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ACTT Workshop: Utah
Spanning the Future

[Archived] Chapter 1: Workshop Details

1.1. Opening Session

The I-15, 31st Street to 2700 North, Weber County, Utah, ACTT workshop took place February 15-17, 2005, at the Sheraton City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

UDOT Executive Director John Njord and UDOT Division Administrator David Gibbs provided welcoming remarks, after which the participants introduced themselves. John Polasek, director for the bureau of highway development for the Michigan DOT, discussed, "Why ACTT, Why Now," and Brent De Young of UDOT provided a project overview. Dan Sanayi from FHWA reviewed the workshop agenda, and the group finished the day with a corridor tour and welcome dinner.

1.2. Workshop Process

The Utah gathering followed the traditional ACTT workshop structure, with the skill sets breaking out into individual groups on Wednesday morning and coming back together to present their initial findings prior to lunch. The teams spent Wednesday afternoon intermingling and developing their final recommendations, which representatives for each skill set presented to the group Thursday morning.

1.3. Skill Set Goals

Participants in each skill set had an established group of goals that was unique to their subject area.

Geotechnical
  • Consider pavement design options that will reduce construction costs and minimize traffic impacts.
  • Consider embankment materials that will reduce construction delays.
  • Consider foundation design options for 10 bridges that need to be replaced.
  • Identify retaining wall systems that will satisfy roadway geometric, construction staging and right-of-way (ROW) constraints.
Structures
  • Recommend low-maintenance, economical and aesthetically pleasing bridge types that satisfy roadway geometric, construction staging, and maintenance and protection of traffic (MPT) constraints.
  • Recommend retaining wall systems that satisfy roadway geometric, construction staging and ROW constraints.
  • Seek out bridge designs and construction methods that will minimize the timeframe for replacing existing bridges.
  • Discuss options for addressing existing pile foundations at locations where geometrics require the construction of new substructure units.
  • Use prefabricated components where practical.
  • Use high performance materials where practical.
Right-of-Way, Utilities, Railroad Coordination
  • Minimize impacts on railroad operations.
  • Develop designs that meet railroad clearance criteria to gain approval the first time.
  • Consider early identification and clearance of utility crossings to reduce delays during construction.
  • Consider interruptions in service when scheduling construction near irrigation, gas and power facilities.
Innovative Contracting
  • Identify innovative construction methods that will encourage the contractor to speed up construction.
  • Discuss partnering as a means for speeding up the decision-making process.
  • Discuss/make recommendations on advanced construction contracts.
Traffic/ITS/Safety
  • Consider parallel/alternate detour routes and low-cost improvements to facilitate traffic.
  • Maintain the existing number of lanes on I-15 to the extent practical.
  • Minimize impacts to traffic.
  • Develop clear and well-signed traffic patterns.
  • Ensure contractor and motorist safety.
  • Use incident management systems.
  • Maintain traffic at interchanges and cross streets to the extent practical.
  • Consider truck traffic and options.
  • Consider other area projects and traffic detours.
Construction
  • Discuss construction sequencing.
  • Identify contractor staging areas/material storage areas.
  • Maximize safety.
  • Minimize cost and duration.
Roadway and Geometric Design
  • Achieve a design that meets established design criteria.
  • Achieve a design that is compatible with construction sequencing and considers MPT.
  • Consider project phasing and the location of travel lane reductions.
  • Consider railroad locations and designs to meet railroad clearances.
  • Consider interchange design consistency (SPUI/diamond).
  • Consider compatibility for future full-access interchange at 24th Street.
Public Involvement/Public Relations
  • Develop a plan of engagement for the community to communicate how accelerated construction works, and obtain community support.
  • Minimize community impacts.
  • Collaborate on emergency response and incident management with the community.
  • Publicize the project well in advance to allow the public to change/adapt their travel patterns.
  • Facilitate collaboration between the media and the traffic mitigation team.
  • Develop a strategic marketing plan to ease congestion during construction using traffic mitigation tools.
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Updated: 02/20/2020
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000