Careful planning has lead to innovative staging, as well as cost-effective and efficient concrete paving of U.S. 18/151 Verona Road Project, Stage 2 in Dane County and the Madison, Wisconsin, USA. The STAGE 2 PROJECT continues the AWARD-WINNING STAGE 1 PROJECT. It reconstructs one of the busiest corridors in the metropolitan area, as Verona Road links major economic centers of northeastern Iowa, Madison, and the Fox Valley via the National Highway System and is a critical corridor in Dane County. Dane County is the fastest-growing county by population in Wisconsin, double the rate of any other county in the state. Verona Road is also an important commuter corridor for major businesses in the area, carrying Verona Road and County PD carry approximately 56,000 and 34,000 vehicles per day, respectively, with nearly 10% truck traffic.
Robert Cervero, Professor-UC-Berkeley and Noted Transportation Author once wrote, “Planning of the automobile city focuses on saving time. Planning for the accessible city, on the other hand, focuses on time well spent.”—a statement that stands well as a philosophical and operational treatise for the planners of the USH 18/151 Verona Road Reconstruction Project (Stage 1 Project).
Wisconsin DOT’s (WisDOT) MAJORS PROGRAM:
The $265-million Verona Road Project was divided into two stages:
STAGE 1 PROJECT:
• AWARD-WINNING: The Roads & Bridges “Top Road Project of 2017”!
• Complete
• Reconstruction of Verona Road between Raymond Road and the West Madison Beltline
STAGE 2 PROJECT:
• Completed on time in November 2020 and under budget
• Reconstruction of Verona Road between County PD and Raymond Road
• Reconstruction of a portion of County PD
PHASED APPROACH:
STAGE 2 PROJECT:
Sequenced into 3 significant bid lettings—construction beginning in fall 2016.
• Reconstruction of more than 2 miles of Verona Road
• Reconstruction nearly 1 mile of County PD
• Addition of a single-point urban interchange (SPUI) at Verona Road and County PD
• Tight urban diamond interchange (TUDI) at Verona Road and Williamsburg Way
• Collector-distributor (CD) lanes between County PD and Williamsburg Way
• Reconstruction of Williamsburg Way
• Roundabout
• Salt storage facility 1 mile south of the project site
• Reconstruction of several local roads
• New construction of several local roads
• Addition of a pedestrian overpass on County PD
Thor Wick, Area Manager-IGE said, “The complex project design included many stages and traffic patterns to facilitate the new construction, and also keep the corridor open to traffic, all while maintaining access to the local businesses. The success of the project showcases the great communication and coordination between contractors, design, project oversight, local residents, and businesses.”
The 4-year project was constructed while continuously maintaining two lanes of traffic in each direction and access to nearby businesses on both Verona Road and County PD. To maintain the high traffic volumes, the contract documents included nearly 70 phases through the four years to complete various portions of the project, while moving and shifting both the traffic and the contractors’ work operations throughout the corridor. The contractors had to be mobile in completing various portions of the project. For instance, there were sidewalks and lanes of concrete pavement placed in 2017 that were not used for phased traffic until 2019. In the end, the overall phasing plan was maintained with minor adjustments during construction.
SIGNIFICANT PHASING:
Because of the significant phasing, contract documents for the project included:
• Meticulous consideration of the major bid items … especially the concrete paving
• To provide economy of scale with unit bid prices, 10-in. concrete pavement was used throughout all portions of the project, including:
—Mainline Verona Road
—CD roads
—8 interchange ramps
—Concrete portions of side roads
• Avoided costly setup changes to the paver itself
• Avoided potential confusion related to the multi-phased project
• Design team minimized the number of paving widths throughout the project
— To reduce the concrete paver downtime for changing over to different concrete pavement widths
—Only 3 concrete widths—12, 15, and 24 feet—were specified for the through lanes and ramps
—Concrete shoulders limited to 5 different widths—4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 feet—to maximize paving efficiency
• Paving contractor placed a central mix batch plant within 1,000 ft of the project for efficient access to the work site
CONSTRUCTION STAGING WAS CRITICAL
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2 construction staging alternatives were considered for Verona Road, with each alternative reviewed for constructibility and costs associated with temporary work such as temporary earth retention systems, temporary pavement, and temporary concrete barrier:
1—HALF-AT-A-TIME: Common for construction staging: It is constructing the off-alignment portions of a project first, then switching traffic to the newly constructed half and reconstructing the remaining portion of the roadway Several factors reduced the efficiency of this approach for Verona Road, particularly the large amount of cut-and-fill required for the project:
—The conversion of the existing at-grade intersection required Verona Road to be cut approximately 25 ft below existing grade. The County PD SPUI required Verona Road to pass over County PD, creating fills of approximately 25 ft. Building the roadway one-half at a time would have required large temporary earth retention systems for most of the project length, miles of temporary barrier wall to protect the retention system and miles of temporary pavement, and would have created significant temporary drainage issues, which would have added significant time and cost to the project.
