Infrasense

The project incorporated both vehicle and walking-based surveys using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). As a result, no cores or test pits were used to obtain utility location information.

A majority of the survey utilized a vehicle-based system, operated at close to driving speed, to minimize disruption to traffic flow. The information obtained will facilitate planning efforts associated with the safe installation of a fiber-optics utility line. It is important for the project planners to understand the in-situ conditions, including the pavement thickness and utility locations, to plan a proper rehabilitation of the roadway and mitigate the risk of damaging existing utilities.

The field work was carried out by Infrasense on the three-mile section of roadway in just one night. Despite the thickly settled location of this section of road, which carries relatively high traffic volume between Bristol and Warren, the surveys were performed without causing any traffic disruptions or backups. In order to detect all utilities and assess the pavement structure, Infrasense engineers used both walking and vehicle-based surveys. To detect utilities that are buried transversely across the road width, data was collected along the length of the road using the vehicle-based system. To detect utilities buried longitudinally along the length of the road, data was collected across the width of the road with the walking survey system.

Ground penetrating radar is a nondestructive evaluation technique that operates by transmitting short pulses of electromagnetic energy into the concrete or asphalt pavements, using a boxed antenna attached to a survey vehicle or rolled along the pavement. These pulses are reflected back to the antenna providing a record of the properties and thicknesses of the layers within the pavement. GPR can detect the depth and spacing of utility lines or other metallic objects, as well as the thickness and reinforcing steel of concrete slabs.

It is also able to detect subsurface deterioration of a slab through changes in the radar signal through the concrete. The variety of GPR configurations and settings allows for adaptation to the unique constraints of many different utility projects.

Currently, US Route 33 bottlenecks on both the east and west side of Nelsonville as it becomes two lanes through the city. The Nelsonville Bypass is the last piece in creating a limited-access corridor between Columbus, Ohio, and Charleston, W.V. Since the 1980’s, more than $330 million has been spent to upgrade the US 33 Corridor. Major Ohio cities along the US 33 Corridor include: Dublin, Columbus, Canal Winchester, Lancaster, Logan, Athens, and Pomeroy. Major Appalachian industries along US 33 include coal, lumber, utilities, transportation, construction, healthcare, tourism and manufacturing. US 33 is a major freight route as it connects the Ohio River ports located in Appalachia to the Columbus International Airport and the multimodal Rickenbacker International Cargo Airport.

The contractors and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) worked closely with the Wayne National Forest to incorporate several elements to protect wildlife in the area, including high-mast lighting for bats, wildlife jump-outs for deer, a butterfly bridge, rattlesnake fencing, and tunnels for safe crossings by wildlife and humans. The project also included extensive grouting of nearly 500,000 cubic yards of abandoned underground mines.

PHASE 1

Contractor: Kokosing Construction Co., Westerville, Ohio

Owner: Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT)

Investment: $23 Million

Start Date: October 2007

End Date: July 2009

Summary/Goal: Construct nearly a half mile of new four-lane highway while protect the natural environment and wildlife of Wayne National Forest as well as limit the impact to those living and traveling through Nelsonville. While Phase I was under construction District 10 was finalizing phase II and III. Phase I was the catalyst for receiving nearly $150 million of funding for Phase II and III.

PHASE 2

Contractor: Kokosing Construction Co., Westerville, Ohio

Owner: ODOT

Investment: $45.2 Million

Start Date: October 13, 2009

End Date: Opened to public October 2012, nearly nine months ahead of schedule

Summary/Goal: Construct 4.56 miles new four-lane highway including the west side interchange as well as the construction of four new bridges. The ultimate goal was to protect the natural environment and wildlife of Wayne National Forest.

PHASE 3

Contractor: Beaver Excavating, Canton, Ohio

Owner: Ohio Department of Transportation

Investment: $92.2 Million

Start Date: October 13, 2009

End Date: Estimated to open September 2013

Summary/Goal: Phase III begins on the east side of Nelsonville and includes construction of 3.87 miles of four-lane highway. Also included in Phase III is the construction of the US 33/SR 78 /SR 691 interchange. The project will reroute SR 78 1.63 miles through the Happy Hollow area to form the interchange. The ultimate goal was to protect the natural environment and wildlife of Wayne National Forest.

