Bombermwc, Alaska thanks you.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/edito...aska-edit_x.htm

THAT SUCKS!!! Look at OK way down there at only .88 with Alaska at more than $6! That explains why our roads are such crap. Now that makes me even more pissed off and leaning more towards the feds picking up more of the tab on our projects...like adding funding so we can make the trunpikes free (like there were supposed to be)!!!!!

I say that show... Great Engineering and it talked about them building that bridge to link Russia with America... I don't see that happening for a while...

New Bridge Debuts For Eastbound Traffic Near I-44 And Yale
Thursday September 07, 2006 3:55pm

Tulsa - Major progress is being made on the largest construction project in the Tulsa area. Crews have been on the job at I-44 and Yale for eight months. Those efforts are now paying off. The eastbound lanes are now using a brand new bridge.

State engineers tell us the project is well ahead of schedule. Westbound traffic will start using the new roadway in about a week. NewsChannel 8's Bill Mitchell reports this is just the beginning. In the next few months, the 21-million dollar project will bring about even more changes.

Engineers and construction crew leaders say it wasn't easy getting the project done. Some of the workers had to work 24/7 to get the job to where it is today.

"This way, by working 24/7 and having a night crew, there is no mistake on getting in each other's way," says ODOT Project Engineer Matt Moshiri. "They try to stay 24/7, until they catch up, until they feel comfortable."

The people and customers in businesses along the highway are pleased with the construction progress.

"Once they get the eastbound traffic flowing, one week later, they will start diverting westbound traffic, then start working on the other parts of the project.

Design Work Approved For Tulsa I-44 Project
AP - 9/11/2006 2:10 PM - Updated: 9/11/2006 2:35 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma Transportation Commission Monday approved three design contracts for a huge Interstate 44 reconstruction project in Tulsa.

The total cost of the contracts is $6.6-million and the project is intended to improve a section of I-44 between Yale Avenue and Riverside Drive that's been the scene of numerous accidents.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at $265-million and 90 percent of the funding is coming from the federal government.

So, I take it this means ODOT has hired three firms to actually do the design work (create the design documents) for the road. Is there a timeline on how long that might take. I would figure it would take at least a year or two (possibly more).

Does anyone know if all three of these firms are working together on the whole stretch of road or has the design work been divided into three segments?

Typically the project is divided by the three firms each taking a segment. That is how most large road projects are done, they don't really want to give one firm the complete project for fears of favoritism. Most firms wouldn't have the staff to do an entire project as complex as that one, most of the firms that I know of are always tryng to find civil help. The firm that I worked for in OKC has more than doubled the civil department since I left 3 years ago, I would imagine the civil dept. in the Tulsa office has grown also.

Alright that good news lets get it started...

I remember them saying that it would cost some $90 million per mile for I-44...

The Tulsa project and the $330 million Crosstown Expressway realignment in Oklahoma City are the largest ongoing highway projects in the state...

Not exactly. Typically they have 3 or more firms compete for the design. The winning design will be selected in ~1 year from now, and that firm will be awarded the right to design the corridor. That does not mean the firm will be awarded the construction contract. That will also under go a simular competition and selection proccess later on in the proccess. Useally only one construction company wins the contract for construction. For major construction corridors such as I-44, a huge company like Kewit Construction (Omaha, NB) that CAN handle the project or a consortium of companies will win the contract for construction. Right now, they are ONLY in the design phase. They also have to complete an Enviroment Impact Study (EIS). The design will have to reflect the EIS findings and reconmendations. The EIS proccess can take up to 3 years to complete. Only then may the final designs be completed (taking another year or more so we're at 4-5 years from now). Then construction may begin, if funding has been secured. That company will often sub-contract out different parts of the project to other companies to accelerate construction.

Poe and Associates will design the west end of the project, from the Arkansas River to east of the Peoria Avenue interchange. The firm is to provide roadway, traffic signal, traffic lighting and bridge plans.

It will also provide geotechnical investigations and landscape design. A geotechnical study involves looking at what the road is to built upon and what materials will be used to build the road.

The firm's entire fee is nearly $2.8 million.

The Benham Companies will design the center of the project and perform the same services as Poe & Associates. The fee is nearly $1.5 million.

Craig & Keithline will design the east section, from west of Harvard Avenue to west of Yale Avenue. The firm will perform about the same services as the other two. The fee is slightly more than $2.3 million.

The design contracts will include building the six lanes, correcting horizontal and vertical curves, adding shoulders and improving ramps to allow motorists to merge into traffic, White said.

The project will involve shifting the roadway to the south, he said.

Sorry, I know how these projects are put together in Oklahoma. I worked for one of the companies doing a segment for 11 years and my dad was a highway designer there for almost 35 years.

There will be one coordinating contruction company, but Oklahoma does not normally do a design-build type of arrangement, everything is bid at construction. It is also not a "design competition" in the traditional sense, each team will design a segment as noted. The consortium type of team is more common in super projects like The Big Dig in Boston or the T-Rex project in Denver, it is not that common in Oklahoma. Although it is a complex project, this project is not as big and complex as those and will probably be let in the normal manner.

They surely have already completed an EIS if they are in the design stage. You can't even have a preferred alignment without the EIS.

Yeah. Here's an example of the only study I could find on the internet even remotely regarding Tulsa, just to show you all what these look like:

http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/WWWattachmen...pact%20Study%22

Actually, I am currently working on an EIS for I-69 in Indiana. My firm is the prime consultant on section 6 - Martinsville, IN to Indianapolis. We are a few months over two years into the process, and I believe the draft is due by December.

Oh wow, then I guess you're the man.

I have a question I've always wondered... are the environmental impact studies really worth all the hoopla, or is it just more red tape to improving a deadly section of freeway?