One of the projects that make up the Central Texas Turnpike System 2002 Project (CTTS-2002 Project) has taken shape high over Interstate 35 in Round Rock, north of Austin. Visible for miles, the concrete columns and steel girders forming the flyovers joining I-35 and SH 45N rise to a height of 120 feet. But this high-profile interchange is only the tip of the iceberg, with an adjoining 15 miles of toll roads under construction to the west and east, completing the SH 45N/Loop 1 projects.

SH 45N and the Loop 1 extension, the north end of the MOPAC, were contracted separately in seven contracts at a total of $1.4 billion, and scheduled for concurrent completion. SH 45N in Round Rock is approximately 13 miles in length, and will move traffic east and west between the new SH 130 on the east and Hwy. 183A on the west, with I-35 and the MOPAC/Loop 1 in between. The three-mile extension of Loop 1 replaces FM 1325 as a commuter route, tying into SH 45N west of the SH 45N/I-35 interchange. Together, they will improve mobility between Austin, Round Rock and Pflugerville, especially at the MOPAC's northern terminus.

SH 45N and the Loop 1 extension were let as traditional design-bid-build projects, but charted new territory for TxDOT in funding methods. These were the first contracts TxDOT awarded that were not funded from budget appropriations under TxDOT's "pay as you go" philosophy.

Because they have been funded with bonds, they will both operate as toll roads to repay the bonds and accrued interest. According to Tim Weight, P.E., TxDOT director of turnpike construction, interest on the $2-billion bond for the entire program, which also includes SH 130, accrues interest at the rate of around $113 million per year.

For the same reason, TxDOT officials put some very aggressive time frames on these projects with some significant liquidated damages for not meeting deadlines. There are also incentives to be paid for finishing early.

"We made sure the contracting industry knew when we let these jobs," said Weight, "'Don't put a number in if you're not serious, because we're dead serious about getting done on time.' Because we're paying interest, time is money — more so than it has ever been for the department [TxDOT]."

As a result, portions of the project are in line to open to traffic earlier than planned.

"This is a very fast-paced project, and the department [TxDOT] has set the tone for teamwork," Randall Rosenbaum said. "We solve problems together."

Weight remembers the problems, "When you take $2 billion worth of construction and throw it all into a little country town like Austin, with all of our local contractors and suppliers, and everybody has to get done faster than they've ever had to get done before, you end up with a lot of material supply problems. It started with steel strand and beams. China bought all the steel strand so prices went up. No matter how much you were willing to pay for it, you couldn't get it. Then reinforcing steel went up; cement went up; base material went up. Two "ill-tempered females" [Hurricanes Katrina and Rita] running around in the Gulf over the summer of 2005 caused lost crews, lost equipment and lost production because it was raining like crazy and we were evacuating all of South Texas to Austin and Dallas via I-35. But we are still on schedule or ahead of schedule for all of the projects in this program."

Because of the short availability of cement, two temporary concrete batch plants were set up to supply this Archer Western project and the one next to it.

"There's only so much rock and cement that you can get in at one point in time," Rosenbaum explained, "so they had deliveries coming in around the clock to be able to supply concrete at night. Concrete truck drivers are limited to the number of hours they can drive, so they hired more drivers."

The high traffic volume has been a challenge since day one. On average according to TxDOT traffic counts, about 188,000 vehicles per day pass through this area.

"The I-35 corridor provides at least 70 percent of Round Rock's retail tax base, and the 13,000 Dell employees all want to arrive and leave at the same time, resulting in huge queues in the morning and afternoon," explained Rosenbaum, project manager for Archer Western. I-35 is not only a commuter route; it is also a NAFTA route. The traffic is mostly cars during the day and trucks at night.

Archer Western generally has 200 workers on the job site and subcontractors usually have another 60 to 70. With this many workers on-site, safety has been a prime concern. There have been no fatality accidents on this project.

Both Archer Western and TxDOT have learned positive ways to streamline construction delivery during this project where interest is accruing and time is money.

Rosenbaum described their tactics, "We had to modify our schedule to run two shifts five to six days per week. We added lots of people and equipment, more than usual on a project, and double-shifted based on shared equipment so we didn't have twice as many cranes on-site."

Repeatability, also known as an assembly line, has allowed Archer Western to speed construction. "Our goal was to plan a scenario where we could get ahead on part of the construction, then bring the next operation right behind it. We got started on drill shafts and footings early," said Rosenbaum. "This way, the crews were able to set up a work train."

Modular overhang forms were faster to set in place than hand forming wooden ones on the bridge deck overhangs, according to Rosenbaum.

"We also used liquid nitrogen to cool the concrete," Rosenbaum added. "It cuts the cost in half compared to using ice, but it takes the concrete a little longer to get an initial set. That impacts recycling of forms just a hair, but not too bad."

In February, when both directions of I-35 were closed for the entire weekend for removal of original I-35 bridge structures, these techniques served Archer Western well, as Rosenbaum described. "We pre-empted the lights on the frontage roads, stationed 25 cops per 12-hour shift, had wreckers pre-positioned to tow cars, and rented backup cranes in case we lost one of ours."

"We've been most successful at planning," Weight explained, "of thinking of what can go wrong and what we will do if it does go wrong. Some things that have worked well during interstate mainlane closures have been a heavy show of law enforcement; pre-positioned tow-trucks in case there is a fender-bender with no injuries, so we're not waiting for half an hour for a tow truck; and bringing in standby cranes in case we lose a crane during a big steel lift." Community awareness has also been stressed. Once a highway closure is scheduled, notices are sent to area businesses, emergency response agencies, school districts, neighborhood groups, local media, and adjacent businesses.

In addition to high-tech construction, nothing takes the place of thorough planning and teamwork.