CORNERSTONE - The Associated General Contractors of New York ...

16
Build NY Award Winner: Lancaster Development, Inc.
Replacement of Rt.7/Rt.2 Over I-87
The New York State Department
of Transportation (NYSDOT)
Contract D260830 called for
the Replacement of the NYS Route 7 /
Route 2 over Interstate 87. The project
is in the Town of Colonie with a satellite
site in Rotterdam for a Wetland
Mitigation area.
The intent of the design was to bring
the structure up to current standards
and to relieve traffic congestion in that
area without taking any additional right
of way.
The NYSDOT decided to accomplish
these requirements utilizing a Single
Point Urban Interchange (SPUI). The
SPUI has efficiencies that allow it to
eliminate the traffic lights that would be
at each end of a typical diamond interchange,
and replace it with a single set
of signals. It is these efficiencies that
allow the interchange to handle larger
volumes of traffic flow. The choice of
the SPUI required the DOT to design
and construct a one of a kind bridge.
This is the first structurally supported
SPUI in New York State.
The project required constant communication
with Lancaster Development,
Inc. (LDI), NYSDOT Design and the
Subcontractor in order to make this a
successful project. Communication
was also needed to the traveling public
via press releases due to this being on
a major commuting route and near several
retail shopping centers.
The intent of the design of the bridge
replacement of the Interstate 87 Exit 6
Bridge depended heavily on the reduction
of impact on the traveling public.
The project needed to be controlled by
136 construction phases and sub-phases.
LDI created an in- depth Critical
Path Method (CPM) schedule to manage
all of these constraints. LDI worked
closely with the owner to monitor the
CPM and the status of all 136 phases.
Several of these phases required that
1-87 ramps be closed over a weekend
while the relocation of the traffic
took place. These closures were 24
hours a day and needed to be scheduled
and planned down to the hour.
The CPM was an integral tool
in the building and monitoring
of the schedule. LDI utilized
three dimensional modeling in
the construction of the project.
This allowed the project team
to address any design issues
with the owner before construction
began. The 3D model
also gave the management
team the ability to plan ahead
and optimize the construction
areas for each phase before
traffic was moved.
Team Members
Constant communication with vendors,
subcontractors and the NYSDOT Structures
office was imperative to make
this project a success. The multiple
phases of the project required that material
and subcontractors needed to be
on the project at the right time because
of the lack of room and the critical time
requirements. Without the coordination
efforts of all involved, this project
would have been a very difficult project
to complete in the time constraints
given in the contract documents.
General Contractor: Lancaster Development, Inc.
Owner: New York State Department of Transportation
Project Engineers: New York State Department of Transportation
Contributing Team Members: Jeff Kenyon – Project Superintendent