Route 36 Project’s Conditions Keep Missouri Contractors on Their Toes

Sat November 25, 2000
Megan Nichols

North central Missouri boasts some of the country’s finest farmland. However, pockets of the region have more challenging geographical features, including glacial till and wetlands. The design and construction of Route 36 illustrate how the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and contractors are addressing the area’s unique topography.

A primary east/west highway in the region, Route 36, is receiving a complete overhaul and being upgraded to four lanes. Work is divided into two projects: The first consists of 7 mi. (11.2 km) starting at the Caldwell County line extending west to Utica, MO, and the second project is 4.4 mi. (7 km) between Chillicothe and Utica in Livingston County.

Project One

“This was a straightforward project for Howard Construction of Sedalia, MO, to complete in 190 working days. The only challenges were the rock excavation and weather,” said Jeff Madsen, MoDOT area engineer.

The $7.6-million contract includes all earthwork and concrete paving. It is the peak of construction, and approximately 60 crew members are on site. The project’s grading is 90 percent complete, so paving (commercial mix) is the remaining phase. An estimated 45,500 cu. yds. (35,000 cu m) of concrete will be used.

Earthwork was considerable with the amount of equipment in the field rivaling the number of motorists on the corridor. Howard Construction used a variety of equipment on site including: one CMI 600 trimmer, one CMI SF450 paver, two CMI SP28-300 spreaders, one CMI TC 280 texture, one Gomaco GT630 paver, one Rascal roller, three John Deere 9400 tractors with Reynolds scrapers, four Caterpillar 988B loaders, five Caterpillar 621 and 631 scrapers, three Caterpillar 613B paddlewheels, three Caterpillar 769B rock trucks, one Caterpillar 330L trackhoe, one John Deere 310A backhoe and eight Caterpillar D5D9 dozers.

MoDOT and contractors used equipment to respond to an unanticipated site condition — rocky soil with high shale content. According to Madsen, there is very little rock in MoDOT District 2, which includes the Route 36 project. For many MoDOT personnel, the 7-mi. (11.2 km) stretch is the first time working with rock, let alone the unique glacial till.

“We had layers of rock shale, rock, then shale. This shale is a different classification. We’d split, drill, split, shoot, and it just didn’t drill and shoot like a normal rock cut ridge. There was a lot of earth work strictly on the rock work,” Madsen explained. Massive rock excavation delayed the project, but it is now on schedule for a Sept. 1, 2000, completion.

Subcontractors contributing to the project include: Paris Asphalt (pipe and asphalt), Thermomark (striping, erosion control, seeding, and mulching), Hostetter Construction Inc., Tiger Rock, Traffic Control Company Inc. and James-H-Drew Inc.

MoDOT works closely with the entire construction team. According to Madsen, “We work hand in hand with the contractor as a team.”

Project Two

Just as shale excavation characterized project one, work on project two has unique challenges. “We’ll be working in a major flood plain and building a 250 acre (100 ha) wetland mitigation site,” Madsen explained.

The project’s apparent low bidder was Robertson Contractors Inc. MoDOT was unable to start the $18-million contract until the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Project two is a 4.4-mi. (7 km) corridor of four-lane highway between Chillicothe and Utica in Livingston County. Work consists of grading and constructing four bridges. Paving, removing three existing bridges and taking out all overflow structures will be included in a separate contract. The three existing overflow bridges will be changed to box culverts.

Grading and bridges will be complete in 2003. For four bridges, over 39,600 ft. (12,200 m) of steel piling will be driven at a depth of 66 ft. (20 m). The project has 10 drilled shaft piers and two 1,815 ft. (550 m) bridges. In all, 16,510 cu. yds. (12,700 cu m) of concrete will be used. The eastbound river bridge will be new construction, and plans call for raising the height of the west bound river bridge.

The project is divided into three phases:

• building the east river bridge and grading;

• paving 2,000 ft. (606.7 m) of the eastbound lane and switching traffic to the eastbound lane at the river; and

• replacing the west river bridge and paving connections to existing pavement.

A final phase of the project is unlike any other. It includes development of a manmade wetland site. “The area was previously levied off farm land. Whenever we disturbed one acre of wetland, we put back one acre of wetland. We’ll be putting in wetland trees and grasses; they’ll be planted and taken care of,” Madsen explained.

For some of the unique design issues, MoDOT collaborated with multiple state and federal agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources and the National Soil Conservation Service. It was an accelerated design process with complexities and input from the Corps of Engineers and the Kansas City-based consulting firm of Burns-McDonald.

According to Shane Peck, MoDOT District 2 public affairs manager, a public meeting was held to explain the Route 36 project and its accompanying wetland site. “People really liked the idea of a conservation area. It’s something for the community,” Peck stated.

Madsen’s area covers 4.5 northern Missouri counties — that’s 1,200 mi. (1,920 km) of roadway to construct and/or maintain. With two projects on one highway, Route 36, MoDOT has experienced diverse working conditions. From shale to wetlands, MoDOT, contractors and construction equipment are meeting site challenges to expand well-traveled corridors.

For more information about four laning Route 36, call 888/275-6636.

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.