Location: 13 Mile Road to Coolidge Highway, Troy & Madison Heights, Oakland County
Contractor/Supplier: Toebe Construction & Walsh Group
Additional Supplier: Superior Materials
Engineer: Parsons Transportation
Owner: MDOT - Oakland TSC
Toebe Construction and Walsh Group joined forces to take on this largest MDOT project ever let. Stretching from Coolidge Highway to 13 Mile Rd., this nearly 10-mile-long section of I-75 required nearly 823,000 square yards of 10-inch-thick concrete pavement (just under 228,000 cubic yards total). Construction included 4-lane wide pavement in each direction, multiple ramps, local road connections, median barriers, and 2 diverging diamond intersections (DDI’s). Northbound lanes were completed in 2019, with southbound lanes wrapping up late August 2020.
This project required extensive scheduling and excellent communication amongst all parties to complete a project this complex in the 5-month season windows. Walsh and Toebe treated the project as an assembly line, completing earthwork, drainage, subbase, and paving in succession, all while updating and monitoring schedules. Ramp paving plans were developed around cure times and were given 30 days to complete each reconstruction. The combination of paving the ramps in sequence with the mainline and having a good plan allowed the ramps to be opened on schedule. The design build component of the project allowed construction to begin without the project being fully designed, speeding up the construction process.
During peak construction, three paving crews were used, being fed by 2 on-site batch plants. Two dual-lane pavers were used, with one equipped with a dowel bar inserter (DBI). Paving and trimming of the subgrade on the project were performed with stringless technology to save time. Pour sequences were planned to place a minimum of 2,500 feet of two-lane pavement each day. Slag cement was used at a 30% replacement rate in the new concrete pavement. A huge improvement for Oakland County on a busy I-75 corridor that was completed in less than two years!
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