Georgia Department of Transportation

Paving the wayInterstate 95 through Georgia is one of the stateÔÇÖs busiest highways, a well-worn path to the Sunshine State for travelers from the Northeast. Keith Regan learns how the Georgia Department of Transportation is paving the way for growth with an ambitious widening program. As it winds its way from Maine to Florida, Interstate 95 travels 112 miles through the state of Georgia. One of the stateÔÇÖs two major north-south thoroughfares, the highway is a key economic link for the state and its neighbors. To build the capacity the road is projected to need over the next two decades, the state embarked on a sweeping expansion plan for the highway. That work is now focused squarely on the southern part of the state, where a total of five projects are now under way. Once completed, the project will widen a significant portion of the road from four lanes to six, along with ample shoulder and expansion area to take the highway to eight lanes in the future with minimal design expense. The total project carries a price tag of $650 million. The centerpiece of the five projects is a section through Glynn County that includes a crossing of the Turtle River. In all, eight bridges will be widened as part of the $200 million section of the project, according to area engineer Bryan Czech. That part of the project is unique for several reasons, Czech says. When it was bid, it was the largest single highway widening project in the stateÔÇÖs history. The cost was driven largely by the complexity of the bridge structures that needed to be upgraded, with several different types of construction design used based on the amount of tidal power and other impacts the bridges faced. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs a very well-rounded project that took a lot of different approaches and designs to make it work,ÔÇØ Czech says. ÔÇ£The Turtle River Bridge itself takes a serious scouring from the tides going in and out and therefore was designed to utilize wet shafts for its foundations. Then there are other bridges on the project that are simple spans with concrete pilings, as well as continuous-span bridges that cross over other highway and railroad traffic.ÔÇØ After the Department of Transportation did preliminary engineering and the general project planÔÇöincluding securing permits from environmental regulatorsÔÇöTidewater Skanska won the contract to construct the phase, with the DOT continuing to provide engineering and inspection services. The project, like many large-scale, long-term public works undertakings, has been buffeted by the rapidly rising price of raw materials. Oil price spikes drive up the cost of asphalt, and demand pressures have driven up concrete pricesÔÇöthe sections being widened include both surfaces. Although the DOT has begun to negotiate contracts with built-in indexing allowances that enable contractors to pass on such increases, the Turtle River section was bid before that policy was in place. ÔÇ£The costs have definitely spiked since this phase of the project began. Because there was no escalator built in, the contractor has had to deal with it as best it can,ÔÇØ Czech says, noting that many are able to lock in prices from their own suppliers when they have locked in a large project. ÔÇ£The volume of work can help them secure better pricing at times.ÔÇØThe DOT keeps close tabs on contractors and uses contract incentives and payment triggers to ensure that work moves ahead as scheduled, Czech says. ÔÇ£We monitor very closely and track progress against the overall schedule. WeÔÇÖre able to identify pretty quickly if a project is falling behind and try to see what can be done to get it back on track when that happens.ÔÇØ The Turtle River part of the project is slated to be completed late in 2009. The DOT is also moving to use technology to simplify the processing of paymentsÔÇöand, as a result, dramatically reduce the time it gets for those payments to be made to contractors. Known as construction submittal interface (CSI), the Web-based system eliminates a cumbersome manual process. ÔÇ£We used to have to fill out all the construction reports by hand on a hard-paper copy that I would sign, and then someone would send it through mail to Atlanta, where it would all get punched into the computer manually,ÔÇØ Czech says. ÔÇ£It was a lot of work, and it would take 15 to 30 days to process an invoice. Now it gets entered into the Web from the beginning, and the contractors get their check within 10 days. They really appreciate that, and it helps keep them satisfied in working with us.ÔÇØ The Department leverages technology in other ways as well, including using GPS to monitor paving operations and laser levels to ensure pavement is being applied appropriately. The next logical technological step will be for the Department to adopt Microsoft Project or a similar project management platform, with early training and planning work under way. ÔÇ£A lot of our contractors already use these tools, so it would be another way to improve that interaction and simplify how we track the many moving pieces of each project we undertake,ÔÇØ Czech notes. Czech credits his project manager on the Turtle River section, Jeffrey Moody, with helping to keep tabs on the work. Since Czech and his fellow area engineer, Larry Barnes, have five projects going on at once, having a capable project manager and team on the ground is critical, he adds. ÔÇ£HeÔÇÖs very instrumental in making sure this whole thing works, which allows us back in the office to watch all five projects from afar and see the bigger picture. Mr. Moody is an excellent leader. He is very hands-on and organized on his highly complex project, and thatÔÇÖs a monumental task to achieve.ÔÇØIn fact, Czech says the entire Department takes pride in the condition of its roadways, which has helped Georgia win recognition for having the best-maintained roadways in the Southeast. ÔÇ£Our employees take pride in their work, and it gets passed on to the contractors as well,ÔÇØ he says. ÔÇ£Everyone here is proud to be a part of the Georgia DOT, and we do our jobs in a way that shows it.ÔÇØ┬á