The next phase of the Southern Beltway around the Pittsburgh International Airport has begun under the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC).
The next phase of the Southern Beltway around the Pittsburgh International Airport has begun under the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC).
Located in Washington County, Pa., this portion, known as 55A1, involves U.S. Route 22 to Quicksilver Road. It calls for the construction of 3.7 mi. (6 km) of four-lane concrete roadway, including construction of two span continuous composite P/S concrete, PA bulb-tee beam bridges, dual three span composite P/S concrete PA bulb-tee beam bridges, a dual single span composite P/Se concrete AASHTO I-beam bridge and dual single span composite steel multi-girder bridges. In addition, the contract calls for one full and one half interchange, the relocation of SR 4010 (Beech Hollow Road) and the reconstruction of SR 4009 (Candor Road), SR 0980 and SR 4011 (Quicksilver Road).
Notice to proceed for the 55A1 project was given on July 15, 2016, and completion is set for May 17, 2019.
The total contract is $90.8 million, with funding coming from legislation. One portion is from a bill that was passed in the mid-1980s, Act 61, for building special projects as funding became available. Since 1985, several roads have been completed through this legislation. In addition, Act 89, which was passed three years ago and allows for a portion of oil franchise tax collected in the state to be used, will also contribute.
The contract was awarded to Independence Excavating Inc., Independence, Ohio. Doug Thomas, P.E. serves as the senior project manager.
The section includes three mainline bridge structures and one overpass structure. The mainline interchange will be constructed at Beech Hollow Road, and Beech Hollow Road and state Route 980 will be realigned to create an intersection with Donaldson Road. Candor Road will be reconstructed to include an overpass structure. The third and fourth mainline structures will carry state Route 576 over Little Raccoon Creek and Quicksilver Road.
“There are always challenges in building a brand new highway across the country,” said Michael S. Houser, senior engineer-project manager for the PTC. “We have to plug abandoned gas wells as we find them, and deal with material waste from steel plants [known as pickle liquor] that was dumped out there. We have to take care of it.”
Houser explained that the road is being built right next to Quicksilver Golf Club, and there is another contract to build a bridge over and coordinate access to the course.
“Everyone has been nice to work with,” he said. “We have a special provision, and had a community meeting two weeks before the job at the golf course. We have a good neighbor policy trying to make it as painless as possible for everyone.”
According to Houser, equipment being used on this portion of the job includes two Komatsu track-mounted hoes; Caterpillar 977s; Caterpillar 775s; 22-yd. tractor pans; D9s, D7s, D10s, and a D11.
The project involves the following: 5.2 million cu. yds. (3.9 million cu m) of Class 1 and Class 1B excavation; 60,377 cu. yds. (46,162 cu m) of Class 2 excavation; 35,252 cu. yds. (26,952 cu m) of Class 3 excavation; 94,445 sq. yds. (78,968 sq m) of Superpave wearing course; 79,100 sq. yds. (66,138 sq m) of Superpave binder course; 55,726 sq. yds. (46,594 sq m) of Superpave base course; 193,220 sq. yds. (161,557 sq m) of asphalt or cement treated permeable base course; 299,924 sq. yds. (250,775 sq m) of subbase No. 2A; 18,630 sq. yds. (15,577 sq m) of plain cement concrete paving; 188,990 sq. yds. (158,020 sq m) of long-life concrete pavement of 12 in. (30.5 cm) depth; 21,036 cu. yds. (16,083 cu m) of selected borrow excavation structure backfill; 47,504 lft. (14,479 lm) of various sizes of drainage pipe; 74,094 lft. (22,583 lm) of pavement base drain; 28,788 lft. (8,775 lm) of type 2-S guide rail; 7,751 cu. yds. (5,926 cu m) of Class A cement concrete; 1,038 cu. yds. (794 cu m) of Class AA cement concrete; 2,985 cu. yds. 2,282 cu m) of Class AAAP cement concrete; 1.1 million lbs. (498,952 kg) of fabricated structural steel; 8,110 lft. (2,472 lm) of prestressed concrete beams; 1.3 million lbs. (604,875 kg) of epoxy coated reinforcement bars; 356,201 lbs. (161,570 kg) of reinforcement bars; 19,636 lft. 5,985 lm) of steel beam bearing piles (12 X 74).
