The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) completed the Mt. Hood to Chemult project in 2006. Mt. Hood to Chemult was one of the first projects completed in the OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program, which is a part of Oregon’s 10-year, $3 billion Transportation Investment Act (OTIA).
OTIA was created in response to the state’s aging transportation system and the increasing gap between needed infrastructure improvements and the funds available to pay for those improvements. The Oregon Legislature passed the third phase of OTIA (OTIA III) in 2003, which includes the $1.3 billion State Bridge Delivery program, allowing ODOT to repair or replace hundreds of state highway bridges nearing the end of their design life.
Many of the state’s bridges needing repair or replacement are on Interstate 84 and Interstate 5, which serve as lifelines for the state economy. The Mt. Hood to Chemult corridor was vital to the success of the entire bridge program. Completion of the 220-mile-long corridor — which includes construction of 10 new bridges — was imperative so it could serve as an alternative route once construction began on other key highway corridors. ODOT’s selection of a design-build delivery model provided the basic platform for the project’s success, allowing the project development team, led by David Evans and Associates, Inc. (DEA), greater flexibility and opportunity for innovation, leading to a timely and economical project delivery.
Project Summary
At the time of its design and construction, Mt. Hood to Chemult was the largest design-build project in the ODOT’s history. The $30.5 million project included the construction of 10 new bridges; construction of a major irrigation canal crossing; the widening of highways; the construction of passing lanes; and the construction, removal, and backfill of one decommissioned bridge. This project was implemented to upgrade the load carrying capacity of the entire US Highway 26/97 corridor from Portland, OR, to the California border in support of follow-on capacity upgrades to other key corridors throughout Oregon.
DEA was responsible for all aspects of design, environmental compliance and quality control for this project. As the QC engineer, DEA worked closely with ODOT and its program manager to develop a comprehensive quality control plan covering design and construction. DEA’s construction services included overseeing all aspects of construction and inspection.
The design-build delivery method allowed the firms to work as partners. According to Steve Narkiewicz, the ODOT bridge delivery unit consultant project manager, the project was completed with lightning speed compared to the traditional design-bid-build process. He acknowledged that the team encountered a number of challenges including increased environmental regulation, utility relocation delays, and changed project requirements, but the team was able to deliver the project without delay. Narkiewicz praised the design-build approach, which fostered innovation as evidenced in some of the techniques used to build the bridges.
Project Highlights and Notable Accomplishments
Integration of elements
The rapid completion of this project was a testament to the open communication between the contractors and ODOT. This project called for the integration of many different elements at multiple sites. There were 13 different project sites spread over 200 highway miles. DEA was responsible for ensuring full integration of site evaluation, design, and construction engineering. This involved coordinating groups that ranged from multiple design groups to utilities and railroads.
Alder Creek Bridge
At the time of construction, the Alder Creek Bridge set the record for longest precast, prestressed non-segmental concrete girder bridge in Oregon. The choice of a single span structure eliminated permanent impacts to the river’s ecosystem and supported the project’s high-speed construction strategy.
The use of design-build delivery enabled the team to meet the client’s specifications while allowing the contractor to select the structure type and construction methodology that provided the lowest possible price.
When pile driving operations struck hard bedrock much closer to the surface than the soil borings had indicated, the design-build team was able to redesign new spread-footing abutments and deliver final designs to the field in the same timeframe that it took to excavate and prepare the foundations, potentially saving weeks compared to the typical design-bid-build scenario.
UPRR Clackamas Bridge
This portion of the project included the replacement of an existing reinforced concrete deck girder bridge, plus the widening and strengthening of an adjacent precast concrete slab bridge crossing Union Pacific Railroad’s heavily traveled north-south mainline. No train delays of any kind were tolerated.
The design-build team played a leading role in developing construction and maintenance agreements for execution by ODOT and UPRR, activities that have traditionally been handled exclusively by ODOT in design-bid-build projects. The design-build team was able to obtain legal agreements in time to support the required construction schedule with no inconvenience to ODOT.
During construction, previously unidentified wetlands were found immediately adjacent to both sides of the bridge, which necessitated the redesign of the west bridge approach to minimize the project footprint and eliminate impacts to the wetlands. The design-build team quickly issued plan revisions that maintained the pace of construction, thereby eliminating delays typical to a design-bid-build scenario.
Chemult Bridge
Another historical accomplishment was the construction of the Chemult Bridge. An eight-span concrete and steel structure overcrossing the Union Pacific Railroad north-south mainline was replaced with a 182-foot single-span precast prestressed non-segmental concrete girder bridge. This bridge beat the previous record set by the Alder Creek Bridge for the longest precast, prestressed non-segmental concrete girder bridge in Oregon.
The design-build team, Morse Brother’s Inc. and ODOT developed a 90-inch-deep precast prestressed deck bulb-T standard for use on this and other projects. The new structural shape is especially valuable because it can be used when long, cost-effective spans are necessary with minimal impact on environmentally sensitive areas. This project gave ODOT the opportunity to move ahead with developing the larger standard with the support from the contracting community that was afforded by the design-build atmosphere of innovation.
