1. business and industrial
2. construction

Safe & Sound
An HNTB Publication Number 94 — 2010
A look at Missouri’s innovative
design-build bridge program
Florida is on track to realize its vision for a high-speed rail system by 2015
Innovative lift retrofits 75-year-old Huey P. Long Bridge with widening truss panels
Nation’s first system of managed lanes works to preserve mobility in Atlanta
HNTB is a professional firm
of engineers, architects and
planners providing planning,
design, management and
consulting services.
hntb.com
OPENING
PERSPECTIVE
Ken Graham
Chief Executive Officer
HNTB Infrastructure
If there is one need as great as establishing a sustainable surface transportation funding
source, it is the need for innovative solutions to help agencies cope until such funding
comes through. The use of alternative delivery methods is one of those solutions, offering
organizations a wide range of options for bidding, contracting, financing and designing large
infrastructure projects.
Matching projects with the most efficient and effective method of delivery is critical to
success, and many organizations are turning to design-build — one of the fastest, most
creative ways to deliver large, complex projects today:
•Thirty states have authorized design-build for transportation procurement.
•This year, its use in U.S. non-residential construction is expected to equal traditional
design-bid-build use and, in the coming years, surpass it.
•By overlapping the design, permit and construction phases,
design-build can shorten timelines by one-third and reduce
costs by 6 to 10 percent.
Groundbreaking projects, such as the Missouri Department of
Transportation’s Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program,
are shining examples of design-build’s effectiveness. In just
five years, MoDOT will have rebuilt 554 of its worst bridges in
the nation’s first design-build system improvement project.
design-build project
delivery is one of the
fastest, most creative ways
to deliver large, complex
projects today.
As Safe & Sound’s design engineer, HNTB developed universal
design standards for the massive project, rather than
designing each span individually. In addition, a mass production strategy was implemented,
dividing the design process into three phases and assigning a team to each phase. Each team
performed the same work repeatedly, creating efficiencies and speed.
Using the design-build model, MoDOT will reduce the program’s price tag by millions of
dollars and minimize public inconvenience by limiting bridge closures to 45 days.
Today’s transportation agencies must be ultra-efficient in their operations, stretching their
dollars further than ever before. Alternative methods of delivery, including design-build, offer
need-it-now solutions that can help agencies accelerate project delivery, produce sweeping,
statewide improvements while saving time, money and resources in the process.
The HNTB Companies
(800) 693-HNTB (4682)
HNTB Offices
Arlington, VA
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Baton Rouge, LA
Biloxi, MS
Boston, MA
Brownsville, TX
Charleston, WV
Charlotte, NC
Chelmsford, MA
Chicago, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Downers Grove, IL
El Paso, TX
Hagatña, Guam
Harrisburg, PA
Hartford, CT
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Kansas City, MO
Lake Mary, FL
Lansing, MI
Los Angeles, CA
Louisville, KY
Madison, WI
Miami, FL
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
New Orleans, LA
New York, NY
Newark, NJ
Oakland, CA
Omaha, NE
Orange County, CA
Overland Park, KS
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, ME
Portland, OR
Raleigh, NC
Sacramento, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
Seattle, WA
St. Louis, MO
Tampa, FL
Wayne, NJ
DESIGNER is an HNTB publication
and is published by the Corporate
Communications and Brand Stewardship
Department of the HNTB Companies,
P.O. Box 412197, Kansas City, MO 64141.
Patricia Mosher, vice president
[email protected]
Susan Rhode, editor
[email protected]
To change your address or be added or
removed from the Designer mailing list,
send your request to [email protected].
XX%
Cert no. XXX-XXX-XXXX
We are proud to print this publication entirely
on Forest Stewardship Council™-certified paper.
FSC® certification ensures that the paper used for
this publication contains fiber from well-managed
and responsibly harvested forests that meet strict
environmental and socioeconomic standards.
E Recycled with 30% post-consumer waste.
HNTB is an equal opportunity employer M/F/V/D.
© 2010 HNTB Companies.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part without written permission is prohibited.
Page 02
04
>>Contents
08
>>Safe & sound 04
The Missouri Department of Transportation is relying on an
innovative standardization process and design-build delivery
to replace 554 bridges throughout the state.
>>Lane change 08
More than two years in the making, the Georgia Department of
Transportation’s system of managed lanes provides a first-of-itskind solution to metro Atlanta’s mounting mobility challenges.
>>A mighty lift 12
An innovative span-by-span erection method is used to widen
New Orleans’ Huey P. Long Bridge, increasing traffic capacity
and safety with minimal closures to car and rail traffic.
12
>>Moving at high speed 16
The first of 11 federally designated U.S. high-speed rail corridors
could be operational in Florida by 2015.
>>Room to fly 20
Redmond, Ore.’s, new, airline-friendly municipal airport proves
that building green can reduce long-term maintenance costs
without sacrificing quality.
>>2010 ACEC awards 22
22
16
The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in Omaha, Neb., was one
of three HNTB projects honored in the American Council of
Engineering Companies annual awards program.
>>Our transportation bill of health 23
Our industry must work together now to develop a long-term,
well-funded, sustainable transportation plan that will support
our country’s needs in the future.
On the Cover: The Missouri Department of Transportation
is replacing more than 550 bridges statewide as part of the
Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program, using design-build
delivery and an innovative management approach to deliver
projects with greater speed and efficiency.
20
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Page 03
A majority of the bridges slated for replacement in the Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program are on
county roads in rural areas across Missouri. Design-build delivery allows the project team to design and
construct new bridges with an average closure time of just 45 days, minimizing disruption to local traffic.
Page 04
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Safe & Sound
A mass replacement of Missouri’s deficient bridges fosters the
nation’s first design-build system improvement project
spokesman Kent Grisham. “Instead of 554 bid-build packages,
Even in a so-called mega transportation project, designers and
MoDOT could let the design-build project as one, allowing us to
contractors have the luxury of working on a single site, albeit an
start construction while design was in process and accelerating the
immense one. When the Missouri Department of Transportation
time from design to project delivery. The faster MoDOT can get the
initiated its Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program, however,
bridges rebuilt, the fewer dollars they’ll spend on maintenance and
the 802 structures identified for rehabilitation or replacement were
the less time people will spend in detours around construction.”
dispersed in mostly rural locations in all 114 counties throughout
MoDOT identified the remaining 248 bridges as needing only
the state, creating a mega project comprised of far-flung, smaller
rehabilitation and proceeded with a modified design-bid-build
projects. Speed was a top priority and teamwork and innovative
process grouping the projects by type, size and location to accelerate
management would be critical to the program’s success.
completion. These projects
MoDOT announced the project
were processed through regular
in fall 2006, but when the economy
Washington
monthly lettings and more than
faltered, the agency scrubbed its
half of them have been completed.
design-build-finance-maintain
approach, which was deemed
unaffordable. It re-launched the
Standardizing
Bridge Design-Build Project
for speed
program in September 2008,
awarding a $487 million design-build
To
tackle the enormous project,
Oregon
contract in May 2009 for replacement
HNTB and The LPA Group,
113 counties
of 554 bridges to KTU Constructors,
KTU’s design subcontractors,
147 feet average bridge length
a joint venture of Kiewit Western (a
planned to develop project
28 feet average bridge width
subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation),
standards in mid-2009, taking
66
years
average
bridge
age
Traylor Brothers and United
the predominantly rural
207 cored slab bridges
Contractors.
bridges’ distinct designs and
The design-build model not only
standardizing them in 10-degree
31 spread core slab bridges
reduced the project price, but also
skew increments up to a 40-degree
193 box beam bridges
allowed MoDOT to minimize
skew, in five-foot increments,
66 spread box beam bridges
public inconvenience by accelerating
rather than designing each span
37 steel girder bridges
construction and limiting bridge
individually.
