Submitted by Flatiron
The Fairmead Route 99 project was designed to remove the at-grade crossings that have allowed the local traffic to cross Route 99 traffic, and add one more travel lane in both the northbound and southbound directions. The $51.1-million project consisted of building a new frontage road to collect the county roads and build two bridges to carry this traffic over Route 99 and the railroad that parallels the route.
Through five stages, the existing Route 99 was removed and replaced with new Portland cement concrete paving. The existing irrigation system was rerouted through a series of pipes to keep the system operational throughout the construction of the project.
The project was constructed in four stages to allow continuous four-lane traffic during all construction. The project team says it used a Gamaco 2600 PCCP paving machine that was built for this project. The PCCP roads that have been built in the past have had asphalt shoulders. This project had PCCP shoulders with a variable cross slope. What made this paving machine effective was the ability to have the travel lane at one cross slope while the cross slope of the shoulder would vary for on and off ramps and curves.
This project has changed a dangerous section of Route 99 to a more safer route. Route 99 has become one of the main north and south trucking routes for California. The project has also created better access to the town of Fairmead. As a result of this project the town is seeing new possibilities in growth, both for residents and businesses with better access onto Route 99.
Project Team
Developer/Owner: Caltrans, Sacramento
General Contractor: Flatiron, Benicia