WESTBOROUGH, MA — The Moles, a fraternal organization of the heavy construction industry, held their annual New England Students Day in Westborough, Massachusetts, at the I-495/I-90 Interchange, site of a major design-build infrastructure project that the design-build team of Barletta Heavy Construction, AETNA Bridge Company, and O&G Industries, with VHB as lead designer, is undertaking for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

The event provided college students with an open-air classroom and a tour of the project site and ongoing construction, which is at one of Massachusetts’ busiest interchanges and is currently the state’s largest transportation infrastructure project.

The site tour involved stops at eight stations, including the MassDOT Research and Materials Laboratory. Guides at each site delivered detailed technical presentations of the work in progress. As lead designer for this design-build project, VHB introduced the students to some of the integrated services the team is handling, ranging from environmental permitting and compliance, stormwater management, and wetlands preservation, to structural design, highway and traffic design, and public engagement.

The $400 million project aims to alleviate congestion, enhance traffic flow, and improve safety for the 100,000-plus vehicles that travel on both interstates daily. The complete replacement of the interchange includes redesigned interstate mainlines on I-495 and I-90, eight new ramps, and several associated new bridges and retaining walls.