Striving to improve the overall handling process for potholes, The City of Lexington (Kentucky) Streets and Roads Department initiated a cold mix evaluation program to identify possible advantages using alternative pothole repair material. Multiple parameters were considered in determining which candidate materials would be compared. The four primaries are as follows:

Early in the program it was determined that the UPM bulk material was superior to other candidate materials based on workability and survivability. Due to the observed performance differences and limited resources, it was decided to focus on the UPM material.

Summary

The program identified a superior performing cold mix expected to provide significant annual saving to the city and drivers throughout Lexington.

Those individuals participating in the program experienced firsthand the performance advantages working with a premium cold mix engineered to perform.

Incorporating local weather, road condition and local maintenance crews yielded results that are directly applicable to maintenance practices in the area.

It is recommended that those interested in improving their overall maintenance strategy relative to pothole repair, design and implement a controlled performance evaluation with technically leading suppliers.

 This article is contributed case history from Unique Paving Materials/the Streets & Roads Division in Lexington, Ky., directed by Sam Williams

Striving to improve the overall handling process for potholes, The City of Lexington (Kentucky) Streets and Roads Department initiated a cold mix evaluation program to identify possible advantages using alternative pothole repair material. Multiple parameters were considered in determining which candidate materials would be compared. The four primaries are as follows:

Early in the program it was determined that the UPM bulk material was superior to other candidate materials based on workability and survivability. Due to the observed performance differences and limited resources, it was decided to focus on the UPM material.

The city’s centralized service and information contact center, LexCall, handles thousands of calls each winter from citizens reporting potholes.

Summary

The program identified a superior performing cold mix expected to provide significant annual saving to the city and drivers throughout Lexington.

Those individuals participating in the program experienced firsthand the performance advantages working with a premium cold mix engineered to perform.

Incorporating local weather, road condition and local maintenance crews yielded results that are directly applicable to maintenance practices in the area.

It is recommended that those interested in improving their overall maintenance strategy relative to pothole repair, design and implement a controlled performance evaluation with technically leading suppliers.

 This article is contributed case history from Unique Paving Materials/the Streets & Roads Division in Lexington, Ky., directed by Sam Williams

Project workers and politicians gathered at the new Donald Bridge near Golden BC to celebrate both its construction and the 50th anniversary of the Trans-Canada Highway, on Sept. 21, 2012.
Photo courtesy of TransBC

A girder bridge is considered the most common and most basic bridge type. In its simplest form, a log across a creek could even be considered a girder bridge. In today’s bridges the long spans allow for a direct connection between two areas without disturbing the area and the wildlife below. The long concrete spans can reach from one side of a river to the other side allowing for minimal disruption below and resulting in a beautiful, functional bridge. Building these concrete bridges requires specialized forms that can accommodate any challenges brought on by the long spans and provide a quick, safe, working solution.

On the Indian Street Bridge and Donald Bridge projects, a girder form system proved to be the optimal solution for building these complex bridge designs. With its self-spanning feature, the girder from system allowed for speedy assembly and disassembly, and quick cycle and reconfiguration times when forming the various shaped pier columns and caps.

Indian Street Bridge

The 3,100-ft. long Indian Street Bridge was designed to provide additional access between the cities of Palm City and Stuart to ease traffic congestion. The new bridge will cross the South Fork of the St. Lucie River in Martin County, as a direct connection between the two cities.

The bridge design has intricate piers with 18 multi-span hammerhead caps. The columns have a wide reveal on the face and large chamfers that continue into the cap. The multi-span hammerhead caps have the reveals die into them with the chamfer transitioning into the cap and feathering.

The 120-ft. long caps and designs called for innovative techniques to be used onsite. To support the formwork off the jacks, Doka used a rocker to distribute the loads instead of a typical spreader beam. Another challenge was to design a form for the custom chamfers and reveals that met the requirements of the project and were also efficient to strip. The reveals and chamfers not only were feathered in design but also had a radius face adjoining intersecting angles.