15 box culverts
closures to just 45 days, on average.
“Our intent was to develop the
5 flat slab bridges
“Using a design-build approach,
standardized designs as a design
600 standards sheets
MoDOT is getting the project built
build team and review them
45-day average bridge closure
more quickly than a typical bidwith MoDOT as we went along,”
build project would allow,” said KTU
said Jim Peterson, HNTB design
Safe & Sound
By the numbers
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
“Using the design-build
process for a system
improvement project is
highly innovative. The
Additional Applicable
Standards process,
whereby competing
teams were allowed
during procurement
to propose alternative
design standards used
with Federal Highway
Administration approval
in other states, gave us
more design options that
accommodate speed.”
Ken Warbritton
Safe & Sound project director
Missouri Department of
transportation
>>
Missouri
Georgia
Louisiana
Page 05
Collaboration has been key to the
program’s success — both in the
management and design office and
in the field. Team members were
co-located in a single location to
increase efficiency on all aspects
of the program.
Page 06
manager. “When it came time to size a bridge on a particular site,
we planned to use the appropriate standards as needed for each of
the bridges as we designed all the way through 2010.”
However, when MoDOT asked KTU, which had committed
to replacing all of the structures by Dec. 31, 2013, to have some
“early start” bridges constructed in 2009, the accelerated pace
necessitated a different approach: The KTU/HNTB/LPA team
designed 12 independent, non-standardized bridges, four of which
were built in 2009. From those early designs, the team used lessons
learned to develop designs and standards that could be applied to a
majority of the remaining bridges.
“We tried to break each bridge into certain elements we could
standardize,” Grisham said. “Through teamwork, we spent the first
six months of the design process developing these standards. That
process was innovative because it created a means for getting a
project of this magnitude down to a manageable amount of work.”
After the 12 initial designs were complete and standard
development in full swing, the remaining 542 bridges were divided
between the two designers. HNTB took responsibility for the
program’s 37 steel bridges and 143 multiple-span concrete bridges.
Included in HNTB’s work were the eight railroad bridges and 22
sites that required maintenance and traffic plans for either staged
construction or crossovers.
By the end of 2009, the design team had developed approximately
600 standards sheets that specified length, skew, beam type,
strand patterns and non-dimensional substructure, among other
benchmarks. Companion variable tables allowed plans to use nondimensional details and gave the contractors all the information
they needed to construct the bridge on a specific site.
Size, plan, repeat
“Structure type and construction methods were determined in the
proposal phase,” said Ken Warbritton, MoDOT’s Safe & Sound
project director. “But we have stressed speed in construction, which
calls for shipping prefabricated materials to the sites and staging of
precast, prestressed members. The design work had to be completed
quickly so the contractors would know what materials were needed
at each site and could fabricate them ahead of time.”
Originally, HNTB envisioned distributing work on the 184 bridges
among three squads, with each team managing cradle-to-grave
design for its assigned bridges. As the company evaluated options,
however, it was clear this traditional project approach wouldn’t
support the aggressive design schedule.
To drive the schedule, the project team divided the design process
into three phases, assigning a team to each. At any given point,
HNTB had eight to 10 bridges in the constructability review design
phase, 10 in type, size and location design phase and 10 in the final
design phase. Focusing each team on repeating the same kind of
work many times over created efficiencies that Peterson said allowed
work to “fly out the door.”
“The Safe & Sound program presents challenges because of the
geographic distance it covers and the factors that are unique to each
site,” Peterson said. “To manage it rapidly, efficiently and effectively,
we had to change our ‘single huge site’ mentality and think about
this as a small project we had to produce 184 times.
“From the time we started working on each bridge, our internal
schedule took 39 work days to signed-and-sealed plans. These
are the same types of bridges we’d normally design in three to
four months, and even that is quick. By focusing the teams on
completing the same processes repeatedly, regardless of the site,
we were able to cut the design time in half.”
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
By mid-2010, HNTB had produced nearly 170 signed-andsealed plans and remaining bridges were ready to turn over to the
standards application team.
“We’ve come to believe we can gain a number of efficiencies in
mass production, and the owner should see those efficiencies in the
bid price,” Peterson said.
All eyes on Missouri
As the first program of its kind in the United States, and because
of its early success, Safe & Sound already serves as a model for
alternative project delivery. Other states are watching the program’s
outcomes and considering its merits.
“Using the design-build process for a system improvement project
is highly innovative,” Warbritton said. “The Additional Applicable
Standards process, whereby competing teams were allowed during
procurement to propose alternative design standards used with
Federal Highway Administration approval in other states, gave us
more design options that accommodate speed.”
“Seeing MoDOT go forward with its design-build program is
showing other states that it’s possible to do statewide logistics
projects, rather than just focusing on projects in a specific
geographic locale,” Grisham said. n
CONTACT:
JIM PETERSON, HNTB Design Manager
(414) 410-6768 n [email protected]
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Side-by-side management
Managing the sprawling, fast-paced
Safe & Sound program presented
the potential for logistical chaos.
“We literally had to worry about what we had to do in
any given hour to keep the project on schedule,” said
Jim Peterson, HNTB design manager. “The only way
to make this project successful was hyper-teamwork,
and that called for nearly 100 percent co-location.”
HNTB quickly moved as much of its assigned
engineering team as possible to the KTU office in
Lee’s Summit, Mo., maintaining a staff of 40 in the
project office at the project’s peak.
“Co-locating staff in our office meant nearly hourly
communication between designers and constructors
and no wasted effort, said KTU spokesman Kent
Grisham. “The ability to
collaborate on an hourly basis
is important in a design-build
project, and helped us work
smarter and more efficiently
from both a design and
construction standpoint.” n
Page 07
Lane Change
Signaling a shift in how it responds to congestion, the Georgia Department of
Transportation is the first state organization to implement not one managed
lane, but a system of managed lanes — 310 centerline miles of urban interstate
at full build-out. The pioneering plan, more than two years in the making,
promises to preserve metro Atlanta’s mobility in the face of skyrocketing
population and employment growth.
