Location: Fenton Rd to Dort Highway - Flint/Genesee County, MI Paving Contractor: AJAX Paving Industries Engineer: ROWE Professional Services Co. Consultant: Hubbell Roth & Clark, Inc. Testing Company: Driesenga & Associates Owner: Michigan Department of Transportation
In February 2021, MDOT opened bids for the reconstruction of I-69 through Flint, which included the interchange with I-475, rehab of 9 bridge structures, preventive maintenance of 12 other bridge structures, three to four lanes of eastbound and westbound I-69, four high-speed ramp roadways between I-69 and I-475, and 15 entrance and exit ramps. The pavement type was chosen at the time of the bid, given that the project was an Alternate Pavement Bid, and the 10.5-inch-thick concrete pavement was the low bid. This $100 million investment in the City of Flint was jointly funded by federal and state funds appropriated by Gov. Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan Program, which provides for reconstructing state highways and bridges that are critical to the state’s economy.
I-69 is a critical artery not only for the City of Flint but for the travel of goods between Canada and the Midwest. To maintain and mitigate the effect on the public and heavy commercial travel, MDOT considered this project expedited. Because time was of the essence, MDOT included steep lane rental costs, which are assessed for the amount of time for each lane closure on the mainline, ramps, service drives, or bridges. These assessments varied from $67,000 per day for the closure of I-69 mainline lanes, up to $20,000 for each ramp lane, and up to $9500 for service drive lanes.
In the spring of 2021, the project began with preparations for maintaining traffic by shifting two westbound lanes to the eastbound roadway. This allowed the westbound I-69 and associated ramps to be closed and reconstructed. Ajax was able to locate a temporary concrete batch plant just north of the project to manufacture all the high-performance (HP) concrete placed. The concrete pavement was placed with stringless automatic grade control GOMACO pavers at 24’, 16’, and 12’ wide. The use of maturity meters was established for each of the mainline concrete mixes so that the pavement strengths could be monitored and expedite the construction progress.
Westbound I-69 traffic was re-established to the new westbound roadway at the end of October 2021 and no work was performed during the winter 2021 shutdown period. In the spring of 2022, eastbound traffic was shifted to the westbound roadway for the reconstruction of the eastbound roadway. By the end of September, eastbound traffic was established on the newly placed concrete pavement.
Ajax paving crews focused their attention on paving very smooth, achieving an average IRI smoothness of only 61.5 inches per mile, while the four main ramps with I-475 achieved an average IRI of 72.3 inches per mile. Their hard work paid off, allowing very minimal lane rental charges while also giving motorists a smooth, long-lasting freeway through Flint.