The Steel Girder forms proved to be the optimal choice because they can span large distances without any additional support or shoring. Additionally, the forms are modular and can be ganged and picked in large sections.

Currently the contractor is involved in setting reinforcing steel and placing concrete for bridge footings, columns and caps, as well as continuing the superstructure construction and setting the beams.

Doka worked closely with Archer Western Contractors to ensure that the formwork solutions chosen would work with the intricate details of the design and to adapt to all changing conditions.

Bridge construction began in April 2011 and completion is expected in April 2013.

Donald Bridge

To improve safety, mobility and capacity for the traveling public, a replacement bridge and approaches were commissioned in Golden, British Columbia, to widen the current stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway from two lanes to four.

The contractor, Flatiron Constructors Canada Ltd., was tasked with forming two four lane bridges. The first was a new four-lane 300-meter long bridge over the Columbia River and the second was a new four lane 130-meter long bridge crossing the active Canadian Pacific Railway. Both structures required the flexibility of a self-spanning system since traditional shoring towers could not be used. The Doka Girder form system offered the ability to span the fast flowing river while forming the four pier caps high above the river itself. There were two different types of pier caps to be formed on the bridge structure. The pier caps ranged in size from 1.42 m deep x 1.90 m wide x 24.43 m long to 2.7 m deep x 3.05 m wide x 24.40 m long. The system was then reconfigured to form the Canadian Pacific Railway Bridge using two pier caps of 1.83 m high x 1.50 m wide x 41.80 m long.

Flatiron faced environmental concerns of the surrounding area including a fishery, wildlife, and sensitive land. The Doka Girder system allowed for a minimal impact as it was suspended above the water crossing, not through it. The Canadian Pacific railway crossing also was required to be built adjacent to an active critical railway corridor that could not be disturbed. This limited access was a challenge and extra planning was needed to provide for the ability to construct without shoring towers due to the water and active railway.

The flexibility of the girder system allowed Flatiron to erect and strip the forms in smaller sections, which saved on the added cost of using a much larger crane. The safety of their employees, clients, subcontractors and the public was Flatiron’s number one core concern. Flatiron adhered to all Doka safety procedures as outlined and also attached a lifeline to the bottom of the Doka Girder panels to allow access to underside of pier caps, providing 100% fall protection.

“For the Donald Bridge Project the versatility of the Doka pier cap formwork system was beneficial as the access below the pier caps was restricted by the Columbia River and steep   work area and transport the assembled system to the pier. The modular system allowed for quick erection as well as efficient removal of the formwork system,” said Rick Morrison, Project Manager, Flatiron Constructors Canada.

The $63 million Donald Bridge project started in February 2011 and was completed in the Fall of 2012. The formwork duration of the project was six months.

Using Doka’s specialized Girder system is a solution recommended for contractors building bridges with long spans, quick deadlines, and overall safety concerns. Both the Indian Street Bridge and the Donald Bridge were constructed quickly, safely, and in accordance with the intricate details of the designs and changing conditions.

This article was contributed on behalf of DOKA.

Captions:

[Indian St 1]  John Blankenmeier, Project Engineer (left) and and Wayne Bennett, Bridge Foreman (right) of Archer Western Contractors at the Indian Street River Bridge Project in Palm City, FL.

[Indian St 2] The 120-ft. long caps and detailed design on the Indian Street Bridge called for innovative techniques to be used on site.

[Indian St 3] The column heights range from 13 ft. to 54 ft. to the underside of the cap.

[Indian St 4 – aerial] The 3,100-ft. long Indian Street Bridge consists of 18 multi-span hammerhead caps all formed with Doka’s Steel Girder formwork.

[ Donald Bridge 1] On the Donald Bridge project, the flexibility of the Girder system allowed Flatiron to erect and strip the forms in smaller sections, which saved on the added cost of using a much larger crane.

