$50,000 per day bonus - up to $3 million - for each day the project finishes Some 300 building trades workers are on the project. "More than anything, the challenge on this project is the fast timing and theĮnvironmental concerns of working over the river," said Karl Koster, assistantĬity engineer. Two weeks ago, ongoing work included construction of 70-foot-deep concreteĬaissons for the new river bridges, concrete pours, placement of re-rod, and Spending about $165 million on the project. The trades will also be installing a snow melt system with nozzles that shoot aĭe-icing compound over the road when conditions are icy. Reconfiguring entrance and exit ramps, and shoring up the bridge foundations. The improvements involve total re-construction of the roadbed with a newġ0-inch-thick surface, construction of additional through lanes and shoulders, "Straightening the S-Curve createsĭifficulties that are almost inconceivable," MDOT said. Higher cost and a greater delay in completing the project would have resulted ifĪ straighter design had been incorporated. Grown around the S highway, and the demolition of buildings (some historic), a The design of the new road will shave the curve only slightly. That a new span was needed that took the geologic formations into account. MDOT repaired the damage, but it was clear Gypsum deposits created a void in the bedrock below the river, causing theīridge to shift on its foundation. January 1998 after the span over the Grand River settled. Vehicles per day, but reconstructing the bridge was placed on a fast track in Traffic problems have long been a concern, with the S-Curve handling 120,000 On a major highway in the middle of a big city. There were fewer vehicles, and few, if any, public hearings to get input onĬreating such a potential bottleneck - with left-turn exits and no shoulders.
#MDOT TRAFFIC REOPRT US 131 SERIES#
The curve is actually a series of six elevated spans, including one thatĬrosses the Grand River. "I think closing the whole freeway was a good decision, The detours "have worked out well," said City Commissioner Jim Jendrasiak, an People adjusted, foundĪ different route, and things came off without a hitch."
#MDOT TRAFFIC REOPRT US 131 DRIVERS#
"But drivers hadīeen given plenty of notice, and it was almost seamless. 17, the first day the road wasĬlosed," said Grand Rapids Deputy City Manager Eric DeLong. "People kind of expected doomsday on Jan. To completely shut down the six-lane S-Curve, the city's major north-south Instead of closing lanes and shifting traffic on the road, which could haveĭoubled the length of the project, MDOT and Grand Rapids city engineers decided Is moving along on schedule toward completion by Dec. Reconstruction of the mile-long portion of U.S. Most complex civil engineering project ever launched in West Michigan," are working hard toĭubbed by the state Department of Transportation as "by far the largest and
GRAND RAPIDS - The building trades and Kiewit Western Co.
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