Top Infrastructure Projects
Road Projects Keeping Builders Busy

by George Bukota

Bridges lead the way among the largest infrastructure projects in Oregon and Washington.

The monster among the projects is Washington's new Tacoma Narrows Bridge on State Route 16. The $849 million, nearly six-year project is so large and complex that the general contractors Bechtel and Kiewit Pacific have named their joint venture Tacoma Narrows Constructors.

The other leading bridge projects in the region include Washington State Route 104/Hood Canal Bridge East Half at $204 million, Portland's St. Johns Bridge at $30.9 million, the McKenzie and Willamette Bridges on Interstate 5 near Eugene at $28.9 million and the Broadway Bridge over the Willamette river in Portland at $21.3 million.

Here is a rundown on the region's top transportation projects in Oregon and Washington.

Oregon
St. Johns Bridge
Portland

St. Johns Bridge leads the Oregon Department of Transportation project list at $30.98 million. General contractor Max J. Kuney Construction of Spokane, Wash., is restoring and rehabilitating the 72-year-old bridge over the Willamette River in Portland by replacing deck and sidewalks, refurbishing the railing, replacing deck joints and frozen bearings and improving Bridge Avenue ramps on the river's west side.

The project began in March 2003 and is scheduled for completion in 2005.

Interstate 5 at McKenzie and Willamette Rivers
Eugene

Detour bridges over the McKenzie and Willamette rivers on Interstate 5 near Eugene are budgeted at $28.9 million by general contractor Hamilton Construction of Springfield, Ore. The temporary bridges are designed to carry all I-5 traffic, including full-weight trucks, across the rivers as the original bridges are replaced.

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Shear cracks throughout reinforced concrete beams supporting the decks of both bridges have forced a ban on heavy trucks since February 2003. Detours caused by the bridge weight restrictions have cost truckers an extra $38,000 a day in added transportation costs, Oregon Department of Transportation officials estimate.

The Willamette River span will be a 78-ft.-wide, four-lane bridge built east of the existing bridge. It will be 1,990 ft. long and only 50 ft. high. It is being built for a 10-year lifespan.

The temporary two-lane McKenzie River Bridge will carry southbound traffic and be built between the existing bridges. The existing northbound bridge will be strengthened to carry normal loads while both north- and southbound bridges are rebuilt.

Both bridges are on a fast-track schedule and being built under a contract that rewards Hamilton Construction for work completed ahead of schedule, and penalizes it for delays.

Hamilton bid the job for 352 days, less than the state's estimate of 409 days, and it is scheduled to end in September, said Hamilton's Jim Sly Hamilton, operations manager and project manager for the bridges.

The Wildish Group (Wildish Standard Paving of Eugene) is Hamilton's major subcontractor on the project.

Crews set the columns at Bent 2 on the Willamette Bridge. (Photo courtesy of Hamilton)

Interstate 205 Sunnybrook Interchange, Phase One
Portland

Interstate 205 Sunnybrook Interchange, phase one, is a major rebuild of one of the heaviest-used intersections in the Portland area. Hamilton Construction also is handling this $21.3 million project, and Jim Sly Hamilton is the project manager.

The new six-lane overpass will carry Sunnybrook Boulevard traffic over I-205 and provide full freeway interchange with exits to Sunnyside Road. The project includes a new structure over I-205 at Sunnybrook Boulevard near Portland's Town Center.

It includes two eastbound, two westbound and a dual left-turn lane for on-ramp and collector/distributor road access; reconfiguring on- and off-ramps; building collector/distributor roads and auxiliary lanes; building retaining and sound walls; and rebuilding a bicycle/pedestrian path. The project also includes repaving 2 mi. of the freeway.

Hamilton took over the original contract nine months after it was started. Although the original completion date of fall 2004 was unchanged, Hamilton and the Wildish Group (Wildish Standard Paving of Eugene), the major subcontractor, have completed the major work, with only some lighting and landscaping work to finish.