2—OUTSIDE-IN-CONSTRUCTION: THE ULTIMATE DECISION: Strand Associates Inc. Design Firm solved these staging constraints by designing the construction of the project from the outside-in:
Contract 1 took advantage of off-alignment areas to construct a new CD ramp system for northbound Verona Road from County PD to Raymond Road, and available ramp areas near the future County PD SPUI. Traffic remained on existing alignment during the construction of the off-alignment northbound CD ramp system in Contract 1.
Contract 2, northbound traffic was shifted onto the completed northbound CD ramp system, and southbound traffic was shifted onto the existing northbound Verona Road pavement. This shift allowed for the cuts and fills required for the southbound CD ramp system to be constructed with minimal impacts to traffic.
Contract 3, southbound traffic was then shifted onto the newly constructed southbound CD ramp system, while northbound traffic remained on the northbound CD ramp system. This allowed for the new Williamsburg Way bridge structure to be constructed without the need for extensive temporary retaining walls and temporary pavement. Another benefit of this approach was that it made the entire core of the project available to the contractor during Contract 3, where completing the large cut-and-fill and significant concrete paving afforded the contractor greater efficiency.
• Construction of the Williamsburg Way overpass also required innovative construction staging, while maintaining traffic through the intersection. It is a critical local connection across Verona Road
• The newly constructed Williamsburg Way bridge remained at approximately the same elevation as the previous at-grade signalized intersection.
• A 25-ft cut was needed to relocate Verona Road traffic beneath Williamsburg Way.
• The west abutment of the bridge and the west retaining walls were in proximity to the CD ramps; therefore, these elements were constructed in several subphases. Please see article for Subphases 1, 2, & 3 details: www.roadsbridges.com/cost-effective-efficient-concrete-paving-wisconsins-verona-road-project-stage-2
The SPUI at Verona Road and County PD is the third SPUI in Wisconsin, and accommodates 3 through-lanes as well as dual left-turn lanes beneath the structures on County PD (the second was built in Stage 1 at Verona Road and the West Madison Beltline).
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT & REACTION
The project team initiated an extensive public involvement process to interact with the local governments, property owners, and businesses throughout the corridor, as well as the traveling public:
December 2013 and November 2020: Design and construction team:
• Attended more than 300 meetings to coordinate the project details
• Provided up-to-date local stakeholder interaction through a project website, Facebook page with 4,300+ followers
• Weekly e-mail update to 3,000+ subscribers about construction activities
• Verona Road Business Coalition (VRBC) (Local businesses along Verona Road corridor) was formed early in the design phase to stay informed on the construction staging and schedule. This collaboration provided the VRBC and its members the opportunity to conduct proactive communication with their employees and customers
• VRBC sponsored numerous fundraising events
• VRBC instrumental in the success and coordination between WisDOT and the local community
• Project staff attended various events with an informational booth about the major construction project
• Construction team also met regularly with the VRBC to provide project updates and answer questions
As is more than evident, WisDOT’s Verona Road Stage 2 project was an exemplary, cost-conscious project that, because of several innovative construction-related strategies, was successfully planned and executed and will provide long-lasting economic benefits for Wisconsin.
For contractors, equipment, details of each stage, positive comments of appreciation and gratitude to WisDOT regarding the project from its opening in November, 2020, and the Roads&Bridges article titled “COST-EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT CONCRETE PAVING OF WISCONSIN’S VERONA ROAD PROJECT, STAGE 2”, please go to: www.roadsbridges.com/cost-effective-efficient-concrete-paving-wisconsins-verona-road-project-stage-2