[Donald Bridge 2 & 3] Flatiron faced environmental concerns of the surrounding area including a fishery, wildlife, and sensitive land.

All are toll road projects that are currently undergoing or have been through a restructuring – or even bankruptcy.  While traditional restructuring tools are certainly available in restructuring toll road deals, toll road restructurings also present unique considerations that warrant special attention.

Toll road revenues have been adversely affected by the economic recession and  rising gas prices, which drove down traffic overall.  The availability of alternative, free public roads has also dissuaded drivers from using toll roads.  In some instances, toll roads have not achieved revenue projections because they were built in anticipation of new housing and commercial developments that never materialized.

Traditional Restructuring Tools

The traditional tools employed with respect to the restructuring of any project finance deal — such as an amendment to the financing documents and/or a conversion of debt to equity — may also be used for toll road matters. In a restructuring of the finance documents, the key constituencies may agree upon extended maturity dates, revised interest rates and amended financial covenants, for example. In the San Joaquin Hills toll road deal, $2.06 billion in toll revenue bonds were restructured by extending maturity dates, revising the debt-service coverage ratio and reducing annual debt service.  Debt restructurings were also implemented for the Dulles Greenway (VA) and Southern Connector (SC) projects.

As an alternative to or in conjunction with a debt restructuring, lenders may seek to convert their debt, in whole or in part, to an equity stake in the project.  The lenders to the South Bay Expressway project in southern California converted part of their debt into equity following the project’s chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2010.  Among the factors that lenders will consider in evaluating whether to convert their debt to equity are: (i) whether they want to be in an ownership position; (ii) whether existing equity holders will agree to part with ownership or control and (iii) whether change of control provisions impact the ability to convert.

If the parties seeking to restructure cannot obtain the requisite consents under the governing agreements, they should explore whether the consent requirements under the Bankruptcy Code would permit the proposed restructuring to be achieved.  Confirmation of a reorganization plan under the Bankruptcy Code requires the consent of one-half in number of creditors and two-thirds in dollar amount of each creditor class voting on the plan.  This threshold may be more lenient than the voting thresholds under the applicable credit agreements or bond documentation.

Unique Challenges in Restructuring Toll Road Projects

To have meaningful restructuring negotiations, the parties must develop a collective view about the stabilized cash flow for the project.  Many toll road projects never achieved initial revenue projections; yet, there are various impediments to increasing toll road revenues.  The ability to raise tolls may be limited by applicable concession agreements (discussed below) or by the need to obtain government or regulatory approval.  Of course, toll road operators must consider elasticity of demand and recognize that raising tolls may cause drivers to use alternate routes.

A concession agreement is a grant by the local authority to the toll road operator to operate the road on certain terms.  The terms of any applicable concession agreement may limit the operator’s ability to increase the toll rate, constrain the ability to extend the final maturity date, and render a debt-to-equity conversion unfeasible.  If a concession agreement confers the right to operate a toll road for period of years, the maturity date of the project’s financing obviously cannot be extended beyond the expiry date of the concession agreement.  The local authority may or may not agree to extend the concession; for example, the concession period for the Dulles Greenway was extended from 2036 to 2056 as part of a debt restructuring.  Change of control provisions may likewise impair the ability of debt holders to control the equity in the public-private partnership.  The concession agreement may present other impediments to a restructuring and, therefore, will need to be reviewed and analyzed carefully.

Bonds issued in connection with toll road projects are frequently insured, or “wrapped,” by monoline bond insurers.  The wrap is only as good as financial strength of the wrap provider.  Also, the wrap agreement may exclude individual creditors from participating in the restructuring process or otherwise taking action unless the wrap provider is in default.  Thus, it is essential that investors also scrutinize the wrap agreement in order to forge a means for participating in the process.

DBR restores load transfer across joints and cracks by installing dowel bars linking the adjoining slabs. By linking slabs, the traffic load is shared, preventing differential vertical move­ment of the slabs at the joints and cracks, thereby eliminating the formation of faults or step-offs. It is these faults that cause the rough ride and wheel slap that is sensed when traveling on a con­crete roadway that has lost its ability to transfer load from one panel to the next.

