Hybrid (GE) Success

Winding along the Gulf Coast of Florida, I-75 is a workhorse, carrying motorists South to Fort Myers and Naples before shooting east along Alligator Alley to Ft. Lauderdale and the Atlantic. The Interstate also serves as the primary evacuation route North, in the event of hurricanes and coastal flooding.

With so much riding on the four-lane highway, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) faced a critical challenge last month in replacing two, 300-foot bridge decks over Moccasin Wallow Road in Manatee County. The bridge repair was part of a four-mile, $4.97 million highway rehabilitation project, stretching to the Hillsborough County line.

“We’re in the process of replacing all composite decks along the Interstate,” explained FDOT District One Associate Project Administrator Gwen E. Norris. “And maintenance of traffic and safety have been our biggest concerns. On this project, we assembled an excellent team, with Ajax Paving Industries, Inc., constructing the highway, Zep Construction building the bridge, and KCI Technologies providing hybrid inspection services.”

Hybrid Inspection Program—In recent years, force reduction measures have trimmed FDOT’s in-house inspection staff, necessitating a hybrid approach to performing construction engineering and inspection (CEI) services. “FDOT has really good, very knowledgeable project administrators who handle two to three contracts at a time, but they need the help of consulting inspectors to manage the work load,” said KCI Director of Construction Services and Project Manager John A. Padavich, PE. “On this job, KCI is fielding four inspectors, led by Senior Inspector Judy Rice, to oversee the contractor’s work and to prepare project documentation on behalf of FDOT.”

Rice notes that the hybrid approach—only the second project of its type in the State—has proven more demanding than conventional inspection projects. “We’re FDOT’s eyes and ears, so you have to get to know people on the team and know what the client expects. We have weekly meetings, but there’s a lot of administrative work done right out of the truck to manage schedules and control overtime and costs.”

Rice adds that Zep Construction President Jovan A. Zepcevski, PE, has kept the redecking project moving at a breakneck pace. “Jovan is phenomenal. But while he’s fast, he strives for 110% quality.” KCI staggered its inspectors in shifts to be available 24 /7—”whatever it took to get the job done safely and to keep two lanes of traffic open in each direction,” said Rice.

Zep Construction, working as a subcontractor to Ajax Paving Industries, began the first placement for the decks on June 12 and finished the last of four placements on July 3rd. “It was amazing,” added Rice. “In 17 years of construction, this is the best inspection team I’ve seen in the field. We conducted the deck pours from 3:00 to 9:00 a.m., when traffic was at a minimum, temperatures were low, and the concrete trucks could get in and out easily.”

Zepcevski, who often operates his own equipment, relies on his background as a professional engineer to identify key structural components during demolition. He noted, lightheartedly, that beyond “too many inspectors,” his biggest challenge is always the demolition and keeping crews safe. “If you damage a beam removing the deck, you can delay a project for three months.”

In replacing the bridge decks, FDOT employed several innovative techniques, according to Rice. “Crews installed a Clamp-Crete Barrier Wall—which is only the second time it’s been used in Florida—and a stay-in-place or SIP form system, which is filled with Styrofoam to minimize additional weight on the beams.”

On August 7th, the Senior Project Administrator of FDOT Sarasota Construction, Jill N. Henshaw-Guadagno, awarded KCI a grade of 91 for its performance over the last quarter, siting that KCI personnel were well-trained and properly equipped, maintained reports as required, and met inspection and field service standards. FDOT Assistant Project Administrator Gwen E. Norris added, “Going into a job, you’re often putting strangers together, hoping that it works. This team worked, and KCI was extraordinarily good.”

Over the next two months, KCI’s inspection crews will oversee the second phase of the project, which will require milling and resurfacing four miles of six-lane Interstate 75, from the Moccasin Wallow Bridges to the Hillsborough County Line.

Design/Build Oversight CEI—In mid-2004, FDOT will begin two design-build construction projects, reconstructing 2.3 miles of SR 70, from Lakewood Ranch to Lorraine Road, in Manatee County; and replacing five bridge decks and widening 3.9 miles of I-75 in Sarasota County. On both projects, estimated at nearly $9 million each, KCI will provide oversight CEI services, monitoring the CEI services performed by the design-build contractor. “We’ll check the credentials of the contractor’s inspectors, monitor instrument calibrations, and perform split testing of some materials. It’s just another level of oversight that ensures overall project quality for FDOT,” said KCI Florida Division Chief Darryl J. Kroeze, PE.



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