New Illinois DOT Website Offers In-Depth Look Into Projects; New Law Authorizes Missouri DOT to Use More Design-Build Projects

Other highlights: Indiana constructs highway interchange in Crown Point; Chicago looks to extend three rail lines; AGC offers highway worker safety program.

Indiana DOT Constructs Highway Interchange in Crown Point

The Indiana Dept. of Transportation is constructing a new $8.2-million interchange at I-65 and 109th Street in Crown Point, Ind.

The project, being built with funds from the state’s Major Moves transportation plan, will relieve congestion and improve connections motorists traveling through Northwest Indiana. “The direct access provided by the new interchange will offer major economic benefits to Crown Point and Winfield,” says Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.

The new interchange on 109th Street will stretch about 1,000 feet to either side of I-65. Approximately 0.42 miles of 109th Street will be fully replaced with concrete pavement, featuring left- and right-turn lanes for the new I-65 entrance ramps. The diamond interchange will feature traffic signals for vehicles to access or exit the ramps.

The new interchange will divert traffic from congested interchanges at U.S. 231 and U.S. 30. It also could bring major economic benefits to Crown Point and Winfield by improving access to existing and future development, allowing businesses to expand.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2010. The interchange project was originally scheduled for construction in 2012, but the city wanted the project built sooner to help meet growing community needs. INDOT formed a partnership with local officials in which the city managed the project’s preconstruction elements, including design and right-of-way acquisition.

The project was let and awarded through the state’s bidding process and INDOT is managing construction to be sure the interchange meets state and federal regulations.

Safety Training Program Aims to Cut Fatalities on Highway Construction Projects

A new safety training program offered by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) is aimed at cutting the number of construction workers killed each year while performing highway maintenance or construction. About 100 workers are killed each year while doing that kind of work, according to the AGC.

The Highway Worker Safety Program is designed to teach construction crews ways to make highway construction zones safer working environments.

Developed by the AGC and financial services provider Zurich North America, the program focuses on ways to control traffic, operate heavy equipment and staff worksites to reduce worker risk. Construction companies may tailor the two-disc DVD set to meet individual training needs. The materials include an instructor guide and a participant manual. For more information, visit www.agc.org and click on bookstore.

Chicago Looks To Extend and Upgrade Three Rail Lines

Chicago Transit Authority this fall plans to begin an environmental impact study of upgrades to three rail lines for projects that would cost the agency $1.98 billion. The mass-transit program would extend 5.3 miles of elevated double track for the city’s Red Line, 2.3 miles of trench and elevated double track for the Orange Line, and 1.6 miles of elevated single track for the Yellow Line. It also calls for building six new train stations. The agency is now seeking about $57 million in federal funding to move forward with the environmental impact study (EIS) and preliminary engineering. CTA has selected a joint venture of CDM, Wight and Jacobs to conduct the EIS.

Illinois DOT’s New Website Offers In-Depth Look Into Projects

The Illinois Dept. Transportation’s (IDOT) new Website, called the Construction Zone Dashboard, provides up-to-date information about current construction contracts. The site offers information about projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, after contracts are executed.

“This is one more way to offer more accessibility, accountability and transparency within our agency,” says IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig.

Users can search for contracts by location, IDOT district, or contractor. Updated daily, the site shows a project’s current status, its location, how far along it is and its estimated completion date. The site is www.dot.il.gov/dashboardpublic.

New Law Allows Missouri DOT to Use More Design-Build Projects

A new Missouri law expands the use of design-build project delivery for Missouri state transportation projects.

The design-build method awards just one contract that covers both the design and construction of a project. In contrast, the traditional design-bid-build method awards separate contracts for a project’s design and its construction.

Design-build contracts allow contractors to bid as teams, using their own designers, engineers and suppliers instead of requiring the department to design and bid projects.

The new law will let the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission increase the number of design-build contacts it awards up to 2% of its annual projects until 2012. The commission awards about 500 projects a year, so about 10 projects will be eligible for design-build contracts annually.