Why DBR?

Load transfer across transverse joints of jointed plain concrete pavements is essential for long-term performance, especially when there are heavy truck traffic loadings. If there is sufficient load transfer, tensile stress and deflections will be reduced, lowering the potential for joint spalling, base and/or subgrade pumping, transverse joint faulting, and cracking. The methods to obtain load transfer include aggregate interlock, treated bases, and/or dowel bars placed at transverse joints. Aggregate interlock alone may not provide sufficient load transfer to minimize tensile stress and deflections if there are heavy truck transfer loadings. In general, load transfer efficiencies between 70 to 100 percent are considered to be adequate, while load transfer below 50 percent can lead to joint faulting, panel cracking, and poor ride quality.

DBR Process

DBR is a good pavement restoration method in select pavement conditions. DBR should be considered when:

• Pavements exhibit load transfer below 60 percent.

• Joint and crack faulting is between 1/16 to 3/4 in.

• Transverse cracks are reasonably tight with minimal spalling. If DBR is applied early, the amount of diamond grinding may be greatly reduced.

• Pavements that were constructed as non-doweled jointed pavements can have DBR applied to prevent future faulting as an effective pavement preservation treatment.

The general steps for DBR construction are fairly straight forward. First, cut DBR slots and remove existing concrete from slots. Then clean the slots of all debris followed by sand or water blasting and place caulking compound at all joints/cracks. Next, place dowel bar assemblies in the slots. Place the patching material, then consolidate and finish patching material.  Finally, diamond grind the pavement surface.

Early Beginnings in Georgia

In the early 1970’s, lack of load transfer was identified as one of the interrelated causes of pavement faulting. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) added dowel bars as a standard design detail for new PCC pavements in the mid 1970’s.  Although joint faulting on their older PCCP was an issue, none of the existing CPR activities studied in the 70s addressed the lack of effective load transfer in the existing pavements except through stabilization of the slab using undersealing techniques.

GDOT became interested in improving the load transfer capabilities of their existing PCC pavements after observing the re-faulting of pavements following CPR and diamond grinding. It was felt that the effectiveness of CPR could be extended if load transfer could be added at the joints. Around the same time, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a report in 1977 with conceptual proposals for two load transfer restoration devices. GDOT initiated a research project in 1980 to evaluate these and other devices. The goal was to develop construction procedures for adding load transfer to existing pavements and to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods. Various load transfer devices were placed by maintenance forces in a total of 461 joints on I-75 between Atlanta and Macon in 1981 with some additional installations done in 1982. Some of the devices placed included the Georgia Split Pipe, the Figure Eight device used in experiments in France, the Vee device researched in the 1977 FHWA report, the Double Vee device developed at the University of Illinois and sold under the trade name of LTD plus, and smooth steel dowel bars. Patching materials used on the project included three types of proprietary fast setting grouts, polymer concrete, and plain fast setting concrete. The number and spacing of the various devices and dowel bars were also variables in the project.

The area where the load transfer retrofit tests were to be constructed on I-75 was rehabilitated in 1976 by GDOT maintenance forces but significant increases in joint faulting had redeveloped by 1980. The original plan to cut the slots for the dowels utilized a specially built carbide tipped Rotomill mandrel, but an early field trial showed that this method of concrete removal created too much damage to the joints. The GDOT then decide to cut the slot perimeters using diamond saw blades removing the remaining concrete with lightweight jack hammers as is done today. Core holes were drilled for the placement of the other devices.

Performance evaluations were made in January 1982, September 1982, and March 1983. Static weight and Dynaflect load transfer measurements were made along with horizontal joint movement measurements, faulting measurements, slab cracking, and visual observations of the load transfer devices for bond failures and spalling, cracking, etc., of the patching materials.

