggregate Industries plant. PCiRoads paved stage 2 and Shafer paved stage 3. The pavers paved two lanes (24 ft.) in one pass, then paved the other lane and shoulder (24 ft.) in another pass, and then paved the 12-ft. shoulder. This year, construction work reduced I-94 to two lanes in both directions between Woodbury Drive and the St. Croix River, impacting roads, ramps and interchanges throughout the project area causing some delays for motorists.
Photo courtesy of MnDOT
There are two types of base preparations involved in a project of this nature — first is to remove existing pavement, work on subgrade, and place a new aggregate base (which is done under bridges to maintain the bridge clearance). Second is to pave PASSRC (Permeable Asphalt Stabilized Stress Relief Course) material to create a drainable section (which separates the existing pavement and the concrete overlay). Once the base is complete, dowel baskets are placed every 15 ft. to hold 11 dowels in place. Once concrete is placed, the pavement is sawed over these dowel baskets to promote cracking in these locations and the dowel bars help transfer the load once traffic is on the pavement. Concrete is mixed in a mobile concrete plant (contractor submits the mix design to MnDOT Concrete office for approval) and delivered to the site in concrete trucks. This concrete is then placed on the road in front of a concrete placement machine which places the concrete in its rough shape.
The concrete paving machine then takes the previously placed concrete and vibrates it to remove voids and does the finish shaping and smoothing. The texture cart crosses the pavement, adding texture to the top driving surface of the pavement, followed by the curing cart, which crosses the pavement and sprays curing compound on the pavement, maintaining the moisture level on the newly placed concrete during concrete curing.
The project also will include resurfacing the south frontage road (Hudson Road) between Manning Avenue and St. Croix Trail, adding a bikeable shoulder and building two noise walls. Other improvements from this project include reinforcing shoulders for temporary travel lanes, constructing a new eastbound lane from I-494 to Woodbury Drive, installing a median barrier, replacing signage, upgrading lighting and improving drainage. CEG
Ruksana Hussain
Ruksana Hussain is a Los Angeles, California-based award-winning journalist with 19 years' experience working with local, national and international print and digital media for consumer and trade markets. As a magazine editor and features writer, she covers a broad range of topics including construction and design, diversity and inclusion, data privacy and security, and more. She earned her bachelor's degree in sociology in India. Leisurely pursuits include traveling, random researching and attempting word puzzles of any nature.
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