North Unit Main Canal Bridges
These bridges replaced existing three-span bridges over the North Unit Irrigation District’s (NUID) main agricultural irrigation canal in Central Oregon with single-span structures that clear span the canal, eliminating the need for ODOT to perform maintenance activities within the canal. The projects, which included the construction of detour bridges, demolition of the existing bridges, and construction of new bridges and approaches, were constructed entirely within NUID’s five-month winter shutdown period.
After substantial design completion and just eight weeks before the scheduled start of construction, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s (USACE) Portland District released policy guidelines that changed the regulatory jurisdiction of irrigation canals in the Pacific Northwest. The USACE declared jurisdiction over canals like the North Unit main canal, which completely changed the regulatory permitting requirements and threatened to delay construction of the bridges by at least one year. The design-build team was able to quickly develop an expedient permitting strategy, modify designs to comply with standing nation-wide permits and begin construction on schedule without any impact or inconvenience to ODOT. This was a critical event in meeting the completion date of the overall project.
Pilot Butte Canal Bridge
The original project scope included the replacement of an existing three-span bridge with a single-span bridge crossing the Central Oregon Irrigation District’s (COID) Pilot Butte irrigation canal. After design completion, COID approached ODOT with a request to change the bridge to a large-diameter pressure siphon culvert to match COID’s master plan for the canal.
Because this was a design-build project, all of the pieces were in place for the contractor to respond quickly to COID’s request. Redesign of the crossing was initiated immediately and, through expedited review and oversight by ODOT, the design was completed in time to meet the original construction start date. Just as at the North Unit Main Canal bridges, the construction of the Pilot Butte facility needed to occur during COID’s five-month winter shutdown period, so this situation would certainly have delayed construction by at least a year under the typical design-bid-build scenario. This was another critical event in meeting the completion date of the overall project.
Design-Build
The success of this project can be directly tied to the use of design-build delivery method. It was advantageous to use design-build rather than a traditional design-bid-build delivery method because it afforded the team more flexibility and opportunity for innovation, which resulted in saved time and reduced costs.
Because ODOT identified this project as a design-build contract, the work was completed quickly and economically. The project reached substantial completion on schedule and below budget. Had this project been a traditional design-bid-build project, it could easily have taken up to eight years to complete the work at so many diverse sites rather than the 26 months it actually took to complete. Although challenges arose during the project, the design-build process allowed the contractors to be creative and innovative to meet the client’s need.
For instance, the design-build team was able to avoid falling behind schedule when last-minute changes needed to be made to the spread-footing abutments for the Alder Creek Bridge. They were able to make changes in design before it affected the construction timeline. Time was also saved when a redesign was necessary on a crossing for Pilot Butte Canal Bridge. All of the pieces were in place, so the new design was completed in time to meet the original schedule.
The design-build team also was able to take advantage of the flexibility this delivery model provides while working on the North Unit Main Canal bridges. Regulatory jurisdiction over the canal changed after substantial design was complete. Rather than delaying the project, the team was able to develop expedient permitting strategies and quickly modify designs for compliance with the new permitting requirements.
Many of the projects were completed on schedule and on budget due to the use of design-build delivery. The specific project adjustments varied from site to site, but design-build delivery allowed the team to creatively solve problems without delays or unnecessary expenses.
OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program
The Oregon Transportation Initiative Act (OTIA) is a multi-phase effort enacted by the state of Oregon to address the statewide need for a healthier transportation infrastructure. The state of Oregon has not made a transportation investment of this magnitude in highway and bridge construction since the state’s interstate freeway system was built in the 1950s and 60s.
The first two phases (OTIA I and OTIA II) include more than 170 projects worth $672 million. Building on the successes of OTIA I and II, the Oregon Legislature enacted the third Oregon Transportation Investment Act, or OTIA III in 2003. OTIA III focuses on bridges and includes the $1.3 billion State Bridge Delivery Program, which will repair or replace hundreds of aging state highway bridges by 2013.
ODOT is outsourcing the bridge repair and replacement work and the jobs it creates directly to Oregon’s engineering and construction industry. The design-build team for the Mt. Hood to Chemult project consisted of all Oregon-owned construction companies led by prime design firm DEA, prime contractor Wildish Standard Paving, and major subcontractor Hamilton Construction Company.
Conclusion
The Mt. Hood to Chemult project played a vital role in the OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program. Without on-time delivery, the project could have had negative impacts on the entire program, creating a domino effect within the program schedule. Design-build delivery allowed DEA, Wildish Standard Paving, and Hamilton Construction Company to successfully overcome obstacles with greater flexibility and expediency than a traditional design-bid-build delivery would have done. The successful completion of this project is positive for both the transportation infrastructure and Oregonians. Motorists and commercial drivers are able to drive safely on this corridor without weight limits or narrow bridges.
The strategic use of the design-build delivery method by ODOT is a testament to the agency’s creative approach to meeting nearly insurmountable program timelines. ODOT not only embraced the design-build project delivery method, but proactively partnered with the design-build team through the many challenges the project faced. All parties involved in the project met at substantial completion to celebrate and note lessons learned for future growth of the program.
INFO: David Evans and Associates, Inc. (www.deainc.com)