Page 08
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
575
75
400
285
78
Washington
Building general-purpose lanes for congestion
relief on urban freeways is fast becoming passé.
Intended to add new capacity, these lanes fill up as they meet latent
demand, becoming nothing more than billion-dollar temporary fixes.
With this traditional approach now cost-prohibitive and
Oregon
unsustainable, departments of transportation are considering other
options, and many are coming to the same conclusion: If we can’t
build our way out of congestion, we’ll manage our way out.
Many cities are looking to managed lanes as the solution.
At last count, 23 U.S. metropolitan areas now are operating or
implementing managed lanes, considering managed lane proposals
or studying their feasibility.
575
985
20
85
75
20
400
316
675
285
20
Missouri
Michael Malone /Sun Sentinel
BIRTHING A TREND
Calling managed lanes the “wave of the future,” Robert Poole,
director of transportation policy for the Reason Foundation,
explains the growing attraction.
“Managed lanes recognize that people have very different values of
time, and that they often are willing to pay to get someplace quickly
and reliably,” he said. “And, unlike general-purpose lanes, they are
sustainable. Variable pricing keeps them free-flowing.”
Further, managed lanes have a built-in funding source, so they
more cost-effectively deliver additional capacity while supporting
the initial capital expenditure and long-term operating and
maintenance costs, according to Cherian George, head of the
Americas/managing director for Fitch Ratings Global Infrastructure
and Project Finance team.
“Depending on the way in which the asset is delivered, a managed
lane may have excess revenue available for other purposes, including
managing and investing in the surrounding general-purpose lanes,”
he said.
Managed lanes began much like high-occupancy lanes did — as
isolated spot projects. But, just as HOV lanes have evolved to more
effective HOV systems, so are managed lanes evolving into networks.
“We are witnessing the birth of a trend,” said Jack Finn, chair
HNTB toll services.
Finn is referring to 2G — the second generation of managed
lanes. The first generation, demonstration projects funded by the
Federal Highway Administration’s Value Pricing Program, generally
involved low-cost and/or conversion projects.
“2G is more systematic. It is typically new capacity focused on
partnerships, such as public-private partnerships, that leverage
limited state and local dollars,” Finn said. “The industry is
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
85
78
20
Mapping Atlanta’s
75
Managed Lanes
Several types of managed
lanes are being used to
ensure mobility in the growing
metropolitan Atlanta.
675
Georgia
Louisiana
85
75
Interchanges
discovering that each managed lane
becomes significantly more effective when
it connects with other managed lanes, giving
motorists the ability not only to go from point A
to point B, but also to points C, D and E.”
According to Poole, plans for managed lane systems
have been accepted and approved in some of the country’s most
congested cities, including Houston, Dallas, Seattle and San Diego.
1 Bi-Directional Managed Lane
2 Bi-Directional Managed Lanes
1 Reversible Managed Lane
2 Reversible Managed Lanes
Elevated – Outside
Interchanges
LEADING THE PACK
1 Bi-Directional Managed Lane
2 Bi-DirectionalD.C.,
Managed
Two corridors in Washington,
theLanes
Capital Beltway and
1 Reversible Managed Lane
I-95/I-395, will feature
initial managed
lane systems, while San
2 Reversible
Managed Lanes
Elevated
Outside
Francisco is considering
an– expansive
network of managed lanes
throughout the Bay Area. Leading the pack, however, is the Georgia
Department of Transportation. It now is implementing one of the
nation’s first comprehensive systemwide evaluations of urban-area
managed lanes.
The Atlanta Regional Managed Lane System Plan, approved by
Georgia’s transportation board last December, will preserve the
region’s free-flow mobility during peak traffic hours just as traffic
>>
Page 09
threatens to strangle the state’s economic competitiveness and
quality of life.
“Transportation is no longer an entitlement,” said Todd Long,
director of planning for GDOT. “Rather, it’s a commodity for which
the user receives value in return for a fee. Implementing a system
of managed lanes — where some motorists pay a fee to use the
facility — would create the means to meet motorists’ demand for
reliable travel time, every time.”
Although there is no official target date for full system build-out,
when the MLSP is completed, GDOT will have 310 centerline miles
of freeway managed lanes.
Award-Winning
Plan
The Georgia Department
of Transportation received
the 2010 Transportation
Planning Excellence Award
for its Atlanta Regional
Managed Lane System Plan.
The Transportation Planning
Excellence Awards is a biennial
program developed by the
Federal Highway Administration
and the Federal Transit
Administration to recognize
outstanding initiatives across
the country that develop, plan
and implement innovative
transportation planning
practices. The American
Planning Association
co-sponsors the award.
FACT: The Managed
Lane System Plan will
save the Atlanta metro
region $47 billion in
reduced traffic delay
over 35 years.
Page 10
TAKING THE POLICY WHEEL
In 2003, Georgia’s state lawmakers approved groundbreaking
public-private initiatives legislation, which are now referred to as
public-private partnerships or P3s. Subsequently, GDOT began
receiving unsolicited proposals from the private sector, each
attempting to prescribe policy for Atlanta freeways.
“Those proposals, which suggested everything from high-occupancy
toll lanes and truck-only lanes to express toll lanes, put GDOT at a
disadvantage because it did not have a strong negotiating position,”
said Tim Heilmeier, HNTB project director of GDOT’s P3 program.
The department responded by conducting a comprehensive
investigation of managed lane investments. HNTB, GDOT’s P3
technical adviser and program manager, assisted in defining the
$16 billion program, writing the master plan’s scope and working
with GDOT’s office of planning to execute it.
“The Georgia Department of Transportation is very pleased with
the services we have received from HNTB as technical advisers for
our public-private partnership program, which includes our Managed
Lane System Plan,” said GDOT Commissioner Vance Smith.
“Having the MLSP puts GDOT in a proactive position,” Long said.
“It sends a great message to the marketplace: This is our plan, and
this is what we are going to do. People can organize around that.”
KEEPING IT REAL
In the works for more than two years, the MLSP is an exhaustive,
pragmatic look at policy, planning, finance, delivery and
implementation options. HNTB used traffic and revenue studies
to keep the ambitious plan grounded in fiscal reality.
“Based on a variety of scenarios that included revenue bonds,
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans
and concessionaires’ equity, we used proprietary HNTB tools to
determine present-day dollar cumulative revenue streams and to
calculate how much in present-day monies a 50-year revenue stream
would generate,” Heilmeier said.
Before, a DOT might have determined a project’s cost and how
much a given policy would collect in present-day dollars, but it
would not have considered such things as debt service coverage
ratios or mezzanine debt structures that, once added to the
equation, often create funding gaps.