Broadway Bridge
Portland

Willamette River (Broadway) Bridge in Portland is being refurbished by Mowat Construction of Woodinville, Wash., for $21.3 million.

Corrosion due to failing 40-year-old lead-base paint is a major problem for the Multnomah County-owned 92-year-old bridge, one of the oldest surviving Rall-mechanism double-leaf bascule bridges and, at 1,613 ft. long, the world's largest.

The ongoing rehabilitation includes removing loose paint, replacing failing structural members and repainting about one-third of the bridge above the deck. There also will be below-deck repainting, replacing the steel lift span deck grating, rehabilitation of concrete bridge deck and replacing sidewalks.

The project is scheduled for completion in late 2004 or early 2005.

Interstate 5 Marquam Bridge
Portland

Interstate 5 Marquam Bridge to Capitol Highway Section is a 6.37-mi., $21.2 million project that has J.C. Compton Contractor of McMinnville, Ore., raising one under-height overpass; repairing concrete roadway damage; upgrading concrete barrier, curb and attenuators; replacing ramp meter loop detectors; and adding new reflective lane-marking striping.

This section of I-5 is cracked and badly rutted from more than a dozen years of heavy traffic. In some areas, wheel ruts are nearly an inch deep. Repaving will reduce the clearance of the SW Spring Garden overcrossing structure even farther below federal recommended height standards, so Compton will raise the structure by about 17 in.

The project is slated for completion in spring 2005.

Washington
New Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Tacoma

The new Tacoma Narrows Bridge on State Route 16 is the biggest animal in the pack of bridge work. The new $849 million suspension bridge, being built south of the existing bridge, is scheduled to open in 2007.

The design-builder is Tacoma Narrows Constructors, a Gig Harbor, Wash.,-based joint venture of Bechtel Infrastructure Corp. of Nevada and Kiewit Pacific Co. of Delaware.

The current Tacoma Narrows Bridge, opened in 1950 to replace the infamous "Galloping Gertie," was designed to carry 60,000 cars a day and now carries nearly 90,000 daily.

The new 5,400-ft.-long parallel suspension bridge will provide three lanes for eastbound traffic, plus shoulders and a separate bicycle/pedestrian path. Its towers and foundations are designed to carry a second deck for added traffic capacity, if needed.

With its center-span length of 2,800 ft., the new structure will be the longest suspension bridge built in the United States since New York's Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened in 1964.

The project includes a 3.4-mi. segment of SR-16 from Tacoma's Jackson Avenue interchange to west of 36th Street NW. The segment includes new split-diamond interchanges at 24th and 36th Streets NW in western Pierce County.

Shoreline concrete pumps push concrete over 2,000 ft. to a placement barge anchored in the Narrows during construction of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. From there, two 125-ft. booms place the concrete into the caisson walls. (Photo by Duncan Livingston for Tacoma Narrows Constructors)

Hood Canal Bridge
Kitsap and Jefferson Counties

The Hood Canal Bridge, East Half, on State Route 104 is Washington's second-largest infrastructure project this year at $204 million. The project replaces the floating eastern half and repairs the western half of this 42-year-old link between the Olympic Peninsula and the central Puget Sound region.

The project includes new approach sections and transition truss spans on both ends of the bridge and also widening of the western half to provide continuous 8-ft. shoulders for vehicle breakdown and cyclist/pedestrian safety.

General contractor Kiewit-General, a Port Angeles, Wash.,-based joint venture of Kiewit Pacific Co and General Construction Co., aims to complete the project by the end of 2007 as targeted, although some of the work is behind schedule because an archeological site was uncovered..

The contractors and the Washington State Department of Transportation are consulting with Lower Elwah Klallam Tribe officials and federal highway and state historic preservation officials to develop plans to recover archeological and tribal items during construction.

