A 1-1/2-inch milling and asphalt polymer Superpave repaving project on an approximately 4-1/2-mile section of Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor, MI, began in June and was completed in September. The road is four and five lanes wide.

The approximately $1.5-million project included many Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sidewalk ramp upgrades and structure adjustments. Barrett Paving Materials Inc., of Superior Township, MI, was the prime contractor for the project. Wanda Dwyer, project administrator and estimator for Barrett Paving Materials Inc., of Superior Township, said that traffic control was a challenge on the busy route.

"We changed the traffic control setup. We broke the project into three smaller projects. Working around Arborland mall was a challenge in itself, with US-23 nearby. That was the first portion, and then we did the portion in the middle, which was the residential portion from Stadium Boulevard to Geddes Road," Dwyer said. The last section was from Geddes Road to Main Street.

"The downtown portion was a challenge because the city asked us to close one quadrant of an intersection at a time for the sidewalk repairs. That wasn't part of the original proposal. That added a considerable amount of time to the project," Dwyer said.

"We tried to do some of the work at night and we tried to adjust according to traffic patterns, but it didn't always work to our advantage.

"The area where we had the biggest problem was the residential section from Stadium Boulevard to Geddes Road, where the lanes are very narrow and we had to maintain two lanes of traffic. They are only 11-foot lanes."

The project included a 5E3 asphalt 70-28 polymer Superpave mix. The 70-28 polymer provides more durability for roads with high traffic volume. The project also included 141,448 square yards of milling.

Subcontractors included Miller Brothers, of Archbold, OH (milling); Andrews Construction, of Manchester, MI (concrete removal and structure adjustment); and G.M. & Sons, of Whitmore Lake, MI (concrete).