Subcontractors for the job include 3 Rivers Pipe Profiling, pipe profiling; Anthony Allega Inc., concrete pavement; Austin Powder Appalachia LLC, drilling and blasting; Beth's Barricades traffic control/temporary barrier; Casper Colosimo & Son Inc., PAWC waterline; Centerline Boring Inc., jack and bore; Geodrain Inc., broker trucking; Lindy Paving Inc., asphalt paving; McCrossin Foundations LLC, drilling and pile driving; Mosites Construction Company, bridge construction; North Suburban Tree, clearing and filter sock; Parking Lot Painting Co., line painting; Penn Line Service Inc., seeding, landscaping and guiderail; Power Contracting Company, highway lighting; Terra Mechanics Inc., pre/post blast survey; The “U” Company LLC fencing; Vantage Corporation, electric/telecom ductbank; Abate Irwin Inc., steel erection; Alavarez Inc., precast girder erection; DOT Diamond, bridge deck grooving; Penn Line Service Inc., parapet protective fencing; Power Contracting Company, electrical; Steel Core Construction Inc., rebar installation; Structural Services, SIP deck form installation; Superior Painting, bridge painting; and Trant Corporation, surveying.
The U.S. Route 22 to I-79 project is the middle section of the overall Southern Beltway project, which begins at the southern terminus of the Findlay Connector at the U.S. Route 22 Interchange and proceeds 13 mi. (21 km) southeast to an interchange with I-79 and a local connection at Morganza Road near the Allegheny/Washington County line. The estimated cost for this 13-mi. section is approximately $700 million. When complete, it will be a cashless toll facility.
Due to the complexity of building a new 13-mi. roadway, the PTC has divided the Route 22 to I-79 project into nine construction sections. They are as follows:
• 55A1-1 (U.S. Route 22 Bridges) — U.S. Route 22 Bridges SR 0576, Section 55A1-1: Adjacent to (East of) the previously completed state Route 0576. This interchange is located approximately 5 mi. (8 km) Southeast of the Pittsburgh International Airport and carries state Route 0576 over U.S. Route 22. The mainline twin structures each consist of a four-span steel multi-girder bridge that span state Route 4004 and U.S. Route 22 along with ramps for the previously constructed Southern Beltway. This section required 200,000 cu. yds. (152,911 cu m) of excavation. The bridges are approximately 800 ft. (244 m) in length. Work on this section was completed between February 2014 and August 2015.
• 55A1 (U.S. Route 22 Quicksilver Rd.)
• 55A2 (U.S. Route 22 to Quicksilver Rd. to Panhandle Trail)
• 55B (Panhandle Trail to Cecil Reissing Rd.) — Panhandle Trail to Cecil Reissing Rd. state Route 0576: This section is approximately 3.2 mi. (5.14 km) in length, and requires nearly 6 million cu. yds. (4.5 million cu m) of excavation. The project includes a five-span bridge that is 1,370 ft. (417.5 m) in length over state Route 980. The northern leg of Reissing Road is to be relocated and become Laurel Hill Road, and the southern leg will have a new connection to state Route 980. Realignment of the Reissing and Profio Road intersection also is included. Work will be completed between the spring of 2017 and the summer of 2019.
• 55C1-1 (Cecil Resissing Rd. to Route 50) — Cecil Reissing Rd. to state Route 50 state Route 0576, Section 55C1-1: Adjacent to (East of) Section 55B, is approximately 2 mi. (3.2 km) in length, and requires nearly 4 million cu. yds. (3 million cu m) of excavation. The project includes four bridges, two that span state Route 50, Wheeling and Lake Erie Rail line, and Millers Run Creek Road. A third bridge will connect Cecil Reissing Road to state Route 50; North of its current location. The fourth bridge will act as the overpass for Cecil Sturgeon road over state Route 0576 (as part of the interchange) and will provide a new connection with Reissing Road. The new interchange will be located approximately 1 mi. West of state Route 50 and includes four Ramps for ingress and egress to State Route 0576. Work will be completed between spring 2017 and spring 2019.
• 55C1-2 (Route 50 to I-79)
• 55C2-1 (I-79 Interchange)
• 55C2-2 (Morgan Rd.)
• 55W (Wetland Replacement) — Wetlands 55W Wetland Mitigation Site was completed by the contractor, Cast and Baker Corporation, on Dec. 6, 2016.
The site is located approximately 3/4 of a mile northeast of Burgettstown, Pa., adjacent to state Route 4012, and west of Raccoon Creek in Washington County, Pa. As a result of the construction of the Southern Beltway, nine acres of new wetland has been constructed adjacent to an existing wetland. The project involved the removal of approximately 50,000 cu. yds. (38,228 cu m) of material, replaced with approximately 9,000 cu. yds. (6,881 cu m) of topsoil for wetland infiltration; reseeded and planted with specific vegetation/shrub plants that are designed to thrive in a wetland area. The Wetland Mitigation Site area is adjacent to an existing wetland north of the site and also is adjacent to PA State Game Lands. The 55W mitigation project is in keeping with the Pa. Turnpike's commitment to utilizing Best Management Practices. Work occurred between January 2016 and December 2016. —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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