The results from the test installations showed that retrofitted dowel bars were the best means of reestablishing load transfer to existing joints determining that three dowels should be placed in the outside wheel path and two dowels in the inside wheel path. It also stated that retrofit dowel placement in the inside wheel path could possibly be eliminated once long term performance data became available. It was also recommended that joints with large slab movements should be stabilized though undersealing prior to placing dowels.

DBR in Washington State

In Washington State, plain jointed concrete pavements constructed prior to the 1990’s did not contain dowel bars across the transverse joints. After being in-service for 30 or more years, a significant number of the Washington State concrete pavements had developed transverse joint faulting, many with average faulting greater than ½ in. Since sufficient funding was not available to reconstruct the faulted and rough concrete pavements, in 1992 the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) initiated a study to investigate the cost effectiveness of load transfer restoration techniques. Since then, WSDOT has dowel bar retrofitted more than 626 lane miles or approximately 1,322,000 bars, of faulted concrete pavements.

Since its inception in Washington State, DBR projects have also included diamond grinding of the entire project length, and to the extent necessary, full-depth replacement of concrete panels with two or more cracks, partial-depth spall repair, crack sealing, and for all but one project, resealing transverse and longitudinal joints. It must also be noted, that when WSDOT initiated DBR there existed a sizeable (approximately 600 to 800 lane miles) backlog of concrete pavements in need of rehabilitation. Due to this backlog, the majority of which were on the heavily traveled interstate system, WSDOT conducted DBR in a worst-first manner, implying that projects that received DBR first, were in the worst condition (primarily heavily faulted).

According to WSDOT research, the average construction costs for DBR was approximately 16 percent less (2006 dollars) than the typical cost of a four-inch asphalt overlay, which is the minimum recommended overlay depth for rehabilitating a faulted concrete pavement. The success realized by WSDOT has promoted widespread acceptance of the process and as a result, 20 states and one Canadian province have completed numerous successful projects.

DBR application, in conjunction with panel replacements and diamond grinding, has proven to be an effective rehabilitation treatment for faulted concrete pavements. Based on the review of approximately 380,000 DBR slots in Washington State, the presence of cracking, spalling and debonding of the patching material was nearly non-existent, indicating that superior construction and inspection practices have led to long-term performance. It was determined that Washington State has experienced very little DBR slot-related distress, with less than 3 percent of all DBR slot distress combined on any given project and typically less than 1 percent on all projects. Further, after reviewing DBR performance, it was found that 5 of the 21 projects examined showed superior longer-term performance as compared to all other DBR projects.  This was due in part to applying the DBR process to pavements earlier in the rehabilitation cycle and therefore with much less faulting.

Based on the findings in Washington, DBR is a highly effective solution for long-term pavement repair. Critical to the success of DBR projects are appropriate specifications and construction inspection processes, as well as contractors firmly establishing themselves in DBR construction techniques, bringing a high level of experience and quality consciousness to the project. As all states seek ways to repair aging concrete pavements, DBR can be the ideal solution when long-lasting, cost-effective repairs are desired.

DBR Advantages

DBR has proved to be a long lasting repair, lasting 15 to 20 years, and is a sustainable pavement rehabilitation process as existing concrete pavements are rehabilitated rather than reconstructed. It is traffic friendly since projects can be completed during off-peak hours with short lane closures. The process is flexible, in that it only has to be applied to the lanes that show distress, whereas other treatments require the entire roadway to be treated. Other repair options, such as asphalt overlays, can result in raising guard rails, overhead signs, and bridges, increasing the overall project costs. Additionally, the simple design bid process allows projects to be designed and advertised in a fraction of the time required for most overlay processes. DBR is the right repair process for faulted PCCP at a competitive price.

The Solution: ClearSpan Hercules Truss Arch Building

Size: 65-foot-wide by 100-foot-long

Application: Road salt storage

Winter weather in New Jersey can coat the roads with anything from snow to sleet and freezing rain, creating slippery conditions that require layers of road salt. Since the state of New Jersey mandates that all road salt be kept in an enclosed area, a proper storage facility is crucial for road crews.

