After 22 years a freeway project is finally finished.

[Silver]

Is it time to widen it again now?

 

[4WD]

Sometimes things have to "settle" in road construction. Sometimes they'll leave a big pile of dirt somewhere for a year or two to compress the land beneath it. Doesn't look to the untrained eye like much is going on.

One thing they are doing on the freeway expansion/upgrade is the side roads used to cross the freeway - now the freeway must cross the roads for max load clearances for the freeway - so a tremendous amount of dirt is moved in and/or relocated. They use these large CAT dump trucks hauled in and assembled per road section … They do the packing with equipment - the longest wait period is for a foot of concrete over a bed of asphalt - so expansion joints are not there. It’s good quality work.
Must be getting ready for 10 MW nacelles

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

So much time and money spent on just a few HOV lanes that will get oversaturated from day one and will quickly make no difference whatsoever in commute time. Considering how the people interviewed seem to genuinely believe this is the answer to their prayers shows you what a bill of goods they were sold.

I live the the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. They can keep making 495 and 66 wider and wider and wider and it never makes any difference. There will always be more cars to fill the gaps in traffic.

 

[4WD]

So much time and money spent on just a few HOV lanes that will get oversaturated from day one and will quickly make no difference whatsoever in commute time. Considering how the people interviewed seem to genuinely believe this is the answer to their prayers shows you what a bill of goods they were sold.

I live the the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. They can keep making 495 and 66 wider and wider and wider and it never makes any difference. There will always be more cars to fill the gaps in traffic.

Transportation Official Caught Using Blow-Up Doll in HOV Lane

middleamericanews.com

 

[Krieg]

You had to be here to really see the frustration and total incompetence. The Nalley Valley Viaduct is one example. Build a bridge by starting on both ends. As the two sections got close they were off by around 12” in elevation and a lot more than that horizontally.

The light rail to the airport is another example. It was promoted as the quick way to get to SeaTac but nobody knew that the line stopped a ¼ mile from the terminal which required a bridge link to connect the two. If you have bags well good luck.


I’m waiting to see how traffic compares. In 22 years the amount of traffic has really increased. As you know, there are not a lot of alternatives due to geography

Tunnel would be my go to. Use (AI) automated machines including 3d printing....

 

[PimTac]

Tunnel would be my go to. Use (AI) automated machines including 3d printing....

Depends on the situation. In Seattle they had the Alaskan Way viaduct which was a double decker freeway that ran along the bay front in downtown much like the old Embarcadero in Oakland. A earthquake caused it to shift and lean. They replaced it with a tunnel which provided a open space on top for pedestrian use. The cost was much higher due to building a sea wall on the water side.

In the case of Nalley Valley this is a valley filled with industrial and commercial business. A tunnel would not work here. The Interstate skirts the edge of the valley.

 

[PWMDMD]

I commuted about an hour each way for dental school. The first week of my first year they started highway construction on about 1/8 mile of highway which included widening it and updating some on and off ramps. This went on for four years of dental school plus one year of residency and with about a month left in residency after 5 years, it was done. Two months later it was discovered it wasn't completed correctly, 80% needed to be redone, and the original company declared bankruptcy. Your tax dollars at work.

 

[Donald]

Any of you who have driven Interstate 5 through Tacoma will know how much this project impacted traffic. The basic idea was to add one HOV lane in each direction but that involved removing every overpass along the way and replacing most of them. The freeway itself runs on bridges in the downtown area which meant replacement of those. The I-5 / WA-16 interchange was particularly difficult which ending up being redone again as measurements were miscalculated along the way.

It’s finally done. 22 years.

22 years of construction on I-5 in Tacoma wraps up with opening of HOV lanes this weekend

After more than two decades of work, construction on I-5 in Tacoma is wrapping up.

www.kiro7.com

And the cost??

 

[c502cid]

You had to be here to really see the frustration and total incompetence. The Nalley Valley Viaduct is one example. Build a bridge by starting on both ends. As the two sections got close they were off by around 12” in elevation and a lot more than that horizontally.

The light rail to the airport is another example. It was promoted as the quick way to get to SeaTac but nobody knew that the line stopped a ¼ mile from the terminal which required a bridge link to connect the two. If you have bags well good luck.


I’m waiting to see how traffic compares. In 22 years the amount of traffic has really increased. As you know, there are not a lot of alternatives due to geography

I worked in Centralia for 7 years, first couple of years flew in/out of PDX, life was easy. Then I had a kid move to Seattle to go to school and I was flying out of Seatac. I battled that mess for years, glad to hear it is finished!

 

[mrsilv04]

I-40/I-75 through Knoxville. That project only took the best part of 10 years.