In 2002, the transportation agency was given permission to award three design-build projects, including the rebuilding of I-64/Highway 40 in the St. Louis area, and has used up the allowance.

“This measure is going to give the department of transportation more flexibility in awarding contacts for road and bridges, and the St. Louis area will benefit from greater speed and efficiency in carrying out vital transportation projects,” said Sen. Scott T. Rupp (R-Wentzville), who sponsored the law.

Enacted in July, the new law is designed to make road building more efficient and to ensure that Missouri’s shovel-ready transportation projects can qualify for potential federal stabilization funds.

Green Airports Conference Unveils New Sustainable-Airport Manual

The three-day “Airports Going Green” conference in Chicago during August drew nearly 300 attendees and featured internationally recognized aviation, environmental and federal agency leaders.

The American Association of Airport Executives and the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) hosted the conference. Its topics ranged from design, construction and commissioning of LEED-certified terminals, to airport recycling initiatives and the use of emerging technologies such as green roofs, wind turbines and photo-voltaics.

At the conference, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, CDA Commissioner Rosmarie Andolino and officials from several airports unveiled the newly developed Sustainable Airport Manual (SAM). The new SAM manual expands on the green airport design and construction guidelines set forth in 2003’s O’Hare Modernization Program Sustainable Design Manual (SDM).

The new SAM incorporates six years of best practices in sustainability from several airports, including O’Hare.

The SAM manual and presentations from the Airports Going Green conference are available at www.airportsgoinggreen.org.

Bolder, Brighter Signs Will Make Missouri’s Highways Safer

Slippery when wet. Deer crossing. Falling rock.

Those are just a few of the warning messages carried by the yellow signs that dot state interstates and highways.

Now the signs that let you know about a sharp curve, a narrow bridge or a dead end are getting brighter in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is making the diamond-shaped warning signs more visible by changing to fluorescent yellow sheeting.

MoDOT won’t replace good existing signs. It will put up the new fluorescent signs whenever existing signs are replaced because of age, vandalism or wear. The department estimates it could take up to 10 years to replace the thousands of warning signs on the state highway system.

The new, brighter signs are a little more expensive than the old ones—about $12 more for a typical 36-in. warning sign.

New Report Recommends National Disaster-Mitigation Plan

The National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and several other organizations, including the International Code Council, have released a white paper titled “Recommendations for an Effective National Mitigation Effort” that outlines the importance of planning in order to reduce the chance of public disasters and hasten recovery from their effects.

“Construction codes are an integral part of mitigation aimed at building disaster resiliency, but in too many communities there simply aren’t enough resources for building safety,” said Code Council CEO Richard P. Weiland.

James Mullen, director of the Washington State Emergency Management Division and chairman of the NEMA Mitigation Committee added that although mitigation cannot eliminate disasters, identifying hazards should lead to effective measures that can save lives, lower the overall cost of a disaster, and make communities more resilient.

The white paper is available on the Code Council’s website: www.iccsafe.org/NME.

The International Code Council develops codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings. Most U.S. cities, counties and states use the building safety codes developed by the International Code Council.

East Chicago, Ind., Buys Four Blocks for Revitalization Plan

The city of East Chicago, Ind., is taking another step in its North Harbor Revitalization Initiative, an aggressive effort to rebuild the East Chicago lakefront community.

The city is in the process of purchasing four blocks of land along Martin Luther King Drive that are vital to the redevelopment of North Harbor.

This area is being redeveloped by the city of East Chicago in conjunction with master developers The Community Builders, Inc. and Hispanic Housing Development Corp. to attract working families back to the Indiana Harbor area, and to connect the North Harbor District to the East Chicago lakefront.

The purchase is possible because this parcel is in a district where TIF funds are available for just such community improvement and redevelopment.

Pursuing the plan will require demolition of Harborside housing.