While the MLSP’s policy framework does not optimize finances,
it does take into account the implementation side of the house, which,
Managed Lane System
Benefits
Improves mobility




Increases average travel speeds
Decreases delay
Increases access to major activity centers
Increases system efficiency
Maximizes throughput
 Decreases travel time variations
 Improves transit on-time performance
Minimizes environmental impacts
 Improves air quality/decreases pollutants
 Reduces impact to the built environment
Provides a financially feasible system
 Leverages and optimizes public cash outflows
 Incorporates a market-driven approach
Creates a flexible infrastructure for varying
lane management
 Accommodates future lane management possibilities
until now, has never been done in a systemwide planning study,
according to Andrew Smith, HNTB project manager for the MLSP.
“We were not optimizing a minimum public sector contribution or
targeting a certain dollar value,” he said. “Our goal was to attempt to
balance and optimize financeable costs and public sector contributions
with the overall general reduction in travel costs to citizens.”
The result is a comprehensive roadmap for GDOT that establishes:
• Infrastructure and system development in 20 corridors
• The architecture and recommended schedule for a complete
system build-out
• Funding requirements and limitations
• Appropriate policies
• The network’s anticipated cost and revenue potential
• Access points
• Each managed lane’s capacity limits
High-occupancy toll lanes emerged as the MLSP’s recommended
eligibility policy. Under the desired HOT3+ policy, high-occupancy
vehicles with three or more occupants could travel the managed lanes
at no charge, along with motorcycles, alternative fuel vehicles and
emergency vehicles. Vehicles with one or two occupants would access
the managed lanes by paying a toll. However, system level policies will
be revisited, and potentially revised, on a corridor-by-corridor basis as
projects evolve and implementation realities are understood.
FILLING THE P3 PIPELINE
“The MLSP serves as a blueprint for GDOT’s managed lane
projects, but it’s also driving GDOT’s P3 procurement pipeline,”
Heilmeier said.
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
GDOT plans to leverage those P3s to accelerate construction of
priority corridors.
“It’s a challenging time for DOTs as resources are extremely
limited and maintaining existing systems often takes priority over
expansion,” Heilmeier said. “But, when they put a P3 project in
place, for 50 years someone else has to take care of it — and assume
most of the risk. That kind of transaction is appealing. And, if a
DOT can deliver a billion-dollar project for, say, only $300 million
of its own money, that really resonates these days.”
Of the managed lane project’s $16 billion price tag, GDOT expects
the private sector to contribute $9 billion in toll revenue bonding and
equity. The rest will come from traditional federal and state programs.
MANAGED LANES ACROSS AMERICA
SR 167 HOT Lane
Seattle
I-15 HOT Lanes
Salt Lake City
Puget Sound
Region
I-394 HOT Lanes
Minneapolis
Seattle
Portland
Minneapolis
PAYING DIVIDENDS
GDOT’s unprecedented investment in the MLSP is paying
dividends. By 2016, the department plans to have three managed
lane facilities in operation: the Interstate 85 HOV-to-HOT Lanes
Project, the Interstate 75 Northwest Corridor Project and the I-75
project in Henry County.
Funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s
Congestion Reduction Demonstration Program, the I-85 project
converts 15 miles of existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes to HOT
lanes. To keep the lanes free-flowing and provide reliable travel
time, tolls will vary dynamically based on demand or the number
of vehicles using the HOT lanes. The revamped lanes are scheduled
to open in summer 2011.
The Northwest Corridor Project will involve the addition of
reversible managed lanes along I-75 and I-575. It will include two
lanes on the west side of the existing general purpose lanes along
I-75, between I-285 and I-575. The managed lanes will consist of a
mix of roadway at-grade, on walls and as an elevated highway. In
addition, one managed lane will be added along I-75 between I-575
and Hickory Grove Road and along I-575 to Sixes Road. These lanes
will be at-grade and located in the median along the inside of the
existing general purpose lanes. GDOT hopes to open the facility
to traffic in 2016.
MAINTAINING A COMPETITIVE EDGE
To maintain its state’s competitiveness, GDOT must enhance its
transportation networks with strategic, sustainable assets.
“Through the MLSP, HNTB has shown us how to proactively
exercise our management, delivery and financial toolboxes to provide
congestion relief and make our state economically competitive,” Long
said. “The impact of GDOT’s MLSP is not only a roadmap for metro
Atlanta but a template that can be applied to any congested urban
area in the United States.” n
New York City
Sacramento
Alameda County
Santa Clara
County
Denver
Chicago
Washington D. C.
Salt Lake City
San Joaquin
Virginia
Los Angeles
Research Triangle Park
Charlotte
San Bernardino County
Orange County
Riverside County
San Diego
Dallas
Austin
I-15 Managed Lanes
San Diego
State Route 91
Express Lanes
Orange County
LEGEND
Managed Lanes in Operation
Atlanta
Houston
Orlando
San Antonio
Ft. Myers
I-25 HOT Lanes
Denver
Katy & Northwest
Freeway Managed Lanes
Houston
Miami
I-95 Express Toll Lanes
Miami
Managed Lanes Being Implemented
Proposals Being Considered
Feasibility Studies
“I am very excited about the P3 program in Georgia and
the benefit the program will bring to our citizens. During
these economic times, we must look for methods to deliver
the infrastructure that Georgia needs as a growing state.
By forming a partnership with private industry, Georgia will
receive a substantial return on our investment in the form
of managed lanes, which will provide congestion relief and
a more reliable trip time for our citizens.”
Vance Smith
Commissioner
Georgia Department of Transportation
CONTACT:
ANDREW C. SMITH, HNTB Project Manager
(404) 946-5708 n [email protected]
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Page 11
A vertical-lateral move sets two massive truss panels into place in the first of
three lifts to widen the existing Huey P. Long Bridge. The unconventional
span-by-span erection method has eliminated the need for falsework,
avoided time-consuming secondary member fit-up, and minimized
impact to traffic both on and below the 75-year-old structure.
>>
Page 12
A Might
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
hty Lift
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Page 13
T
he phrase “lateral movement” often carries a
negative connotation. A lateral movement in
football can be a sign of desperation. A lateral
career move means no advancement — and no pay increase.
But, a lateral movement in bridge work, such as the one
that occurred this past June during the Huey P. Long
Bridge Widening Project, is something to be celebrated.
Located in Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish, the 1935
bridge is one of three primary Mississippi River
crossings in the Greater New Orleans area. It is a
three-span cantilever steel truss with an adjacent
530-foot simple-span through truss.
Lifting the new truss into place was a
swift but tedious process. The vertical
lift took approximately 8 hours, and
closures to car and rail traffic were
limited to just the weekend for the lift.
Teamwork and collaboration were key
to the project’s success.
Page 14
The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad has ownership
of the bridge, which carries two railroad tracks and four 9-foot,
shoulderless highway lanes. When the project is completed, the
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development will
own the land under the new bridge approaches and will maintain
the highway portion.
After the superstructure is widened, it will feature three 11-foot
travel lanes in each direction, 2-foot inside shoulders and 8-foot
outside shoulders — providing a safer, more reliable Mississippi
River crossing.
What makes the project unique is how the bridge is being widened.
