KT Holden Construction recently completed the reconstruction of an interchange from Interstate 71 onto Kennedy Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, increasing capacity and flow while improving safety for the on- and off-ramps. The acceleration lane was redesigned, making it wider and allowing more capacity to accommodate current traffic patterns. A concrete barrier wall was also added, along with better signage and a traffic light to further enhance the safety and traffic flow for this heavily traveled area.
The project required 21,000 cubic yards of excavation, cement stabilization of the subgrade, 12,000 feet of storm sewer, and 5,000 yards of reinforced concrete pavement. A 12-foot box culvert to better manage stormwater runoff was also extended, which involved coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, KT crews had to erect a concrete encasement which served as a floodwall, along with cutting several detention ponds, sloping some banks, and moving fill as needed.
At $5 million, this project was the largest public works project KT Holden has completed to date. FleetWatcher’s telematics platform gave them real time visibility to their equipment, allowing them to make decisions that kept the job on track and optimized each foot of the 7-acre job site.
“We were awarded the project in November of 2023 and mobilized onto the job site in March of ’24,” KT Holden President Kate Holden said. “The first activity was extending the 12-foot box culvert so we could build a ramp over the box culvert to North I-71 to tie into an existing channel. Two significant rain events further complicated the project. Heavy rains rushed through the existing channel, lifted the concrete slabs of the channel, and carried them downstream.”
KT crews revised their planning and scheduling around rain events, pivoting crews to other projects. After fixing the box culverts and elongating them to control the stormwater, they progressed to other aspects of the project. With a short ramp closure window to work within, they had to work fast and smart.
| Your local Komatsu America Corp dealer |
|---|
| Linder Industrial Machinery |
“We were able to build much of the job offline and off the closure, but when our 60-day closure hit, it was all hands on deck,” KT Holden Vice President Tyler Holden said. “We were hitting every aspect of it, with a lot of activity in a small area.”
“At one point we had three crews on the job,” Kate said. “One was driving sheeting, one was moving dirt, and one was putting pipe in the ground.”
That was just the KT crews. The electrical, concrete, and stabilization subcontractors, along with other subs, were also coming and going. With this much activity on a constricted space, communication was critical.
One tool they used to provide transparency to all aspects of the project and improve communications was FleetWatcher. Designed specifically for heavy construction projects, the telematics platform provides transparency so that users can see where each piece of equipment is, what it is doing or not doing, whether it is idling or being productive, and more.
| Your local Topcon Positioning Systems Inc dealer |
|---|
| Linder Industrial Machinery |
Data from transponders attached to their equipment flowed through the FleetWatcher platform to operators and key KT personnel via the FleetWatcher app to phones or other devices, as well as computers at the offices. Armed with this information, users can make real-time decisions to positively impact project success — like better allocating equipment, for example.
“We turned on FleetWatcher during this project, and it was a learning curve,” Tyler said. “It was nice to have on that job particularly, so you could see different crews using equipment or not using equipment so that we could adjust if a different crew needed something. There were multiple times where one of our crews needed the dirt crew to come over and do a little bit of dirt work for them on the culvert and then go back to what they were doing. It was great being able to track that in real time.”
Even stockpiling gravel was a challenge, with the project having a small footprint. “We could now see where they were going and what they were doing. With multiple crews in a small area, we could determine where each crew’s materials could be staged,” Tyler continued. “Gravel was a big one, as there were only a few places we could store it.”
FleetWatcher allowed KT to see the exact routes their equipment was taking so they could immediately make adjustments to maximize cycle time. “Without this visibility, routing and cycle time would likely not have been noticed, so any inefficiencies would continue,” Tyler said. “Now with a tool to measure the data, it shines a light on areas for improvement.”
| Your local Volvo Construction Equipment dealer |
|---|
| Richmond Machinery & Equipment |
“Loader idling was something I would notice when I was on the job site, but my time on site was usually an hour or less,” he added. “FleetWatcher gave us the ability to monitor this from the office and put processes in place to eliminate unnecessary idling.”
In addition to providing transparency to all equipment used on the project, FleetWatcher is helping KT Holden with maintenance, equipment service, and idle reduction. “A couple crews were really bad about leaving equipment running, so we’re addressing that, which is saving us money, obviously,” Tyler said.
They are also becoming more efficient on the maintenance and service side of things. “Having an immediate and easy access to any check engine lights and service codes and different maintenance items that pop up is really helpful,” Tyler added. “Our maintenance guys can be prepared if they do have to go into the field for a service call.”
That saves them from having to bring everything and can eliminate some trips altogether. The maintenance team has been more proactive.
| Your local Bomag Americas dealer |
|---|
| Linder Industrial Machinery |
“They’re making calls from the shop because they’re seeing live data on the maintenance and repair side,” Tyler said. “They know what to bring or who else to call. ‘Maybe I don’t even need to go at all because the problem is minor and can wait until we get the equipment back in the shop.’”
While the Kennedy Avenue interchange project was the inaugural FleetWatcher project, the Holden team is excited to see how they can expand its uses throughout the company. With 60 employees across six construction crews doing public infrastructure and private sitework development, there are plenty of opportunities to use the data from their assortment of excavators, dozers, loaders, articulated off-road trucks, scrapers, road graders, and attachments.
Since founding the company in 2018, Kate has been a strong proponent of learning from each project to continue to improve. When they find equipment and suppliers that perform for them, they are loyal. That is why they tend to buy from companies like Link-Belt, Caterpillar, John Deere, Werk-Brau, and local distributors like Murphy Tractor and RECO Equipment.
“At one point on this project we had six Link-Belt excavators, which was something, since it was such a small site,” Kate said.
| Your local Trimble Construction Division dealer |
|---|
| SITECH Mid-South |
Each of the Link-Belt 245 and 355 excavators is fitted with Werk-Brau quick couplers and heavy-duty buckets ranging from 24 inches to 72 inches, with some specials like rock buckets and ditching buckets as well.
“The quality is very good, and we love the fact that Werk-Brau’s factory is here in Ohio,” Tyler said. “Their local distributors service us well, too.”
Having the right equipment, knowing where it is and what it is doing, and constant communication proved to be the keys to success for KT Holden as they tackled their largest public infrastructure project — the Kennedy Avenue interchange to Interstate 71.