State Route 18, Maple Valley to Issaquah/Hobart Road
Maple Valley

Maple Valley to Issaquah/Hobart Road on State Route 18 is being widened to four lanes in a $55.9 million project by Guy F. Atkinson Construction of Renton, Wash.

The 3.7-mi. project, part of an overall plan to expand the SR-18 corridor between Auburn and Interstate 90 to four lanes, will include a new interchange replacing the signaled intersection at 244th Avenue SE, replacement of the at-grade SE 200th Street intersection with a bridge over SR-18 and removal of an at-grade intersection at SE 236th Street.

To handle now-untreated runoff, the project includes the rebuilding of 14 stormwater mitigation ponds, an additional 49.3 acres of wetland mitigation and seven bridges to handle road crossings of Taylor Creek and its tributaries.

This segment of the SR-18 project is due to be completed by fall 2006.

Interstate 405 Improvements
Bellevue

Interstate 405 Downtown Bellevue Direct Access improvements at NE Fourth and NE Sixth streets will add a new interchange at NE Sixth Street, giving buses and car- and vanpools direct access from I-405 HOV lanes to the expanded Bellevue Transit Center.

That project is scheduled for completion by early 2005.

In addition, general contractor Guy F. Atkinson Construction has removed and is rebuilding the NE Fourth Street overpass to provide an addition lane on NE 4th and allow for future expansion of I-405. The rebuilt overpass is raised to accommodate the NE Sixth Street HOV/transit ramp.

Collector/distributor lanes and ramps will be realigned to minimize the number of ramps merging on and off the freeway.

State Route 519/Interstate 90 Intermodal Access
Seattle

State Route 519/Interstate 90 Intermodal Access, phase one, at South Atlantic Street in Seattle is a $32.9 million project to upgrade SR-519 (South Royal Brougham Way) for improved connections for ferry and freight traffic to Port of Seattle terminals and the Seattle Waterfront area.

While most of the planned work in done, some drainage and added work needs to be completed, said Julia Mizuhata, Washington Department of Transportation project engineer. The job is targeted for completion by the end of May, she said.

The first phase of the project, by Balfour Beatty Construction of Pacific, Wash., included a structure that separates vehicle, pedestrian and rail traffic near Safeco Field to improve flow and reduce accidents. It also included a new on-ramp to I-90 and I-5, and a new pedestrian plaza between Third and Fourth avenues beneath the structure.

The new South Atlantic Street ramp will give westbound traffic an alternate route for South Royal Brougham Way, which is often stopped for trains.

At a Glance
Top Oregon and Washington Road Projects

Oregon

1. St. Johns Bridge
   $30.98 million
   Max J. Kuney Co., Spokane, Wash.
2. Interstate 5: McKenzie and Willamette Bridges
   $28.9 million
   Hamilton Construction, Springfield, Ore.
3. Interstate 205 Sunnybrook Interchange, phase one
   $21.3 million
   Hamilton Construction, Springfield, Ore.
4. Willamette River (Broadway) Bridge
   $21.3 million
   Mowat Construction, Woodinville, Wash.
5. Interstate 5: Marquam Bridge, Capitol Highway Section
   $21.4 million
   J.C. Compton Contractor, McMinnville, Ore.

Washington

1. State Route 16, New Tacoma Narrows Bridge
   $849 million
   Tacoma Narrows Constructors, Gig Harbor, Wash.
2. State Route 104, Hood Canal Bridge, East Half
   $204 million
   Kiewit-General, Port Angeles, Wash.
3. State Route 18, Maple Valley to Issaquah/Hobart Road
   $55.9 million
   Guy F. Atkinson Construction, Renton, Wash.
4. Interstate 405, Bellevue Downtown Direct Access (NE Fourth and NE Sixth streets)
   $44.2 million
   Guy F. Atkinson Construction, Renton, Wash.
5. State Route 519/Interstate 90 Intermodal Access, phase one (South Atlantic Street)
   $32.9 million
   Balfour Beatty Construction, Pacific, Wash.