SD: I-90 White Lake Paving Project

WINNER: Best Recovery Project – Small Porject
I-90 White Lake Paving Project
White Lake and Mount Vernon, SD

“This was an ambitious $22.5 million project built using stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This large project could not have been completed in this time frame without the exceptional efforts of UPCI, the numerous subcontractors and Department of Transportation staff.”

Darin Bergquist
South Dakota Department of Transportation Secretary

The South Dakota Department of Transportation and Upper Plains Contracting, Inc. completed a 22.1-mile concrete paving project on the westbound lanes of I-90 between White Lake and Mount Vernon, S.D., in November 2009.

The work consisted of road paving, median crossovers, permanent signing, rest area cold milling, asphalt concrete resurfacing, pipe ends, and guardrail. The job required extensive coordination, cooperation and precise sequencing among the contractor, subcontractors, and SDDOT to complete this complex project in such a short time period. The contractor bid 130 working days for this project, but was virtually complete in 113 working days.

Quality was a main component of this project, which resulted in an exceptional roadway with long-lasting concrete pavement. Outstanding ride was achieved with more than 70 percent of available smoothness incentive being earned by the contractor.

The green aspect of this project was promoted by taking the existing nine inches of 42- year-old deteriorated concrete pavement and recycling it to use as gravel cushion under the new concrete pavement. More than 142,000 tons of crushed concrete were recycled. In addition, approximately 8,200 tons of old asphalt were milled and recycled for use in the new asphalt concrete shoulders.

This project was one of the largest stimulus funded concrete paving projects in the country according to the Federal Highway Administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act National Review Team Final Report. The report praised the internal Recovery Act tracking practices, project documentation, advance signing, materials sampling, and statistical testing documentation.