A Stimulating Project
...will build 17 bridges near the Turnpike interchange. Florida Structural Steel and Tampa Steel Erecting, both of Tampa, will provide approximately 20,000 tons of steel.
Kailas Contractors of Hialeah Gardens, Fla., has begun site preparation and paving of sidewalks along the Broward County Greenways. Workers also have begun clearing and grubbing for sound-wall installation. I-595 Express expects lane construction to start by yearend.
RS&H of Jacksonville completed preliminary drawings and now serves as the corridor design consultant. I-595 Express and Dragados’ design partner AECOM Technology Corp. of Los Angeles have modified the original plans.
“They are continuing refinement and have focused on maximizing use of the existing infrastructure,” says Phil Schwab, vice president of transportation for RS&H. “There’s less reconstruction and more milling and resurfacing, and some bridges we indicated needed to be replaced, they are able to save.”
The team divided construction into nine zones.
“The structure of the schedule is related to the traffic-control plan and to minimize impact to the existing traffic,” Muelas says.
By 2011, work will take place along the entire corridor, adds Paul Lampley, I-595 construction project manager for FDOT. The team currently employs 500 full-time workers and 300 part-timers. At peak, the team expects thousands of full-time workers will complete $1 million in work per day along the corridor.
“It has been a huge economic benefit to all of South Florida,” Lampley says.
FDOT set an 8.1% disadvantaged business enterprise goal. I-595 Express has concentrated outreach efforts on attracting such subcontractors from the local community. The project is scheduled for completion in 2014.
Useful Sources:
I-595 Corridor Improvements
http://www.i-595.com
I-595 Express
http://www.i595express.com/
