Allan A. Myers recently won the Award of Excellence by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) for work performed on Interstate 81, a north-south route between Tennessee and the Canadian border at Watertown, New York. This project also won the Mid-Atlantic Construction Best of 2006 Award in the Highway Category. Our work took place in Lebanon County, PA, and included the complete reconstruction of approximately nine miles of four-lane roadway and shoulders, full reconstruction of two interchanges, the demolition and reconstruction of numerous bridges, and asphalt paving. |
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Work began on the project in October of 2003 and took over two years to complete.
Unique conditions required innovative solutions. Among them was a new soil stabilization technique. Soil stabilization reduces or eliminates the need for over-excavation and backfill where unsuitable soil is present. A special mixture of lime, fly ash and water, when introduced to unstable soil, transforms it into suitable material. As a result of its success on this project, the process has been indicated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for use on other projects in the state. The DOT also approved three new concrete mix designs for bridge deck construction.
Building the twin, 1000-ft. Swatara Creek bridges required that old decks and piers be demolished and reconstructed at approximately 100 ft. above the creek. A stone causeway was constructed to decrease the width of the creek and allow for a temporary bridge to hold the large crawler cranes required to perform the work. Rigid schedule parameters meant that constant coordination of labor and equipmentresources for all parts
of the project was necessary. The whole job, including eight miles of roadway drainage systems, all lighting, concrete barriers, guide rail and signage was delivered to the DOT on time and with zero lost-time accidents. |
