LARGE PROJECT OF THE YEAR LARGE PROJECT OF THE YEAR UDOT – MID VALLEY HIGHWAY UDOT REGION 3 – SR-44 (MP 0 TO 14) NOMINEE NOMINEE The Midvalley Highway involved 4.5 miles of roadway. The project included a new two-lane freeway, a new interchange at I-80, and a direct connection to SR-138 in the Tooele Valley. The Midvalley Highway was a greenfield project. Due to the unique salty marsh ground in the area, over 1,000,000 tons of borrow material were trucked onto the project, and 220,000 cubic yards of material were brought onto the project to surcharge the structure areas. Since some areas settled as much as 30%, it was necessary midproject to construct the two bridges, the interchange at I-80, and a cattle crossing. The Midvalley Highway provides direct access to I-80 for those in western Tooele County and is expected to remove 15-20% of the traffic from SR-36 in the Lake Point area. That traffic reduction is equivalent to 6,000 to 8,000 vehicles per day. The traffic reduction is also expected to reduce delays southbound on SR-36 by 70%. The project was completed during the pandemic challenges without force majeure and was delivered on time and under budget. 3 The project location was on SR-44 between the SR-191 Greendale Junction and FR-094. Work was performed by Staker Parson Materials & Construction, UDOT, Wall Consultant Group, CIVCO Engineering, Jones & DeMille Engineering, and Coughlin Company. The cracked roadway was rough, and the asphalt was thin (1.5-inches to 5-inches). Budget constraints meant the asphalt could not be removed and replaced with a 4.5-inch overlay. The team used a profile mill with a maximum depth of 1-inch to improve smoothness. The team applied a scrub seal to help fill the cracks and used a spray paver to apply a 2-inch SMA overlay. They laid 35,665 tons of asphalt. This project was Coughlin Company’s first project using Lidar and Topcon software to analyze, design, and grind the pavement surface to improve both profile and crossslope at the same time. It was also the first project to use a spray paver for Burdick Materials. Crew challenges included learning the process, cleaning the paver more than usual, and maintaining a consistent paving speed. Since belly dumps were not allowed, Burdick Material used live bottom dumps and end dumps. Live bottom dumps and end dumps provided a cleaner project with less tracking and asphalt chunks off the project. Starts and stops had less effect on the smoothness because the spray paver is heavier than standard pavers. The section’s smoothness was improved from an initial MRI of 165 to a final MRI of 58.5. According to projects and studies from the Midwest, underseals and spray-paver-applied overlays reduce cracking, improve impermeability, have longer than typical service life, and lower life cycle costs. This project should last longer and perform better than a standard mill and overlay for less overall life cycle cost. 3 34
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