$8.8 million contract awarded for upstate highway project

A construction contract has been awarded for Brighton and Henrietta road reconstruction. Also, second phase of bridge replacement project announced

Work Progresses on Route 15A

An $8.8 million contract was recently awarded to Villager Construction of Fairport, New York, for the reconstruction of Route 15A in the towns of Brighton and Henrieta, New York.

The main project goals are to improve highway safety and reduce traffic congestion. Reconstruction objectives include milling and resurfacing the southern portion of Route 15A from Jarley Road to south of Metro Park. The area including and north of Metro Park to the bridge over I-390, will be reconstructed and widened. Between Metro Park and White Spruce Boulevard the new road will have two travel lanes and include bicycle lanes as well as shoulders and a two-way center left turn lane. Between White Spruce Boulevard and the bridge over Interstate 390, Route 15A northbound will be widened. In the southbound direction, a new right turn lane will be constructed onto Crittenden Road, which will also be widened.

A new access road will be built from East Henrietta Road to the intersection of Brighton Henrietta Town Line Road and Clay Road. New turn lanes and traffic signals will be added at other intersections included in the project.

The northern driveway to Monroe Community College will be removed and sidewalks will be replaced or added throughout the entire project limits.

Closed-circuit television cameras will be installed at the Route 15A/I-390 interchange and at the Route 15A/Brighton Henrietta Town Line Road interchange to monitor traffic.

“Under Governor Spitzer’s leadership, NYSDOT is committed to improving the roadways throughout New York State,” said NYSDOT Regional Director Kevin O’Buckley. “The reconstruction of East Henrietta Road will improve the riding surface and help ease traffic congestion on this busy corridor.”

Work on the project began in November 2007 with the removal of raised medians and paving. Water line relocation began in December. Major road construction is scheduled for March 2008 and the project is slated for completion in December 2009.

Construction Continues on Route 78

Construction is progressing on the Route 78 project to reconstruct Transit Road between Genesee Street and Main Street and to reconstruct Wehrle Drive east and west of Transit Road in Erie County.

The $28,398,000 reconstruction, which began in March 2007, will include the installation of drainage and underground utilities as well as temporary pavement on east side of Transit Road and the north side of Wehrle Drive. A new Freeman Road and intersection with Transit Road will also be constructed. Harding Road will be connected to McKinley Avenue on the north and south sides of Wehrle Drive and access to Wehrle Drive from Harding and McKinley will be removed.

The project is being performed in three phases. Phase one is completed, which involved construction of peripheral access management roads, storm management ponds, temporary pavement and underground utilities. In phase two, NJDOT will move traffic to the east side to construct the west side of Transit Road and phase three will shift traffic west to construct the east side.

The project is basically on schedule and the team has only encountered a few challenges. “There is a lot of rock blasting in this project which isn’t too common in the area and the rock blasting was more extensive than the contractor anticipated,” said Susan Surdej, spokesperson for NYSDOT. “All the trenching for the utilities had to be done with a rock trencher, so our schedule was delayed slightly, but nothing substantial.”

Contractor DiPizio Contruction Co. is currently working to complete the project by December 2009.

Phase Two of Bridge Project Underway

New Jersey Department of Transportation announced the beginning of the second phase of construction on the South Salem Street Bridge in Dover, New Jersey.

NJDOT plans to replace the old concrete and steel bridge with a 115-ft steel bridge which will include one travel lane and shoulder in each direction.

The completed structure will include sidewalks, safety railings and improved lighting and traffic signals. NJDOT also will install a new barrier curb.

“The reconstruction of the 73 year-old South Salem Street Bridge will make travel through this corridor a safer experience for motorists,” said NJDOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri.

From November 2007 to July 2008, construction will take place on the eastbound portion of the new bridge. From August 2008 to May 2009, crews will demolish the original bridge and construct the western portion of the new bridge. Traffic will continue on the existing bridge until summer 2008.

The bridge is located over the Morristown rail line in Morris County and is part of the Old Main, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Rail Road Historic District. As part of the preservation, the project team was required to incorporate the bridge’s historical elements in the reconstruction. “We had to add decorative street lights similar to the original structure,” said Erin Phalon, spokesperson for NJDOT. “We also had to create an architectural treatment, such as staining, on the concrete structure.”

Construction for the $11 million bridge replacement is taking place adjacent to the existing bridge. The new structure will be shifted 25 ft to the east of the old bridge in order to eliminate an island and create a right-turn only lane on South Salem Street to East Blackwell Street.

I-84 Project on Schedule

Construction continues on the Interstate 84 corrective project in Waterbury and Cheshire in Connecticut.

The two-stage project includes improvements to all roadway and storm drainage systems between Exits 25 and 27 as well as local roadway improvements in and around the interchanges. Connecticut Department of Transportation has created alternate traffic routes to mitigate delays during construction.

Stage one involves interior median work and stage two will focus on improvements on the east/west outside lanes as well as crossroad work underneath and above I-84. The project team has currently completed median, drainage and catch basin repairs.

In the summer of 2007, the construction contract was awarded to Empire Paving, of North Haven for approximately $20 million. The engineers for the project are STV Engineering and representatives from CTDOT.

“Right now we are in transition, and if the weather doesn’t cooperate, we expect to begin stage two in March,” explained Earl Tucker, vice president of Empire Paving.

Construction is slated for completion in November 2008.

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