VAA Virginia Asphalt Spring/Summer 2022

VAASPHALT.ORG 23 The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel (CBBT) District initiated a multi-year paving project to repave the facility from the south toll plaza to the north toll plaza, both northbound and southbound. Allan Myers secured the winning bid for the project. The goal: an asphalt surface with a 20-year lifespan placed on this unique bridge-tunnel system. The success of the project was recently highlighted by the Virginia Asphalt Association awarding it the Virginia Best Roadway award and the Golden Lute award, which is the highest honor a project can achieve in Virginia. What makes this project unique is that all milling and paving operations occurred roughly 35 feet above the Chesapeake Bay. Work was done in single lane closure configurations over the original 75-foot concrete trestle built in the 1960s and the new 300-foot trestles were completed and opened to traffic in April 1999. Once Allan Myers was awarded the contract, the team immediately developed detailed safety plans for approval by the CBBT District. Highway work is always dangerous, but working on a bridge deck with no place for traffic or crews to escape in the event of an incident brought a new focus to safety. When the time came for Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) setups and protection, nothing was left to chance. Additional signage was posted along with new barrels and cones for added visibility. A fleet of attenuator trucks was used to protect every operation in the work zones, and the CBBT police increased patrols as well. Myers developed specific routes for crews to access and egress the work zones and created staging areas for personal vehicles and equipment. The team used 24-hour MOT patrols when multiple closures on multiple trestles were required to allow for milling and paving operations along with cleanup operations, concrete deck repairs and joint repairs and installs. Allan Myers’s safety motto “Home Safe Tonight” was taken to new levels to ensure all workers went home safe each night. Trestle C southbound after milling and cleanup, ready to be tacked and edges sealed. You can see the drain outlets that had to be sealed with foam backing to prevent material from leaving the deck. A RIBBON OF BLACK: PAVING THE CBBT continues on page 24 △ Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District.

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