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I-10/I-19 Interchange
by Alan M. Petrillo
After 10 years, the enormous undertaking of rebuilding the
interchange between two busy southern Arizona interstate freeways-with
minimal traffic disruption-is nearing completion.
Known as "the Crossing," the $54.3 million traffic
interchange project in Tucson connects Interstate 10 to Interstate
19 on three levels, using 10 bridges and eight ramps. The
first designs for the roadways were put to paper a decade
ago.
Bill Dehn, project manager for URS Corp. of Tucson, the
project engineers, said the job took huge quantities of materials,
including:
1.4 million cu. yds. of embankment
72,000 tons of bituminous asphalt pavement
68,000 cu. yds. of Portland cement concrete pavement
6.1 million lbs. of reinforcing steel
9,000 -lin. ft of drilled shafts
41,000 cu. yds of Portland concrete cement for the bridges
"Everything pretty much worked according to the plan,"
said David Estfan, project manager for Pulice Construction
of Phoenix, the general contractor on the job. "We try
to anticipate the unusual circumstances on a job because we
have to do things within certain time periods. "
Still, there still were difficulties to overcome, Estfan said.
"On an intense project of this size, just getting done
on time for the various phases is an obstacle," he said.
"It's especially difficult on a job like this where bridges
have to go up and traffic switches have to be coordinated."
Estfan added that traffic on the two interstates and the connection
between them had to be rerouted several times in order to
take down the existing bridges and construct the new ones.
"We had to handle the bridges without impeding traffic
on the two roads," he said.
Because of the heavy traffic on the two interstates, two lanes
were generally maintained in each direction on each road throughout
the project.
The old interchange had a number of deficiencies that were
remedied by the redesign, including a very tight radius on
the ramp from I-19 north to I-10 east, as well as a loop ramp
from I-10 west to I-19 south.
Site issues also included acquired property on which there
had been a history of wildcat dumping.
"There was plenty of buried debris, garbage and trash
that had to be cleaned up, and a high concentraction of lead
at one location near Julian Wash," Dehn said. "Also
two slaughterhouses had been located in the area years ago."
There also were archeological issues.
Investigations into the numerous archeological sites in the
area began when the project engineers were 15 percent into
the design state, Dehn said. "We did a lot of work to
clear the site before construction began," he added.
Dehn said the Julian Wash once ran through the area before
the Tucson Diversion Channel diverted its flow.
"There were the remains of many pit houses and artifacts
around the Julian Wash," he said. "Those areas were
fenced and preserved so that construction equipment couldn't
damage the sites. Where possible we did a full recovery of
any artifacts in cooperation with the Arizona Historic Preservation
Office."
The cost of the archeological portion of the contract was
$1.2 million.
Estfan said none of the archeological sites impeded the work
on the roadways.
"The archeological team did a fine job before we (Pulice)
got on the site with our equipment," Estfan said. "They
had dug their trenches, marked out and fenced many areas that
contained artifacts or cultural sites. We knew where the designated
areas were and stayed away from them."
Estfan said he believes the interchange project went smoothly
because of close cooperation among his firm, URS and ADOT.
"Both the design engineers and the state have been a
lot of help with the issues that came up during construction,"
he added. "Nothing lagged because there were quick resolutions
to the issues. I put that down to people who were very open
to ideas and good at communicating."
The project has received positive community feedback, according
to Ana M. Olivares, resident engineer for Arizona Department
of Transportation, Tucson District Construction.
She said the project maintained a Web site and information
line throughout the construction phases, and also issued brochures,
public service announcements and construction alerts.
>ADOT Overview
>Where the Rubber Meets the Road
>Connecting the Communities
>I-10/I-19 Interchange
>Hoover Dam Bypass - Nevada Approach
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