Construction Equipment Guide
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Sat August 26, 2000 - West Edition
Crews have begun part two of a two-stage project to fully reconstruct the Silver Creek Interchange, which connects U.S. 40 and I-80 northeast of Park City, UT.
Each portion of the project was separately bid and managed by different contractors. Salt Lake City contractor Harper Excavating Inc. completed part one of the project in early November 1999. This early action project allowed crews to complete a vital portion of the project and take advantage of an additional construction season before winter set in.
“An early action project is building the foundation so we’re ready to go in and act quickly,” said Amanda Covington, Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) public information officer.
The project included demolition of existing ramps, removal of two circular ramps, installation of a temporary traffic control signal, removal of old signage, installation of new signage, and significant earthwork for new on and off-ramps in the northeast and northwest quadrants of the interchange.
On average, Harper Excavating maintained a hauling schedule with 20 trucks and 40 crew members including drivers and site management personnel. A total of 39,000 cu. yds. (30,000 cu m) was excavated with an additional 71,500 cu. yds. (55,000 cu m) imported into the site from various other projects happening in Summit County.
The contract was short and sweet and totaled only seven weeks. “This project was under a tight schedule and it worked,” said Samuel Donaldson, project manager, Harper Excavating. “The weather really helped us and the project went well for everyone,” added Donaldson.
Major subcontractors on the early action portion included CVE (electrical), Chatfield Construction Inc. (signage), and Stephen B. Ellis (reclamation).
Before work ever began on the $1.03-million early action project, a comprehensive environmental study of Silver Creek Junction was initiated to quantify and analyze the social, economic, and environmental impacts of various design alternatives. The environmental study was then used to select a preferred alignment that became the basis for the interchange design plan.
Several factors played a part in setting the timetable to reconstruct the interchange. When the Jordanelle Reservoir was constructed, U.S. 40 had to be realigned from the reservoir to I-80. The reconstruction of U.S. 40 was completed up to, but not including, the interchange with I-80. Improvements to the interchange are needed to appropriately connect these two major roads and accommodate for future growth in Summit County. The existing bridge over I-80 also is in poor condition and needs to be replaced to meet current seismic and safety standards.
Part two, or the total reconstruction of the Silver Creek Interchange, is being led by contractor Gilbert Western Inc. Work was expected to begin in the spring of 2000 but was delayed until June 2000 due to complications with power, fiber optic and petroleum lines.
“It was slower than we anticipated to get the utility company on board, so we got started late,” said Marwan Farah, public information manager at Gilbert Western Inc.
Farah said his crews are working fast to catch up and get on schedule. Higher elevation in Summit County means the snow usually arrives before most neighboring urban areas. The plan is to finish paving U.S.-40 before winter so crews can switch the traffic in order to begin demolition of the existing bridge. The next step will involve southbound demolition.
The new design includes a Single Point Interchange with an elevated flyover ramp from northbound U.S. 40 to westbound I-80.
U.S. 40 and I-80 are popular routes for truckers and traffic control has had to plan accordingly, although there is no alternate route to redirect them to. Traffic is being maintained through the interchange using the existing ramps while the new ramps are constructed. Occasional short-term closures of individual ramps are being scheduled during overnight hours.
“Traffic planning took a lot of hours because we couldn’t route traffic to the next interchange since we have construction there, too,” said Farah. “There isn’t really an alternate route we can direct motorists to.”
Silver Creek Road bridge to the Silver Creek Interchange is being restricted to one lane each direction until December 2000. Traffic has been switched to one side of the road at Silver Summit for several weeks.
The $23.3-million reconstruction project is scheduled to be completed in June 2001.