John Carlo Company Inc. (JCC) of Clinton Township, MI, one of the state’s leading road paving and construction companies, received not one, but two national industry awards for its recent reconstruction work on Interstate 275, Detroit’s largest commuter highway with 200,000 vehicle operations per day. Both the American Concrete Paving Association and the National Quality Initiative singled out the project for recognition for its immense scope, innovations, state-of-the-art equipment, and ahead-of-schedule completion, but these accolades merely scratch the surface.

Prior to letting of the ambitious, $50 million contract entailing the design, paving, and reconstruction of a 6-mi. stretch of divided interstate highway between M-14 and I-696–a task requiring replacement of more than 50 lane-miles of 12-ft.-wide pavement, removal and replacement of the southbound portion’s base layer, demolition and reconstruction of two bridges, rebuilding and painting of 10 other bridges, and reconstruction of 18 ramps (all in the presence of heavy traffic)–many Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials held serious concerns as to whether the job could be completed in just one construction season. Accordingly the contract established 180 days from the scheduled commencement date of April 20, 1999, as the target, reinforcing the tight schedule with bonuses and/or penalties of $50,000/day for completion.

"These awards are a testament to the dedication and teamwork of everyone involved–all our employees, Wilcox Associates [the project engineer], and the Michigan Department of Transportation," remarks Steve Gregor, manager of JCC’s concrete division.

Holding to the Critical Path

According to Dennis Hanley, JCC’s manager of the I-275 project, "Staying on schedule was absolutely mandatory." Just a quick walk with him through the task list is ample proof of his assertion.

"First we created a divider down the northbound side by pouring 26,000 linear feet of temporary cast-in-place barrier wall, before routing southbound traffic over. We lost a lane in each direction, but traffic was still able to move along without too much disruption." Construction then began on the southbound lanes with the removal of all the concrete and aggregate base. We followed this by reprofiling the roadbed in preparation for the replacement of the base with new aggregate and geotextile liner." A GEOTEX 315-ST geotextile liner from SI Geosolutions of Chattanooga, TN, was placed on top of the subgrade prior to the addition of the new sub-base material–what the contractor calls a 5G open-graded drainage course.

"The woven geotextile serves to prevent contamination of the subgrade by the sub-base," explains Kevin O’Berry of CSI/Geoturf in Highland, MI, supplier of the material. "Not only does this serve to eliminate the primary cause of roadway failure by distributing the load more uniformly, but it also actually reduces the amount of sub-base required for stabilization."

Removing longitudinal rebar can be quite a chore, but as Christopher Shinners of Antigo Construction Inc. in Antigo, WI, explains, "We operated up to four Badger Breakers [Models 8600 and the self-transporting T8600] on the project at one time to meet John Carlo’s production requirements. We hit the pavement at 6-inch intervals with our guillotine breakers to allow Carlo to rake the rebar to the surface to remove it prior to removing the concrete. The rebar is essentially debonded from the concrete." The exposed rods were then raked into piles along the edge of the slab, where shears attached to backhoes cut them into 8- to 10-ft. lengths, allowing grapplers (also mounted on backhoes) to load them into scrap Dumpster boxes for removal.

"We were carrying off between 20 and 30 of those a day, so there we were with four breakers, a pair of rakes, three backhoes with shears and grapplers, and three backhoes loading out 70 to 80 trucks going full-tilt, while dozers windrowed the rubblized concrete. In less than 10 days we removed 5 miles of pavement from four lanes," describes Hanley with a certain amount of amazement. "And after the old concrete on the southbound lane was removed and replaced, we switched the barriers over onto the new southbound side and began the removal process all over again on the northbound lanes."

Meanwhile the demolition/reconstruction and repair of bridges proceeded at full tilt to accommodate the tight schedule. Two decks had to be completely renovated on one of the major mile roads, and the demolition, pavement removal, and repaving had to coincide with the highway schedule so that the 36-ft.-spread pavers could track over the decks when they reached that point in the job.

"The bridges were just about in the middle of the job, so the timing was crucial to make sure the bridge was back in place and cured when the paver was ready to cross the deck." Here again Hanley seems impressed by the fact that the subtask was completed within 24 hours of plan, but such success was by no means an accident. "We use a Primavera scheduling package to provide MDOT and us with a critical path schedule for all the work, and we find that the Primavera does a good job. Even though the majority of our control takes place on-site, we’re doing more on-line these days with instant messaging and e-mail."

How many people worked on the project? The job was insured under a wrap-up policy by the state, which provided all the insurance and the safety inspections. "We had two to three safety inspectors with us on-site each day," Hanley recalls, "and one of the things we had to do was provide safety-training orientation for every person on the job–more than 900 people total." At the height of construction there were 250 workers on-site at one time. "One of our biggest concerns for the company is safety and safety training. Our signs are in English and Spanish, and we hold biannual safety meetings for all our workers." Additionally, the company pushes for on-the-job "toolbox" safety meetings 10-15 minutes each day.

Where Are the Rest of the 25 Reasons?

Well, let’s see. Aside from the techniques, equipment, and accomplishments noted above, we should list the following:

1. The I-275 project was one of the first in the state to be let on a design-build warrantee contract, an approach finding increasing favor among public- and private-industry project owners alike. In it JCC warrants its work for a period of five years–quite a show of confidence in the value of its product.
2. A 36-ft.-spread paver–irreverently known by JCC’s workmen as "The Intimidator," a Gomaco 4000–was able to pave three lanes in one pass.
3. A Gomaco IDBI automated dowel bar placer operated by computer did away with the need for baskets. Dowels are loaded into the machine, which distributes them over the width of the pavement into a holding area and then depresses them into the concrete to the proper elevation.
4. An innovative barrier-wall method borrowed from the post-tensioning used in bridges knocked an entire week off the schedule. Two conduits were slipped through the barrier wall, and cable was pulled through and post-tensioned, holding barriers in place.

But mostly you can chalk up the "25 reasons" to the number of days it took to complete the already optimistic 180-day project. Except for site vegetation touch-up work that carried on into the 2000 growing season, JCC crews were on and off the job in 155 days. Remember the earlier remark about $50,000/day bonuses and penalties? That pencils out to $1.25 million added to the bottom line…the best award of all.