The Department of Public Works in the Township of Wayne, NJ was storing its road salt on an asphalt pad, covered with a large tarp, according to Public Works Director George Holzapfel, a practice that was not only inconvenient in severe weather, but also sometimes hazardous. “The tarp had to be removed for access before, or sometimes during, snow or ice events, neither of which was a pleasure for the employees,” Holzapfel said. “During non-winter periods winds often blew the tarps off, which then had to be reinstalled. Handling large tarps in windy conditions had to be undertaken with extreme caution…again, a task no one liked,” he added.

Holzapfel began looking for a more efficient, yet cost-effective solution to comply with the mandate. After a bit of research, he decided on a ClearSpan Hercules Truss Arch Building. The quick, easy construction and low cost of the 65-foot by 100-foot building made it the best option for Holzapfel. “An overriding factor was foundation requirements,” Holzapfel said. “The site had clay layers and refuse which would have required deep spread footings or piles to support a traditional structure, substantially increasing costs. The ClearSpan system was essentially placed on an asphalt pad.” The building’s construction took only a few weeks and meets all of the department’s needs.

“It is well received,” Holzapfel said. “Material stored is safe from the elements, and access for trucks and equipment is excellent.” The building is working so well that they have already constructed a smaller ClearSpan structure to store truck tires, and are considering another facility to increase their winter salt storage and possibly store vehicles the rest of the year.

Click on the Structural Pavement page to view the Alabama DOT video. Click on the Pavement Preservation page to view both the Oregon DOT and the Minnesota DOT videos.

The videos run about four minutes each.

“The building of the new Lake Champlain Bridge was a historic process, one that illustrates government successfully pulling together in an innovative and efficient way to move an important safety project along quickly and to restore a critical transportation link between states,” Commissioner McDonald said. “The fact that the Lake Champlain Bridge project was one of only eight awardees to be recognized for outstanding transportation planning shows that this project is unique not only to the communities it serves, but stands out as a national model of excellence. I thank Governor Cuomo and our partners in Vermont and the federal government for helping make this project happen.”

The new Lake Champlain Bridge is a steel structure with an arch along the center span. Key bridge components are designed to be easily replaceable to reduce maintenance costs. Travel lanes are 11 feet wide, with five-foot shoulders that help accommodate larger trucks and farm vehicles, as well as provide ample room for bicyclists. Sidewalks are featured on both sides of the bridge.

The new bridge was built at the same location as the previous structure to minimize historic and environmental impacts on the surrounding area. The land adjacent to the bridge on both sides of the lake is historically sensitive, with Native American, French and Indian War and Revolutionary War artifacts buried deep along the shores of Lake Champlain. The ruins of 18th century forts – the French Fort St. Frederic and British Crown Point – sit on the New York side of the bridge. A program to commemorate the historic former bridge is now under way.

Before construction, extensive public meetings were held to help determine what the community wanted from a new bridge, where to best locate the new bridge and what type of bridge should be built.

Construction began in June 2010 after the old structure was demolished in December 2009. New York and Vermont worked closely with the United States Department of Transportation and other federal and state agencies. Together, they efficiently led a replacement project through significant review processes and necessary oversights required to guarantee that a safe new structure could be delivered to the community in record time. Overall, a project that was initially expected to be completed by 2017 was finished in late 2011.

The bridge provides a vital link between the states, with residents relying on it to get to employment and medical care, farmers relying on it to access crops, and many small businesses relying on it to carry residents and visitors for shopping and dining opportunities. Without the bridge, the detour was approximately 80 miles long and took about two hours to travel.

Nominations for the award were reviewed by an independent panel of judges, who selected winners based on community and public involvement; innovative approaches to completion; context sensitive solutions to enhance the community and natural environment; collaboration with other public or private entities; and long-term benefits of the project.

Nominees could be individuals or organizations that used federal funding to develop a plan, project or planning process that demonstrated excellence in planning. The $76 million Lake Champlain Bridge project was 80 percent federally funded.

The Transportation Planning Excellence Awards is a biennial awards program developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and co-sponsored by the American Planning Association and the Transportation Research Board.