"It was a two-hour move to get the precast in. We poured concrete from midnight to 3 a.m.," Cahill says. The team had to prepare the ground, setting precise locations for the cranes and every bit of precast as if they were conducting "an orchestrated piece of music," he adds. "To set 36 pieces of precast in 12 hours, we couldn't afford [delays]."

Critical Planning

J.F. White-Kiewet and Tetra-Tech, the Pasadena, Calif.-based lead design engineer for highway and traffic management, dedicated six months to planning and met with various stakeholders on top of the previous six months of outreach by MassDOT, Harney says. Recently, contractors working on the congested 405 freeway in Los Angeles avoided congestion problems by completing their work early.

"The biggest challenge was getting info out to the driving public," says MassDOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola. The agency managed traffic using an online virtual messaging system that gave estimated driving times for detours on digital roadside display boards. To avoid bottlenecks, the agency kept on-site emergency vehicles and tow trucks on call throughout construction so that any breakdowns or fender benders could be cleared quickly without causing gridlock.

The American Association for State Highway and Transportation Officials cited "93 Fast 14" for an innovation award for developing an efficient system to repair MassDOT's backlog of structurally deficient bridges in an area traveled by 200,000 vehicles daily. It also received a $1-million grant from the Federal Highway Administration and national attention for innovation it used to replace the 60-year-old bridges quickly and safely with minimal impact to commuters.