 

[MrStamper]

Musk said it best, either tunnel or build double-decker freeways.

 

[PimTac]

I worked in Centralia for 7 years, first couple of years flew in/out of PDX, life was easy. Then I had a kid move to Seattle to go to school and I was flying out of Seatac. I battled that mess for years, glad to hear it is finished!

PDX is a very easy accessible airport. We travel on the 205 every time we go to Portland.

 

[PimTac]

 

[chrlsful]

then after all done they decide to put it underground: see "Boston's" Big Dig (the
whole state paid 4 it & "they" benifit).
15, 20 yrs construction mess to 'drive' thru; supposed 2.8 bill$ "cost" ending w/14.6bil$ actual, & 22 due to bond interest. I think
a family was killed a yr after completion as parts failed way early (revealing coruption in contracts) droping on their car as they drove by.

What Lessons Can Be Learned from the Boston Big Dig? | Project Cost Solutions

What lessons can be learned from the Boston Big Dig? Learn how lessons from the Boston Big Dig can should be applied to every construction project, regardless of size or budget.

projectcostsolutions.com

 

[clinebarger]

How about I35W through downtown Ft. Worth. They have been messing around with that for the better part of 40 years.
Same thing with I294 in Chicago. They have had parts of it continuously torn-up for my entire life, and it's torn-up again.
This is what Austin is in-for I'm afraid.

And still have it narrow down to 2 lanes southbound under the Belknap Overpass that's been there since the 50's. Guess they didn't care as the Toll Part goes over it.

I HATE I35W, I live @ 3/4 of a mile from the I35W/Southbound 28TH Street on ramp. When the freeway backs up....We get idiots trying to bypass, You'd think with GPS people would know there's only so many ways to cross the West Fork of the Trinity River. They get trapped in the neighborhood with all the dead end streets, Then they get even more upset & start driving very aggressively....Running stop signs & speeding.
We had a 18 wheeler try to turn around on a dead end road & rip a power line down even though the main entrance road is clearly marked with No Thru Trucks signs.

 

[chrlsful]

dont these guys have professional journals or talk to one another? Same mistakes over'n over...
is it the quality of city or regional managment? planners suck? corruption? The building mistaker R engineering

 

[wag123]

And still have it narrow down to 2 lanes southbound under the Belknap Overpass that's been there since the 50's. Guess they didn't care as the Toll Part goes over it.

I HATE I35W, I live @ 3/4 of a mile from the I35W/Southbound 28TH Street on ramp. When the freeway backs up....We get idiots trying to bypass, You'd think with GPS people would know there's only so many ways to cross the West Fork of the Trinity River. They get trapped in the neighborhood with all the dead end streets, Then they get even more upset & start driving very aggressively....Running stop signs & speeding.
We had a 18 wheeler try to turn around on a dead end road & rip a power line down even though the main entrance road is clearly marked with No Thru Trucks signs.

TXDOT has to be the most dysfunctional governmental entity in the country. I don't trust them with tearing-up I35 all the way through Austin. Their ridiculous plan has them building the entire expressway below street level in central Austin and building parks and green spaces on top of it. If this isn't the most moronic idea I have ever heard, I don't know what is.

 

[chrlsful]

copying 'Boss Town' (C my abpve)/ Our nation is like that.
We had urban renewal @ the 'food hub'. It was the ol european style. Buyers for the chains came in, saw the wears displayed, said I'll take xx tons. Off it went to Krogers for a state-wide regon. A lanner came in and turned it into Fanuel Hall region. Then they hired him out & he did Baltimore, hired to St Lou, etc.
May be in the same process w/this. Read my link so as to stop it if possible.

 

[WylieCoyote]

They are about to tear-up I35 all the way through the middle of the city of Austin. Anyone who has driven in Austin knows what a cluster Austin traffic has become, especially I35. The traffic is jammed-up at 3am on weekdays, forget about getting anywhere at rush hour. I'm willing to bet that my grand kids don't see the end of this (and they don't even exist as yet), I certainly won't.

35 was a disaster area in and south of Dallas when I moved here in 1995, and continues to be. They've designed it as a perpetual project.

 

[WylieCoyote]

TXDOT has to be the most dysfunctional governmental entity in the country. I don't trust them with tearing-up I35 all the way through Austin. Their ridiculous plan has them building the entire expressway below street level in central Austin and building parks and green spaces on top of it. If this isn't the most moronic idea I have ever heard, I don't know what is.

From the designers all the way down to the workers, it's dysfunctional. It takes them years to accomplish what should be done in months. Every time I drive through a construction site I see five people standing around and one person working. What's their motivation to work faster? 0.