The Westbound U.S. Highway 10 Reconstruct project in Bay County, Michigan, is only 5.68 miles long. Yet it includes a number of methodologies that will improve traffic flow and the driving surface, plus increase the structure life of the highway and the three bridges involved.
The lead contractor on the $32.8 million project is Kalin Construction Company on a low-bid contract, and engineering on the project was done by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Funding was 81.85 percent federal and 18.15 percent state. Construction began in April 2023, and all major work will be completed by November 1, 2024.
“The challenges were minimal,” MDOT Engineer Paul Schiefer said. He stressed how coordination among Kalin, MDOT, and 23 subcontractors and suppliers has been essential in making the work a smooth and steady ride toward a rapid completion.
“Phase one was redoing the westbound expressway from the point of beginning to the point of ending,” Kalin Project Manager Allen Robinson said.
The roadway work also served as a test of subbase formulas for MDOT to possibly use in future roadway projects.
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“We had four demo zones with differences in subbase thickness,” Schiefer said. “The first one had 18 inches of existing sand subbase that we kept in place. We did a new 6-inch aggregate base and 8 inches [of] hot mix asphalt [HMA]. The second demo was 10 inches of new sand subbase, 6-inch ag base, and 10 inches of HMA. Third one was 10 inches of existing sand subbase, 6-inch ag base, and then 10 inches of HMA. And the fourth one was 18 inches of new sand subbase, and 6 inches of ag base, and 8 inches of HMA. So it's roadway as an experiment.”
Continuous echelon paving of the road surface was provided by Ace-Saginaw Asphalt Paving Company in two phases. It provides a seamless roadway surface with no joints that smooths the ride for vehicles.
The most significant improvement and innovation is the Highway 10 interchange with Mackinaw Road just west of Bay City, which had been controlled by four traffic lights. Two new roundabouts connected with ramps to and from both roads will create an unimpeded traffic flow at the busy juncture.
“There’s a large industrial complex on the southwest portion and one of the largest beer distributors in the state at the southeast part,” Schiefer said. “And a lot of their truck flows are on and off of U.S. 10. The roundabout helps keeps their trucks moving. We’re doing more and more of them in the state.”
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The common roadway work challenge of maintaining traffic flow while the project is being done was enabled by rerouting westbound travel onto a single lane on the recently rebuilt eastbound route of the four-lane divided highway via temporary crossovers. MDOT also plotted out alternative routing around the project, providing aid for drivers with its online Mi Drive map.
After initial groundwork by Kalin, the Mackinaw Road bridge over U.S. 10 at the intersection is currently being rebuilt by Davis Construction. The level surface enabled the use of a Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil wall abutment system rather than using a deep spread foundation, driving piles, or drilling shafts. The precast concrete Bulb Tees atop the abutments use carbon fibers instead of steel strands to avoid corrosion that lessens the lifespan of the supports, yet it maintains the same design strength.
Similarly, the bridge deck uses 100 ksi ChromX rebar that has greater corrosion resistance and higher strength than more commonly used rebar. The rebar also yielded a cost savings by using between 15 percent to 20 percent less steel, Schiefer said.
The bridge roadway deck was also designed with 12-foot lanes and 12-foot shoulders. “When we have to do rehab on it in the future, we can still maintain two lanes of traffic across it,” Schiefer explained.
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“Typically, when we design a bridge, it's for a 75-year life,” Schiefer said. “So we can feel more comfortable that we're going to achieve and potentially exceed that life.” He said the design is also “a lot quicker to build.”
The project also included work during its initial phase on two smaller bridges over a creek and road on Highway 10. “They were built with large reinforcement, a tank of a bridge,” Schiefer said.
Roadway work was limited to removing 2 inches of the existing latex concrete wearing surface atop the decks, as well as replacing it with an impervious polyester polymer concrete overlay. It provides an impervious layer that protects the rebar on the bridges from rust and corrosion. The barrier walls were also upgraded.
Kalin used an Impactor 3000 to break up the old roadbed and brought in a Lippmann jaw crusher to create aggregate for use underneath the new highway surface.
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“We weren't able to use it all on the job, but we did use a good chunk of it,” Robinson said. This was another money-saving measure. The remainder was able to be sold for use on other projects.
The Highway 10 roadbed was free of contaminants, but areas on the median were found to contain polyfluoroalkyl substances that are hazardous to human health and had to be removed. Schiefer suspects that they came from foam retardants used to put out car fires.
“We had no other reason to believe otherwise,” he said. “We tested everything, but we didn't find anything on the outside shoulders. It was just between these two divided roadways.”
The project was planned with phases and interim deadlines to maximize efficiency. A fairly mild 2023 to 2024 winter season also favored the work schedule.
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“The schedule was fairly aggressive, so we couldn't lose a lot of days to rain,” Robinson said. “Obviously, we worked some seven-day weeks, but not too many.”
According to Robinson, the major work is on schedule to be done November 1. “We have some run over into next year, but it's nothing big — planting some bushes and stuff that has seasonal limitations as to when you can place them in,” he said.
Both the general contractor and MDOT stress how their positive collaboration has been a major factor in the project’s success.
“The partnership between the highway department and Kalin Construction has been a key part of making this work,” Robinson said. “And I can only say good things about the [MDOT Bay City Transportation Service Center] office that I'm working with here and Paul and his team. It's truly been a proactive effort on both sides; we're not waiting for answers. It makes the whole process easier for both of us.”
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“We quickly worked with Kalin through any problems that came up and with the same goal in mind, making each step of the project delivered on time,” Schiefer said. “All three of those contractors — Kalin, Davis, and Ace-Saginaw — have been great to work with. I know we're working in a low bid system, but getting these guys involved on this project really helped it move forward.”
- Owner/Engineer: Michigan Department of Transportation
- General Contractor: Kalin Construction Company, Sodus, Michigan
- Key Subcontractors: Davis Construction Inc., Lansing, Michigan - Project Manager, Zech Clise; Ace-Saginaw Paving Company, Saginaw, Michigan - Project Manager, Natt Gotts; PK Contracting, Moorestown, Michigan - Project Manager, Dave Lanier; Black Swamp Steel, Inc., Holland, Ohio - Project Manager, Brad Carpenter; T&D Concrete Construction LLC, Mason, Michigan - Project Manager, Rick Torres; Zimmerman and Sons Electric, Port Austin, Michigan - Project Manager, Adam Zimmerman