“We’re adding a truss panel to each side of an existing truss,
creating a triple-barrell truss bridge,” said Steve Underwood,
project manager for MTI, the joint venture of Massman
Construction Co., Traylor Bros. Inc. and IHI Inc. The team is
serving as contractor for phase three.
Typically, if a bridge needed to be widened, sections of it
would be replaced until the entire bridge was complete. Or, more
commonly, a new bridge would be erected next to the existing one.
In the case of the Huey P. Long Bridge, neither option was realistic.
The railroads would not agree to close the existing bridge for an
extended period, and purchasing right-of-way for a new bridge
was cost prohibitive.
PLANNING THE LIFT
As construction engineer for phases three and four of the project,
part of HNTB’s role was to figure out how to get the new truss
panels retrofitted onto the bridge. HNTB team members Steve
Hague, Hans Hutton and John Brestin took one look at the
superstructure and knew the trusses needed to be lifted into place
rather than using the traditional stick-build method.
“None of us knew exactly how we would do it, but we knew lifting
it was the answer,” Brestin said.
To execute the successful lift, three obstacles had to be overcome:
1.It would have to work around the existing superstructure’s two
primary truss panels and bracing.
2.Secondary members couldn’t be used to brace the truss panels
during the lift because they would be in the way.
3.Once in place, the new widening panels would have to rest at the
same elevation as the existing panels.
HNTB and MTI explored countless erection alternatives before
Hutton’s concept of a u-shaped stabilizing frame finally stuck.
“In essence, it’s a really big through-plate girder,” said Hutton,
HNTB senior project engineer.
Lifting the preassembled truss panels from their bottom corners
would have put the top truss chords in compression, causing them to
buckle. Hutton’s concept addressed the challenge of bracing the top
chord and relocated the brace to the bottom of the frame, leaving
the top open to accommodate the existing superstructure. In effect,
the stability frame would hang from the widening panels themselves
while supplying the necessary support.
“There was skepticism at first,” Hutton said, “but as we talked, MTI
presented ideas that evolved the concept, and it became a team effort.”
After two independent models verified the innovative concept,
MTI went to work bringing it to life on barge platforms assembled
just downstream from the bridge.
The stabilizing frame consists of two vertical space frames each
erected on opposing main floor beam sleeves. Hillman rollers,
mounted to all four interior surfaces of the sleeve assembly, allow
the space frames and attached truss panels to slide laterally.
“Figuring out how to move the panels horizontally while keeping
them stable is what we scratched our heads about,” Brestin said, “but
the team didn’t give up until we found the best solution.”
“Being able to lift such large and relatively slender loads and
providing the appropriate bracing and detailing to make it work was
a great effort on behalf of the construction engineer,” said Tim Todd,
resident engineer for Louisiana TIMED Managers, the construction
management team that is a joint venture of PB Americas Inc., GEC
Inc. and the LPA Group Inc. The client is the Louisiana Department
of Transportation and Development.
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
“Some people questioned the concept of widening an existing truss bridge
by adding two more trusses without altering the foundation. But, we had a
strong team. And, that team said it could be done. Here is the proof. There’s
a way to engineer just about anything if you really put your mind to it.”
Brian Buckel
Chief Construction Engineer
LADOTD
The stability frame will be reused for the remaining two lifts,
even though the truss panels in each of those spans are different.
STICKING THE LANDING
While MTI was constructing the stabilizing frame, teams from
Modjeski and Masters, the engineer of record, and Interstate Steel
Corporation designed and fabricated the widening trusses.
The lift process began on Friday, June 18, when the massive barge
assembly, carrying its payload of truss panels and stabilizing unit,
was floated into position under the bridge. By Saturday, strand
jacks, supported on the top of the widening pier trusses, picked up
the system by all four corners and raised it until each side cleared
two 150-foot-tall piers. From there, floor beams fitted with brackets
captured the bottom chord of the existing trusses and held the new
panels in position. The vertical lift took approximately eight hours.
Once the floor beams were steady, six synchronized horizontal
jacks moved each frame and truss panel 13 feet inward until the
panels hovered about six inches above their respective bearings.
According to HNTB, such a lateral movement never had been
done before.
“Lifting two independent trusses connected to a stabilizing frame
and moving them laterally is definitely a first,” Brestin said.
Todd agreed. “I have seen entire bridges lifted but nothing of
this size and retrofit while keeping the structure active to railroad
traffic,” he said.
By early Sunday morning, the widening truss panels were resting
firmly on their bearings. Crews attached temporary horn beams
from the existing trusses to the new panels, stabilizing them from
the top chords. Then, crews braced the bottom chords against
the existing trusses. Once these members were in place, MTI
disconnected the stabilizing frame, and four strand jacks lowered
it onto an awaiting barge.
“Everyone would think the coolest aspect of this project, so
far, would be the first big lift, and it was certainly impressive, but
watching everyone work together to get to that point, was, in my
opinion, even better,” Underwood said. “The teamwork on this job
has been extraordinary.”
MONITORING THE LIFT
To detect any movement of the truss panels as they were lifted,
MTI worked with Applied Geomechanics Inc. to develop a first-ofits-kind lift monitoring system. A network of lasers and tilt meters
sent information to an AGI software program, which displayed on a
computer screen the widening panels’ exact geometry.
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Huey P. Long Bridge Project Schedule
Phase
Project
Timing
Phase I
Main support widening (piers)
April 2006 – May 2009
Phase II
Railroad modifications
October 2006 – June 2008
Phase III
Main bridge widening (truss)
Began early 2008
Phase IV
New approaches construction
Began June 2008
“We could tell the altitude of the trusses, longitudinally and
laterally, in real time,” Brestin said. “That way, we could adjust
any of the four jacks before the next stroke.”
Underwood said the team plans to use the monitoring system
during the remaining two lifts, including the suspension span
scheduled for November and the through truss section in spring 2011.
ASSESSING THE BENEFITS
The span-by-span erection method produced numerous benefits over
the traditional stick-build method. Using the traditional method
would have offset the widening truss panels by as much as 11 inches
from their final locations, which meant fit-up of the truss’ secondary
members would have been laborious. With the span-by-span
erection, fit-up wasn’t needed.
The span-by-span method eliminated the need for all falsework,
protective barriers and the risk of oceangoing vessels hitting them.
In addition, building the trusses on barge platforms next to the
shore was much easier and safer than if crews were in the middle of
the Mississippi River, dodging ships and dangling from angle wings.
What’s more, there has been minimal impact to vehicular traffic
and no impact to railroad traffic. With the span-by-span method,
each of the three lifts requires a maximum of 54 hours of river
closure instead of the hundreds of six-hour closures the stick-build
method would have required.
The widened bridge will give residents a more efficient hurricane
evacuation route, and it will encourage development on the river’s
west bank, which was difficult to access before the project.
