CONCRETE PAVEMENT PROGRESS 8 WWW.ACPA.ORG Project Profile: I-70 Indianapolis Silver Linings from COVID Shutdown: Total Interstate Closure Accelerates Construction, Brings Increased Scope of Work By Sheryl S. Jackson Closing one or more lanes on any road is disruptive to travelers and businesses, but when a road’s traffic volume typically exceeds 170,000 vehicles each day, closures of any length of time are only made when necessary for repair and maintenance. However, COVID and the associated changes in business openings, remote workforces, and cancellation or delay of major events, including the Indianapolis 500, provided an opening that the Indianapolis Department of Transportation (INDOT) and contractors could not have predicted. The 40 percent decrease in traffic allowed INDOT to shut down a 6-mile section of I-70 for a repair project in Indianapolis. The highway was shut down completely from I-465 to the I-65/I-70 North split, and traffic was rerouted to alternate roads on April 13, 2020. The section re-opened prior to Memorial Day. “We proposed the closure and acceleration of the project start date in a meeting with INDOT because the construction industry was allowed to continue working,” explains Terry Burris, Concrete Division General Superintendent for Milestone Contractors LP. Each direction of traffic was closed in 30-day increments, allowing construction to proceed more quickly and safely. The full closure also allowed a closer inspection of the pavement, and the project grew from 17,163 square yards of full-depth PCCP patching and 111,761 square feet of partial-depth joint repair as bid, to more than 30,600 square yards of fulldepth PCCP patching and 180,400 square feet of partial-depth joint repair. The scope increased by 78 percent for full depth and 61 percent for partial depth repairs. “Closing the highway to traffic on the segment inside I-465 reduced two or three months’ worth of
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzc3ODM=