AASHTO Journal, 19 October 2012
Oklahoma Department of Transportation completed a 7-mile reconstruction and realignment of heavily traveled State Highway 33 in Perkins in just over five months and opened it to traffic nine days ahead of schedule.
Work began in early June of 2011 after ODOT decided to realign that seven miles of SH-33. The $17 million project included the addition of shoulders and the inclusion of new drainage structures in order to prepare for future lane expansion on the highway. ODOT also wanted to make the roadway safer for all by improving sight distance at intersections, removing two sub-standard curves, replacing two load-posted bridges, and increasing passing lane length. ODOT planned on construction through the end of November.
ODOT was able to keep inconvenience to motorists to a minimum through the process. The project was built on a parallel alignment so that ODOT could keep the old SH-33 roadway open to traffic.
The project wasn’t without complications, however. Once construction began, ODOT quickly discovered that several portions of the underlying roadway contained areas of unstable sand, ranging from 20 feet to 70 feet deep. The project called for a high water table and constant movement of equipment, which made those unstable areas react like quicksand. Construction equipment often got stuck in that sand, prompting ODOT and its contractors to come up with a solution, which included the placement of truckloads of rip-rap to create friction. That friction between the sand and the rip-rap created a hard base on which it was safe to build the new road.
Even with the unforeseen challenges, ODOT opened up the roadway on Nov. 18, 2011, which was still a full nine days ahead of schedule. Most impressive was that drivers were able to travel the route during the construction process and didn’t have to deal with detours or delays.