RECONSTRUCTION OF NORTHERN STATE PARKWAY AND ROUTE 110 INTERCHANGE

This paper will present the historical background, construction complexities and how they were addressed for reconstruction of a major interchange in Suffolk County, New York, the largest construction project in the Region. 1 Historical Background “Construction of the Northern State Parkway began in July 1931 at a ceremony held at the Queens-Nassau border, jointly attended by Robert Moses and Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. The first section of parkway was completed in 1933. The route of the Northern State Parkway was extended 1934. The standard configuration of the route, was a 44-foot, undivided pavement of four lanes with two in each direction. Mountable concrete curbs edged the turf shoulders that blended into cut slopes. To permit adequate sight distances on curves, graceful coves of lawn were either cut into existing woods or created by planting. Indigenous vegetation (except for the red dogwood, a favorite of Moses), accented the lawn areas. The parkway's design took advantage of the rolling hills that marked the southern end of the glacial moraine. Between 1936 and 1938, the Northern State Parkway was extended to the Wantagh State Parkway (Exit 33) in Westbury. This section was the beneficiary of changes in the parkway design of earlier years. This stretch of the Northern State Parkway, which introduced a nine-foot-wide grass median that separated the opposing roadways, set the design standard for the construction of future parkways on Long Island. The new Northern State Parkway design, which featured two 25-foot-wide, two-lane roadways separated by a variable median measuring as wide as 30 feet, was implemented through eastern Nassau County and western Suffolk County. Utilizing this design, the parkway was extended east to Exit 40 (NY 110) in 1949. Unlike previous sections of the Northern State Parkway, which were designed with a single centerline for the alignment and profile of the roadway, the newer parkway section was designed with two individual roadways separated by a median varying in width from nine to more than fifty feet. The design speed was 75 MPH, which provided superior sight distance across horizontal and vertical curves at an operating speed of 50 MPH. Other design standards, such as 12-foot vertical clearances, wider shoulders, more generous curve and ramp radii, and longer acceleration and deceleration lanes, reflected the more contemporary design standards mandated for roads receiving Federal-aid highway money. In Melville, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) planned and designed Exit 40 (NY 110) to address safety and capacity issues. The outmoded cloverleaf interchange was replaced with a five-ramp, modified "diamond" interchange. 2 Reconstruction of Northern State Parkway and Route 110 Interchange Reconstruction of Northern State Parkway and the Route 110 Interchange required replacement of a 70 year old rigid frame bridge carrying Northern State Parkway (NSP) over New York Route 110, two very heavily travelled arterials; the reconfiguration of the NSP/ Rte. 110 interchange from a cloverleaf interchange to a modified diamond interchange; the widening of Route 110 from two lanes to three lanes in each direction; and the improvement of the Route 110 intersection with Old Country Road. Additional work included utility relocation, lighting, drainage and construction of new recharge basins. Work zone traffic control (WZTC) was accomplished utilizing daytime and nighttime lane closures and off-site detours. Standard WZTC layouts following the federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Control (MUTCD) and NY Supplement were required for safety of the traveling public and workers. Field staff worked days, nights and weekends. Inspection services for the project were needed to ensure the quality of the contractor’s work, and to ensure its accordance with contract plans and specifications. Services included detailed inspection, on-site testing of materials, field measurements and data collection for submitting monthly and final construction estimates, progress reports and preparation of record plans. The JV kept project records and documentation in accordance with MURK, applied “Site Manager” software, prepared the RE’s diary describing work progress, problems and resolution. Field staff proactively helped to achieve timely completion by monitoring the adequacy of the contractor’s personnel, equipment, material supplies and CPM schedule. 