A paving crew places concrete north of East Washington Avenue. South of East Washington Avenue a crew is doing excavation work for the placement of sewer and water lines, while another is constructing concrete curbs.

One block away, a new bridge is being constructed across the Yahara River. At the same time, excavation work is being done alongside the river.

It's a typical day of work on the $13.9-million reconstruction of East Washington Avenue from Dickinson Street to Third Street in Madison, Wis.

The project is a joint effort between the city of Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).

Speedway Sand & Gravel, Inc., Middleton, Wis., is the prime contractor for the 6/10-mile section of East Washington Avenue being reconstructed this year.

Speedway started work in April. The bulk of the work will be completed by December 1, although there is some median work that will be completed next spring.

The work is part of a multi-year project to reconstruct a 4.5-mile section of East Washington Avenue from Blair Street to Thierer Road. Work started in 2004, and is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

Work in 2006 includes the reconstruction of East Washington Avenue; new storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water lines; and replacing three railroad crossings. Bicycle lanes and streetscaping (decorative lighting, landscaping, and colored and textured concrete) are also part of the job.

Additionally, the Halle Steensland Bridge over the Yahara River is being replaced.

First Street from Winnebago Street to East Johnson Street is also being rebuilt as part of the project.

"First Street was very difficult because of tight working space, it was time sensitive and contained significant utilities. There were a lot of people in a small area trying to make it work," said Tom DeBeck of Speedway. "The side streets have actually been more difficult than East Washington Avenue."

Work on First Street north of Washington and work on First Street south of Washington have different construction schedules.

"There's a lot of diverse work. There are multiple jobs within a job, with different deadlines. Our concrete subcontractor, Trierweiler, had multiple mobilizations and has done an excellent job of keeping the project going because it has been so piece meal," said DeBeck.

Trierweiler Construction & Supply Co., Inc., Marshfield, Wis., is doing concrete paving and curb construction. Zenith Tech, Inc., Waukesha, Wis., is constructing the new bridge.

Arbor Green, Inc., Portage, Wis., is doing landscaping on the job. Wingra Stone Company, Madison, has been hired to place base course. Remington Electric, Inc., Cottage Grove, Wis., is doing the electrical and lighting work.

Tom Ziegler is the job superintendent for Speedway.

Ziegler is coordinating work Speedway is self-performing on the job, including removals, crushing concrete, earth work, sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer, and top soil placement.

He is also managing subcontractor construction, working with neighbors, the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the city of Madison, traffic engineering, and assisting WisDOT to coordinate utility work.

Because of the great number of utilities being unearthed as part of the project, WisDOT has hired a person to help coordinate the utilities.

Speedway also served as prime contractor on the reconstruction of East Washington Avenue last year, so this is the contractor's second year working with many of the same utility companies, which has been helpful.

"Everybody's got the system down. Most of the utilities have been very helpful and cooperative in trying to work with us. With the utility companies and us working in one spot, it really makes the job challenging," said DeBeck.

Fiber optics have proven to be the biggest challenge. A lack of good records and fiber optics buried at or near the surface have caused excessive expenses.

Lines in the pavement or just barely buried have been damaged by construction equipment traveling on the dirt after pavement removal, and by driving stakes for concrete forms.

"The costs for accidents are enormous and will be driving up our insurance rates and bids. I've learned that if there are fiber optics on the job to add money for the risk, liability and probable insurance rate increases," DeBeck said.

Crews also have had to work around multiple sets of railroad tracks on the project, with major sewer and water lines and fiber optics running underneath and between the tracks.

Each set of tracks was closed for one week at a time to complete the work. To complicate things, only one set of tracks could be closed at a time for construction.

"It's very challenging working on a job with a major underground utility package, while working in between railroad tracks and having active trains running through the job site," said DeBeck.

While this year's reconstruction work on East Washington Avenue is more complex than last year's job, Speedway's experience is much more positive than it was in 2005.

Last year's project was one of the largest WisDOT jobs tackled by Speedway, which works mainly municipal projects.

Working on a large WisDOT project proved to be a challenge for the contractor.

"We're used to working in Madison, so we're used to the sewer and water specs on the job. But being a DOT project, the DOT has its own set of rules and regulations on documentation and quality control. There's a fair amount of them, and it's a tough learning curve," DeBeck said.

The paper work is one of the toughest parts of the job for a contractor new to WisDOT work.

"The DOT documentation procedure on some of this is different than what we're used to doing. For instance, they want blue book rates. There's a huge investment in getting that information, getting the most current information just to price your equipment rates," said DeBeck.

Speedway's experience doing sewer and water work, which a lot of contractors who do WisDOT jobs don't do, is an advantage on a urban job like East Washington Avenue.

"These jobs are really sewer and water jobs. The ability to do the sewer and water work is key to the urban jobs," DeBeck said. "We've found historically that the conflicts come with the sewer, the water and the grading. By the time you get to the pavement, the conflicts are resolved."

As a contractor that works primarily on municipal jobs, DeBeck felt that because of his company's lack of experience with WisDOT Speedway had to prove its merit to WisDOT last year.

DeBeck believes the work Speedway did in 2005 proved to WisDOT that the company has the ability to do this type of work.

"We've earned the credibility. There's more of a team effort this year. With the knowledge and experience that Ayres field engineers, WisDOT and city personnel are contributing, the job is less stressful. It's a lot easier," said DeBeck.

For contractors considering making the jump from municipal jobs to WisDOT work, DeBeck said, "Hire an extra person for the office."

He added, "If you do it all the time, your office is used to it. Otherwise, have a lot of patience and be prepared for a learning experience. We've dabbled in DOT work for 20 years, and are familiar with it and we had trouble. It's tough to learn all the rules and regs."