New Mexico's Open "I" Surgery Features Innovation, Incentives
"A lot of people said there is no way this project can be completed in 24 months," says Bill Moore, project engineer for New York City-based construction manager Parsons Brinckerhoff. The Big I opened a month early on May 25, with less than 2% in change orders and 2 million work hours without a lost-time accident.
"We compare it to open-heart surgery, since almost all the commerce in Albuquerque travels the Big I or is centered around it," says Allan L. Whitesel, project director for the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Dept. (NMSHTD). "We had as much construction going on in that 1-mile radius in two years as we did in one year for the rest of the state."