3 The Project Team The project owner is New York State Department of Transportation. The Department’s designer was GPI. The prime contractor was Grace Industries. HAKS Engineers and GEB Engineers, P.C., formed a joint venture (JV) for Contract D030921, CI PIN 0516.41, Construction Inspection Services at Northern State Parkway Interchange with Route 110 Suffolk County, NYSDOT Region 10. The JV Team included: DBE sub-consultants CSM Engineering, P.C., Affridi Associates and JED Engineering, P.C.. 4 Original or Innovative Application of New or Existing Technology 4.1 Value Engineering “Value Engineering can be defined as an organized approach to the identification and elimination of unnecessary cost”. Source: Value Engineering Definition and Concept, Construction Information Services, Misronet.com The Contractor, Grace Industries, submitted a plan and later, a design to construct a temporary bridge to take both east and west bound traffic, demolish the existing bridge in its entirety, construct the proposed bridge in one stage of construction rather than multiple stages. The plan was analyzed and accepted, with cost savings shared between the contractor and the owner. Approximately seven (7) months were saved. The work was accomplished and stake holders benefitted. In order to accomplish this they proposed to construct a temporary bypass road utilizing Mabey Bridges over Route 110 in order to detour traffic off of the existing Northern State Parkway. 4.2 Major benefits of this plan: • Schedule: This VE plan avoids schedule delays caused by the late Contract award and put the Contract back on its originally scheduled completion date of December 31, 2013. This represented a savings of 8 months. • Quality: The VE plan improved the integrity of the bridge structure by reducing unnecessary longitudinal joints in the superstructure. • Safety: The bypass road allowed the contractor to create a buffer zone separating the travelling public from demolition and construction of the new NSP Bridge thus improving safety to both the public and work crews. This eliminated Stage 2 work that placed construction between the EB & WB lanes. • Value: This VE plan included construction of an earth berm along the boundary line with a cemetery on the southwest corner of the project in the area coincident with Temporary east side ramp and acted as a buffer from Northern State Parkway traffic in lieu of a possible future noise wall. • Cost: The VE plan avoided potential additional cost exposures in the future by avoiding a stage 4 median work zone to install the permanent median barrier retaining walls on NSP. 4.2 Challenges were: • Horizontal and Vertical Alignments – A separate alignment for both eastbound and westbound was required. • Sight distance requirements – Work zone advisory speed limit posted at 40 MPH • Transition from the bridge guiderail to the concrete barrier- Custom-built concrete transition barrier was required 5. Social, Economical and Sustainable Design Considerations 5.1 GreenLITES Certification Levels • Green Leadership In Transportation Environmental Sustainability • Certification level based on total points received. The highest certification goes to designs and operations which clearly advance the state of sustainable transportation solutions. In April 2011, PIN 0516.41 was awarded Evergreen Rating, the highest level of sustainability The Reconstruction of Northern State Parkway over Route 110 interchange project promoted local economic development. Local subcontractors and labor were utilized when possible. This had a positive effect on the local economy, the citizens and other industries not directly associated with the construction work through the natural recirculation of money for purchases and sales taxes. 6. Complexity 6.1 Excavation & Backfill: An extraordinary amount of excavation and backfill was required while concurrently not affecting the existing residential and commercial properties • Unclassified Excavation and Disposal - 130,000 CM • Embankment in Place - 125,000 CM • Selected and Structure Fill - 12,000 CM • Trench and Culvert Excavation 30,000 CM 6.2 Erosion Control The area required for erosion control was quite large. Water flow during flood events required greater control than existed prior to reconstruction. Over 120 acres in the construction area were successfully maintained with erosion control measures that included erosion control blankets, sediment basins, turbidity curtains, silt fences and stone check dams. 6.3 Drainage New and modified drainage systems were installed to improve the quality of storm water runoff. In addition, approximately 100 temporary drainage structures and leaching basins were installed to maintain storm water runoff between stages and to overcome differences in road elevation