Photograph courtesy of Virginia DOT
The task of including the lanes to I-81 close to Bristol will final till 2025.
When the Virginia Division of Transportation (VDOT) started learning the numbers on I-81 within the Bristol discipline, the belief gave the impression evident. With greater than 50,000 cars touring between exits 7 and 10, visitors used to be backing up. Congestion reduction used to be wanted. Including a 3rd southbound lane used to be the most obvious answer.
As VDOT’s design staff dug into the ideas, they discovered that including a 3rd southbound lane would lend a hand alleviate that congestion and enhance protection. As designers sketched out the venture, they got here to a contented discovery. Via carving the brand new lane out of the median, the development staff additionally may just upload a 3rd northbound lane for one mile at a discounted value.
Photograph courtesy of Virginia DOT
Gene Holley is the I-81 Hall Development Program (CIP) coordinator of VDOT’s Bristol District and Dave Covington is the VDOT I-81 program supply director. Covington is liable for CIP tasks alongside all of the 325-mi. swath of I-81 that runs from the state’s northern border to its southwest nook. Ahead of the Bristol-area widening, Covington’s staff took on a number of smaller tasks together with interchange ramp extensions and operational enhancements.
“3 truck mountain climbing lane tasks — one finished close to Seven Mile Ford and two below building close to Chilhowie — will supply passenger cars a more secure discipline to go slower shifting vehicles alongside the mountainous terrain,” mentioned Covington. “VDOT additionally built further virtual message indicators alongside the hall. Those virtual message indicators lend a hand alert drivers to imminent visitors prerequisites and lend a hand them be ready.”
VDOT additionally advanced a corridor-wide transportation control plan steering file to lend a hand standardize how venture paintings zones are designed. Covington mentioned this makes drivers really feel extra comfy when encountering more than one paintings zones alongside the hall, improving protection.
Crashes alongside I-81 on this discipline have been a priority. The task of including the lanes will final till 2025 and can value roughly $40 million.
“Development the brand new lanes within the median created demanding situations,” mentioned Holley. “Particularly with cars getting into and exiting into the visitors to ship subject matter. However getting the additional northbound lane incorporated for minimum value used to be an enormous win.”
Bridge Building
Every other problem for the developers used to be reconstructing the southbound I-81 bridge over Previous Dominion Highway.
“The bridge used to be small however advanced to widen,” mentioned Holley. “Development a precast construction solved probably the most problems and equipped a sooner building time. We additionally added a short lived visitors sign at Previous Dominion Highway to lend a hand supply get right of entry to and take care of protection.”
Photograph courtesy of Virginia DOT
The fabricator used to be simply two miles away. The use of the precast bridge enabled the development staff to keep get right of entry to to a subdivision right through building. Citizens had been in a position to get out and in by the use of single-lane get right of entry to. The brand new bridge will likely be roughly 22 feet. wider than the outdated one and can higher accommodate 3 southbound trip lanes.
Crossroads Bridge of Rural Retreat, Va., is development the bridge whilst W-L Building and Paving of Chilhowie, Va., is the overall contractor for the task.
Employees from the W-L staff needed to dig out roughly 36 in. of subject matter prior to starting to construct the brand new lanes. The venture would require roughly 55,000 lots of dust and clay to be got rid of then stuffed with no less than 12 in. of stone and dense-graded combination. The brand new lanes will likely be 14 in. thick and constructed with 42,000 lots of asphalt.
The asphalt will likely be produced at W-L’s plant, positioned simply 10 miles from the development web site with the combination coming back from quarries roughly 10 miles away.
“We all the time attempt to use recycled asphalt when we will be able to,” mentioned Jess Norman, venture director of W-L Building. “What we mill off a highway we will be able to use within the new pavement. We got the approval to make use of between 20 and 25 p.c recycled asphalt in this venture.”
Including Sound Wall
The development staff additionally will construct just about 2,000 linear feet. of sound wall on each the north and southbound lanes. The panels will likely be concrete and be constructed at the outdoor shoulder to defend citizens from the highway noise.
The development staff is needed to take care of two lanes of visitors right through common hours. Employees will tighten visitors to 1 lane right through sure sessions of night-time paving. This will likely be required because the I-81 bridge over Previous Dominion Highway is being rebuilt whilst accommodating lively visitors.
Photograph courtesy of Virginia DOT
Even though development the brand new lanes within the median has ended in some value financial savings, the method has required ingenuity in each design and building.
“The staff will pave the entire solution to the concrete median barrier wall, which can separate the northbound and southbound visitors,” mentioned Norman. “We can nonetheless have room for a 10-foot shoulder for every lane.”
The tight areas led the development staff to herald a barrier wall drilling system. The apparatus rests on most sensible of the barrier wall and drills holes in the course of the wall and into the pavement construction. The software securely pins the partitions into position, a process that was once achieved in large part through hand.
Along with being an enduring barrier wall, the construction will function a part of the typhoon drain gadget. Water will drain via inlets within the wall right into a gadget of pipes beneath the freeway and into stormwater drains. The W-L staff is development two new stormwater control basins as a part of the venture.
The development staff plans to finish probably the most lanes through the tip of this 12 months, with all of the venture slated to be completed through the tip of 2025. It is a just right are compatible with VDOT’s plan to proceed to improve the I-81 hall easing congestion and making improvements to protection. CEG
Chuck MacDonald
Chuck MacDonald is an editor, blogger and freelance characteristic creator whose writing adventures have taken him to 48 states and 10 international locations. He has been the editor for magazines on pavement building, chemical substances, insurance coverage and missions. Chuck enjoys bicycling, kayaking and studying. He graduated from the College of Missouri with a point in journalism. Chuck lives in Annapolis, Md. together with his spouse Kristen. They have got seven grandchildren.