Estimates project the wider bridge will nearly double its current
50,000 daily travel count. The bridge is scheduled for completion
in 2013. n
CONTACT:
John Brestin, HNTB Project Manager
(816) 527-2608 n [email protected]
Page 15
Moving at High Speed
Page 16
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Florida is moving closer to realizing its vision of a high-speed rail system. Having secured
a Final Environmental Impact Statement, a Record of Decision and a $1.25 billion federal
commitment for high-speed rail earlier this year, the Sunshine State plans to have its first
express high-speed trains in operation by 2015.
Floridians could see their long-time vision of a high-speed rail
system materialize by 2015. That is when phase one of the state’s
two-phased high-speed rail program could be whisking passengers
between Tampa and Orlando at speeds of at least 168 mph. The
84-mile trip — 90 minutes by car — would take well under an hour.
“Florida could be home to the first express high-speed rail trains
operating in the United States,” said Kevin Thibault, executive
director of the Florida Rail Enterprise, the entity responsible for
implementing the state’s vision.
The full Tampa-Orlando-Miami system is one of 11 federally
designated high-speed rail corridors in the country. Most U.S.
high-speed rail projects will be incremental improvements on
existing freight railroad track, not true high-speed operations.
California, the only other state currently planning to build
dedicated, high-speed rail lines, anticipates revenue operation
sometime after 2018. But, as Peter Gertler, chairman of HNTB’s
high-speed rail services, points out: This is not a competition
between two programs. Success breeds success.
“The sooner there is a success somewhere, be it Florida or
California, the more projects you’ll see popping up all over the
country. That means everybody wins,” Gertler said.
STIMULUS MONEY VALIDATES PLAN
Talk of a high-speed rail system in Florida began in the 1970s and
blossomed into a statewide vision in the 1980s. However, earlier
initiatives stalled because no federal monies were available to help
pay for them. Then came President Obama’s announcement of
the 2009 Strategic Vision for High-Speed Rail in America and the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which awarded Florida
$1.25 billion for the Tampa-Orlando segment, and promised more.
“The grant, which required no state matching funds, demonstrated
the Federal Railroad Administration’s confidence in Florida’s plans,”
said Eugene Skoropowski, HNTB director of rail and transit services.
“It is by far the largest share of a project to be allocated.”
The stimulus money represents about half of phase one’s anticipated
$2.6 billion construction cost. The remaining 50 percent likely will
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Tallahassee
Pensacola
Pensacola
Tallahassee
Jacksonville
Gainesville
Florida’s
High-Speed Rail Plan
Ocala
This map shows routes planned for high-speed rail
service throughout Florida. Officials hope phase one
will be complete by 2015, completing a vision Floridians
have been working toward for nearly 40 years.
Daytona Beach
Orlando
Tampa
Disney
Airport
Cocoa/Port Canaveral
Lakeland
Tamp
St. Petersburg
Bradenton
FortSt.
Pierce
Petersburg
Sarasota
come from additional federal and public funds.
One of those is a new revenue stream from the
state transportation trust fund, created to help Florida
Fort Myers
leverage rail funds in much the same way it leverages
highway funds.
Naples
“When the federal government awarded the $1.25 billion to
Florida, the project submission was for the full Tampa-OrlandoMiami system,” Thibault said. “As such,
expect
there will be a
Phasewe
1 — Tampa
to Orlando
2 Option
1
continuing partnership between the Phase
federal
government
and the state
I-95: Orlando to Miami
through the balance of this project.” Phase 2 Option 2
Bradenton
Sarasota
West Palm Beach
Fort Lauderdale
Miami
Turnpike: Orlando to Miami
Proposed Routes
MANAGING THE PROGRAMPossible Stations
HNTB served as general engineering consultant to the Florida
High-Speed Rail Authority from 2001 to 2004, a period during
which the state was under a constitutional mandate to initiate the
high-speed rail system.
“We got a lot of work done in that timeframe, including
advancement of environmental and procurement documents that
positioned Florida very strongly when the program came back to
life,” said Adrian Share, HNTB project director.
>>
Phase 1 — Tampa to Orlando
Phase 2 Option 1
I-95: Orlando to Miami
Phase 2 Option 2
Turnpike: Orlando to Miami
Proposed Routes
Possible Stations
Page 17
Fort M
“This project will help develop standards that may become the norm over
time, similar to how highway standards developed. HNTB’s work in Florida
will help shape what the future of U.S. high-speed rail will look like.”
Eugene Skoropowski
director of rail and transit services
HNTB Corporation
The program was put on hold in late 2004 when this same
constitutional mandate was repealed. In early 2009, when the latest
initiative began, HNTB still held a contract with the authority that
was transferred to FDOT and used to assist with preparation of the
ARRA application. In late 2009 the Florida Rail Act was passed,
abolishing the authority and establishing the Florida Rail Enterprise.
FDOT then selected HNTB as program management consultant.
“HNTB has more than 10 years of experience serving as program
manager on the Florida high-speed rail project and has done an
excellent job in serving the department,” said Nazih Haddad,
Economic Stimulus
One 2010 study estimates Florida’s completed high-speed rail system could create
more than 27,000 jobs and nearly $3 billion worth of new business annually in
the Orlando area alone, with surrounding areas picking up $1.7 billion each year
in economic activity. Construction of the Tampa-Orlando leg likely will produce
approximately 5,000 jobs during the four-year construction period. Ongoing
operations and maintenance will permanently employ 600 to 1,000 Floridians.
ORLANDO
27
Orange County
Convention Center
Multi-Modal Station
ORLANDO
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
17
Orlando Airport
Multi-Modal Station
192
75
19
41
Walt Disney
Station
98
4
275
Kathleen
Road Station*
TAMPA
USF/Polk Parkway
Station*
PA
TAMPA
IONAL
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
4
75
275
Page 18
Downtown Tampa
Multi-Modal Station
98
27
of these two sites will be
* One
the Lakeland/Polk County Station
Florida Rail Enterprise chief operating officer. “HNTB is nationally
recognized as a leader in high-speed rail planning and engineering.”
Adding partners Deutsche Bahn of Germany, Prointec of Spain
and Interfleet Technology of the United Kingdom, HNTB has
assembled a world-class team, bringing nearly 40 years of highspeed rail experience to Florida.
As program management consultant, HNTB and its partners
will provide overall program support and oversight for planning,
design, public outreach, vehicle and systems integration, operations,
construction, project controls and procurement of all contracts.
Another part of HNTB’s role is to be integrally involved in
the development of procurement documents for what will be a
complex and sophisticated public-private partnership concession
agreement. These documents are being developed through a
collaborative workshop effort that includes the project owner,
legal and financial advisers.
In addition, HNTB is completing 30 percent design of
phase one — everything from track alignment to bridges and
stations — by January 2011. The firm also will update phase
one’s overall cost estimate for further budgetary evaluations
with the Florida Rail Enterprise and the FRA.
“The revised cost estimate, due in September, is intended to
increase the FRA’s comfort level as to how much money is still
needed to complete phase one,” Haddad said.