between east and west bound traffic. To reduce the impact of construction, drainage work requiring lane closures were performed at night. Access to businesses was maintained throughout construction • New Drainage structures, Catch Basins 160 • Temporary drainage Structures 100 • Leaching Basins 30 • Manholes 25 6.4 Demolition The existing concrete rigid frame structure was removed once the temporary detour was opened to traffic. The concrete arch was removed by closing Route 110 to traffic during a weekend closure in order to break up the frame in place and let it fall below. The concrete rigid frame was removed using multiple large crawler excavators (Komatsu PC300, Komatsu PC 400, etc.) equipped with a Labounty pulverizer shear or HY-Ram HR500 hydraulic hammer to break up the structure which was then allowed to fall below the structure. The area beneath the structure was restricted to all personnel during the demolition operation. Protective devices were provided as required to restrict access. The contractor complied with all OSHA Fall Protection regulations and requirements. 6.5 Superstructure Twenty six (26) new pre-stressed concrete girders (AASHTO Type V) are 5’-3” (1.605m) tall and are either 90 ‘ or 115’ long depending on span width. They were erected using a Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 600 Ton Hydraulic Truck Crane positioned on-grade. The beams were fabricated at Precast System Inc, Allentown NJ. • (11) Interior Beams- 90 feet long 50T • (11) Interior Beams – 115 feet long 63T • (2) Fascia Beams – 90 feet long 73T • (2) Fascia Beams – 115 feet long 93T 6.5.1 Beam Delivery: An extraordinary coordination effort was vital to delivery of beams to the job site. MTA Bridge Engineers-TBTA denied access to the Throgs Neck Bridge. NYSDOT Region 11 denied access to Cross Bronx Expressway (Truck Route). There was no other choice except to go through local NYC streets. “Special Permit Vehicles” were needed by NYCDOT. The contractor needed the following approvals before NYCDOT could issue the permit: • NYSDOT Bridge Engineers • NYCDOT Bridge Engineers • NYCDOT Highway Design • PA Bridge Engineers • MTA Bridge Engineers • NYPD Motor Carrier unit A full coordination effort was undertaken with all agencies. A comprehensive geometric and field survey was conducted by a licensed Engineer to ensure that the route geometry would allow passage and safe, feasible turning movements. The condition of the existing roads (no sinkholes or depressions) through local streets within the designated routes was evaluated. The NYPD Motor Carrier unit stipulated that police escorts were required throughout NYC streets. NYS Police provided escort through Nassau’s County Streets. The project was delayed approximately 6 weeks to coordinate these efforts. Transport Vehicle: Oversized /Heavy haul axel tractor Trailers- (150’-5” length, 8’-6” Width, 12’-0” Height and 236,000 Ibs) Police Escorts: 15 NYC Police cruisers – 3 Tow trucks- 5 NYS Police cars Route: Start: George Washington Bridge (New Jersey) Destination: Nassau, NY110- Melville NY Allentown, NJ NJ-I 95-George Washington Bridge – 178th Street-Amsterdam – 125th Street - 125th Street Bridge – RFK Bridge (Triborough) – Hoyt Ave – I 278 Truck – I 278 – Ex 40 – Broadway – Queens Blvd (Inner Roadway) – Queens Blvd Outer Roadway under I 495 – Queens Blvd Inner Roadway after I 495 – Queens Blvd – Hillside Ave – SR 25 B- NY110 7. Bridge Erection Twenty-six (26) pre-stressed concrete girders (AASHTO Type V) superstructure were erected using a Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 600 Ton Hydraulic Truck Crane. The crane was equipped with 135,000 kg (297,500LBS) counterweight and 247 M ton (272ton) capacity. Main Hook Block weighed 3,493 Kg (7,700 LBS). Boom was guyed and extended to 50M (164FT). Main hook block reeved with 8 parts load line. All rigging hardware including shackles, hooks, etc. had a minimum safety factor of 5:1. All hoisting was performed during traffic shutdowns of NY Route 110. 8. Exceeding Client/Owner Needs: Engaging all parties with informal partnering achieved a successful project wherein the owner, designer, resident engineer, and contractor resolved issues for the benefit of the project. One example was when the Contractor made the value engineering suggestion and the owner accepted it. 9. Final Cost Compared to the Budget Estimate This contract was completed for $ 56 million, well within the owner’s original budget. Books Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker by Vintage Books-Random House (1974); New York State Department of Transportation History of the Long Island State Parkway System, (1985).