Photo Courtsey of Dewberry Engineers Inc.

Part of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's $2.3-billion interchange widening program, this upgrade included a doubling of the main line to 12 lanes and providing separation between cars and trucks. The crew was also required to do a total reconstruction and relocation of Interchange 8 to accommodate the proposed widening and to provide a direct connection to a bypass for safe and free flow of traffic between freeways.

Constant coordination laid the groundwork for the $180-million project, which presented several structural challenges. These included the design of four horizontally curved bridges carrying ramps over main line roadways in a relatively confined space. To accomplish the task, the bridge design incorporated two-span steel plate girder bridges, which reached a length up to 269 ft, and steel box girder straddle bents.

Another hurdle called for utility relocation that included a 30-in. pipeline to be relocated through 1.6 miles of the project. Several pipe alignments were studied to determine the best route possible to avoid impacts to existing and future utilities, drainage facilities, bridge foundations and other obstacles. Full access to the pipeline corridor also had to be provided from the public right-of-way for future maintenance needs.

Dewberry says that early and frequent coordination with all stakeholders, including local and state agencies, was important in gaining support for and timely completion of the project. The firm says it assisted with developing a memorandum of agreement between the state transit authority and NJDOT that eliminated time-consuming NJDOT permits typically required for work on the roadways.

The judges noted those efforts as well as steps the team took to work out structural issues and get the community involved.

Key Players

Owner New Jersey Turnpike Authority

Construction Manager HNTB Corp.

Lead Designer/Structural/Civil/MEP Engineer Dewberry Engineers Inc.

Contractors Contract 601—A. Servidone Inc./B. Anthony Construction Corp. Joint Venture; Contract 602—Crisdel Group/Sordoni Construction Joint Venture; Contract 603—Ferreira Construction Co./Crisdel Group Inc. Joint Venture; Contract 604—Crisdel Group Inc.; Contract 605—PFK-Mark III Inc.

Subcontractors IH Engineering; SJH Engineers; Gannett Fleming; Malick & Scherer PC; Advantage Engineering Associates; InfraMap Corp.