ALIGNMENT TARGETS INTERSTATE MEDIAN
The Tampa-Orlando corridor will be developed on new, dedicated
track with about 70 miles of the system located in existing right-ofway of Interstate 4. Putting high-speed rail in an interstate median
has never been done anywhere in the world.
Florida won the ARRA grant money, in part, because it had a
head start on phase one of its high-speed rail system. Despite major
I-4 reconstruction over the years, FDOT had preserved the rightof-way envelope and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to
prepare the median for rail installation.
“With so much work already in place, the Tampa-Orlando
segment was the obvious starting point,” Share said. “It is a
relatively low-cost build that will give the state a quick win and
momentum going into phase two.”
In May 2010, the Tampa-Orlando corridor received the first
Record of Decision in U.S. history for a high-speed rail express
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
project. The landmark approval allowed Florida to begin design,
acquire additional land and begin construction.
With the interstate median as the targeted alignment, part of
completing 30 percent preliminary design means HNTB must develop
the first-ever design criteria for U.S. high-speed rail and coordinate
those criteria with the FRA and Federal Highway Administration.
“This project will help develop standards that may become the
norm over time, similar to how highway standards developed,”
Skoropowski said. “HNTB’s work in Florida will help shape what
the future of U.S. high-speed rail will look like.”
PRIVATE SECTOR WILL PLAY MAJOR ROLE
In 2011 the Florida Rail Enterprise is scheduled to ask private
consortiums to submit bids and technical proposals to design,
build, operate, maintain and finance phase one.
“Florida has recent experience with large design-build-operatemaintain-finance agreements,” Gertler said. “They are comfortable
with that business arrangement.”
Greenfield developments, such as California’s and Florida’s highspeed rail programs, are attractive to private investors because
they present more opportunity for innovation and creativity. Plus,
revenue — and the potential to control it — is greater on exclusive
track. The velocity of high-speed trains makes them incompatible
with major freight operations, so dedicated high-speed passenger
tracks make sense.
“Having the private sector involved provides opportunities for
risk-sharing and opens possibilities for additional revenues, such
as those generated from potential transit-oriented development,”
Haddad said. “They view the project as a bigger opportunity than
just providing a transportation service.”
The Florida Rail Enterprise expects to select a private vendor in
2011. Construction is slated for 2012.
Based on a 2009 update, the cost of operating phase one will
be approximately $164,000 per day with initial revenues slightly
higher at $170,000 per day.
“These conservative estimates demonstrate an immediate,
positive return on investment,” Thibault said. “Given the very
modest relative investment the state will have to make to construct
the system, the return on investment will be a perpetual, positive
funding stream.”
WORK EXPANDS TOWARD MIAMI
Florida is seeking $8 million in federal high-speed rail funds to
accelerate the planning and environmental work on phase two
of its system — the 220-mile Orlando-Miami corridor, which
will reach speeds in excess of 186 mph. The Florida Rail Enterprise
is considering two alignments for this corridor: along I-95 or
via Florida’s Turnpike.
Either way, ridership potential is huge. The Miami-Orlando
connection is the state’s most heavily traveled corridor. It would
link Florida’s largest population centers with 20 round trips a
day, many extending to Tampa. Moreover, the route will be
bookended by two major airports, each serving more than
30 million passengers annually.
Banking on the corridor’s anticipated success, Florida already
has invested $2 million in state funds and has begun work on the
Orlando-Miami segment.
“With each day, Florida’s vision for a high-speed rail system
comes into focus clearer and sharper than the day before,” Thibault
said. “High-speed rail in Florida is no longer a dream on paper.
It’s a growing reality.” n
Ideal Conditions
Florida’s many compelling
attributes for a high-speed
rail system include:
• A narrow geography with
limited room for highway
expansion
• Ideal distances between
major metro areas
• A massive tourist base
• Flat terrain, making the
system more affordable
to build
• Increasing pressure to
relieve airports
• A need for additional
hurricane evacuation
routes
• A population predicted
to surpass New York
as the third most
populous state
• A need to provide
additional transportation
without further
encroaching on the
environment
CONTACT:
Adrian Share, HNTB Project Director
(407) 547-3009 n [email protected]
INITIAL REVENUES FORECAST TO cover COSTS
Opening year rider forecasts indicate that revenues will likely cover
operational costs. The Tampa-Orlando corridor would offer an
initial base of service with several round trips daily and proposed
stations at Tampa, Lakeland/Polk County, Walt Disney World, the
Orange County Convention Center and Orlando International
Airport. One-way fares will be in the $30 range for the TampaOrlando leg and $15 from Orlando to the attraction areas.
Discounts are anticipated for frequent users.
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Page 19
Room to Fly
Redmond Municipal Airport’s new, greener terminal keeps overhead
and maintenance costs low and reduces airline fees.
Washington
Oregon
Redmond
Growing demand for air travel in
central Oregon found Redmond
Municipal Airport bursting at
the seams with passengers. A
136,000-square-foot expansion
increased capacity and allowed
for larger aircraft.
Page 20
Roberts Field-Redmond Municipal Airport is proof you can build
a new 136,000-square-foot terminal — complete with a sweeping
staircase — and save money doing it.
“With enough grant money to pay for half of the $40 million
project and the help of innovative money- and energy-saving
features, the airport was able to keep the terminal’s overhead and
maintenance costs low and pass on a $3.50 per-square-foot savings
to airlines,” said Barton Drake, HNTB project manager.
Frugality without compromise to quality runs in Redmond’s
blood. A group of community volunteers built the airport in one
day for $200 in the 1920s. It later became central Oregon’s primary
commercial airport.
However, as the community grew, the existing terminal, built in
1993 to serve 18- and 19-seat aircraft, quickly became too small
for the region’s travel
demands. The airport
recorded nearly 190,000
passenger
boardings in
Missouri
2005 compared with
72,000 in 1993.
“At the peak of holiday
travel season before we
broke ground in 2008,
the departure area was
Louisiana
so crowded
there was no
room for anyone to stand
or even sit on the floor,” said Carrie Novick, Redmond Municipal
Airport manager. “The question wasn’t whether to expand, but how
to expand economically.” The expansion was possible with funding
from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation
Security Administration, the State of Oregon and PacifiCorp, a
regional utilities company in the Northwest United States.
HNTB, principal architect for the project, combined innovative
green design elements with airport employee recommendations to
produce a larger terminal building with these energy- and moneysaving features:
• Reuse of 22,000 square feet of existing construction.
• A low-flow air displacement HVAC system that disperses air
from diffusers at the “occupant level” rather than overhead. This
allows for warmer air to be delivered for cooling in high bay
spaces resulting in energy savings.
• Rooftop solar panels that produce 93,146 kilowatt hours of
electricity annually.
• Hydronic heat that keeps concrete surfaces ice-free in the wintertime.
• A V-shaped roof that traps and melts snow, protecting passengers and
landscaping from mini avalanches while also saving shoveling time.
• Oversized, motorized revolving doors that replace the terminal’s
large, energy-consuming, sideways sliding entryway and allow
passengers with baggage to comfortably negotiate the building entry.
• Security revolving doors that eliminate the need for security staff.
• Recycled material used in the manufacture of new carpeting.
• Exposed concrete walls that retain winter solar radiation.
• Expanded restrooms that feature self-flushing toilets, handsfree washroom systems, waterless urinals and floors clear of
obstructions for faster cleaning.
• High-performance glass that maximizes natural light, and
automated light fixtures that turn off when natural light meets
Georgialevels.
required
• Insulated walls and roofs that exceed energy code requirements
by 33 percent.
“With the project nearly complete, the project is on time, on
budget, and we’re looking at less than 2 percent change orders,”
Novick said. “That’s the result of a great design and a great team.” n
CONTACT:
BARTON DRAKE, HNTB Project Manager
(425) 450-2531 n [email protected]
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
“With the help
of innovative moneyand energy-saving
features, the airport
was able to keep the
terminal’s overhead
and maintenance costs
low and pass on a
$3.50 per-square-foot
savings to airlines.”
Barton Drake
project manager
HNTB corporation
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Page 21
Bob Kerrey Bridge wins ACEC Grand Award
Three HNTB projects are honored in the American Council of
Engineering Companies Engineering Excellence Awards program
H
North Avenue Bridge
Marquette Interchange
Page 22
NTB Corporation received a Grand Award from the
American Council of Engineering Companies for its work
on the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in Omaha, Neb. It also
was recognized with Honor Awards for the North Avenue Bridge
Reconstruction project in Chicago and the Marquette Interchange
Reconstruction project in Milwaukee.
The awards were announced April 27, 2010, at ACEC’s
Engineering Excellence Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.
“Being recognized by our peers is an outstanding achievement,
and we are honored for the recognition we have received on behalf
of our clients for these award-winning projects,” said Ken Graham,
CEO of HNTB Infrastructure.
HNTB teamed with APAC-Kansas, Inc., to deliver the Bob Kerrey
Pedestrian Bridge, a 2,222-foot structure spanning the Missouri
River to connect Omaha, Neb., and Council Bluffs, Iowa. It is one
of the longest pedestrian bridges ever designed and constructed and
was the final piece in a $2 billion infrastructure redevelopment effort
by the City of Omaha to revitalize its downtown and riverfront. The
project, which is owned by the City of Omaha, helped transform a
once heavily industrial area into a popular urban destination.
Milwaukee Transportation Partners, a joint venture of HNTB
and CH2M Hill, Inc., served as the lead design team for the
Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Marquette Interchange
Reconstruction project. The interchange stands at the junction of
I-94/I-43/I-794 in downtown Milwaukee, and carries more than
300,000 vehicles daily — nearly half of the state’s commerce and
tourism traffic. Reconstruction of the interchange included moving
all exit and entrance ramps, increasing weaving distances and
clear zones, and improving local street access to increase mobility
and safety.
HNTB served as prime consultant for the City of Chicago on
the North Avenue Bridge Reconstruction project, providing
overall project management, administrative services and
subconsultant coordination. The reconstruction resulted in
improved safety, congestion relief and economic viability along
a critical transportation artery in Chicago that is used by more
than 30,000 vehicles daily. n
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
It’s time to improve our nation’s
transportation bill of health
Throughout my career, I have seen firsthand how our nation’s
transportation arteries — our highways, railways, airways and
waterways — are suffering from years of neglect. Their ability
to carry the goods and services we depend on — our life’s blood
as a nation — has been obstructed. Everything from cars and
coal to food and furniture comes to us through these critical
transportation arteries.
The impact of these deteriorating systems reaches far
beyond our borders as American businesses rely on them to
ship manufactured goods across the country for export around
the world.
But regardless of our dependence on them, we have failed to
maintain their health. Below are just a few of the harsh realities
of getting this system up to speed.
• $186 billion in federal spending is what the American
Society of Civil Engineers predicts will be required annually to
substantially improve our roads — far more than the current
combined federal and state spending of $70.3 billion per year
for highway capital improvements. And every year we continue
to underinvest in our system, the gap grows larger.
•A $1.2 trillion industry is at stake, according to a recent
report from the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials. The problem goes beyond the delivery
of goods and services as the transportation industry generates
8 percent of the nation’s jobs and supports industries that
make up 84 percent of the economy. It’s important for
Americans to realize this as we look for ways to emerge from
the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
•A multimodal strategy will play a critical role in improving our
freight transportation networks, lowering our consumption of
fuel and improving our environment. And while we take baby
steps, our global competitors are racing ahead. We invest less
than 1 percent of the value of our gross domestic product in
infrastructure, compared with China’s 9 percent.
By addressing our transportation challenges through workable
planning, prioritizing and funding solutions, we can generate
jobs and bolster our economy as we boost our mobility. HNTB is
working hand in hand with clients to explore how multiple funding
options, including private
financing of transportation
projects, the implementation
of new technologies and
project delivery methods ,
commercialization of public
infrastructure and tolling,
can work together to fund
improvements.
Delays will only increase
costs and deterioration of our
infrastructure. These problems need to be fixed now, starting
with the old thinking and obsolete regulations that got us where
we are today.
We must allow the innovative spirit of our industry to flourish
by electing leaders who share a positive vision for our country’s
infrastructure, understand the urgency and are willing to take
the lead. Transportation leaders must work together with them
to inform the public and gain the support of the American
people. Now is the time to pool our experience, resources
and energies to develop a long-term, well-funded, sustainable
transportation plan. n
Point of View
Pete K. Rahn
National Transportation
Practice Group Leader
HNTB Corporation
As leader of HNTB’s national
transportation practice group, Rahn
develops and directs strategies that
enhance HNTB’s service to state
departments of transportation
across the country. He joined
HNTB after serving as director
of the Missouri Department of
Transportation and as cabinet
secretary over the New Mexico
State Highway and Transportation
Department. He also has served
as president of the American
Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials.
Editor’s Note:
Collaboration among all involved with the development of our nation’s
infrastructure is critical to the economic and social success of our country.
Designer magazine is pleased to host this “Point of View” column, which we
hope will serve as a forum to discuss important trends and issues, as well as
express viewpoints important to HNTB’s clients and their success. We welcome
your ideas and feedback. Contact Susan Rhode, editor, [email protected].
HNTB DESIGNER Number 94
Page 23
The New Big House
A $226 million renovation and expansion of Michigan Stadium, home to the University of Michigan Wolverines,
was completed in time for the 2010 football season. HNTB served as architect of record for the project, which
added more than 3,000 stadium club and infill seats, 81 suites, new press facilities and new elevated concourses
with spectator amenities to the historic facility. Known as “The Big House,” the stadium originally was built in
1927 and now seats 110,000 fans, making it the largest collegiate sports venue in the country.
The HNTB Companies
Engineers Architects Planners