Programs & Regulations

Recognition:

Maryland gets the Gold Level Winner at the 1999 NQI Achievement Awards for I-695 Widening Project.

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The 1999 NQI Achievement Awards are part of NQI's goal to ensure the quality of highways remains a focus throughout the highway and transportation industry. This year Maryland became one of the seven finalists including the national winner among 31 states who competed. The awards were selected for the following criteria: quality process and results, customer focus, teamwork, innovation and value, and long term improvement - as well as other NQI focus aspects. The MdQI Chairman and Chief Engineer Doug Rose represented Maryland at the award ceremony in Tulsa, Oklahoma along with SHA Construction Manager Gradon Tobery, Dan Witt and representatives from Dick Corporation and P. Flanigan & Sons.

Widening and reconstruction of a portion of the Baltimore Beltway, I-695 between MD 140 and I-83, helped strengthen the link between neighborhoods and employment centers. This project was determined to provide the greatest relief for the most reasonable cost, given the bottlenecks on the Beltway itself and I-83 south. Adding a lane in each direction along the outside of this 4 miles of roadway resulted in essentially 11 miles of continuous 4-lane roadway. The project also provided:

• Pavement width for future High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.
• High-mast median and interchange lighting.
• An extensive sound barrier system.

Additional indicators of the magnitude of this project include:

• 250,000 tons of hot mix asphalt placed;
• 50,000 cubic yard of concrete poured;
• 250,000 cubic yards of material excavated
• 35,000 linear feet of concrete stormdrain pipe placed

An additional 2.1 miles of resurfacing was added to the widening project to replace a plant mix seal section of roadway that was failing. Economics of scale reduced the cost and provided a more seamless ride for 6.1 miles.

The project included a community relations campaign, response to the community's need for sound barriers, and a model treatment for accommodating future ITS technologies. At the time of construction, it was the largest tonnage of Superpave in a Maryland project. Using cost-plus-time bidding, the project won several awards, including the National Asphalt Pavement Association's 1998 Quality in Construction Award.

Following are the participants of this successful project:

• Owner: Maryland State Highway Administration
• Construction Manager: Maryland State Highway Administration
• Contractor: Dick Corporation
• Designers: SHA Highway Design, URS Greiner Woodward Clyde, SHA Bridge Design,JMT
• Significant Materials Suppliers: P. Flanigan & Sons, S&G Concrete, Genstar, Brocker Steel, Smith Midland, Arundel Corporation, Carolina Steel, Eastern Shore Concrete
• Subcontractors: Plum Contracting, Inc.,A.E. Brice & Associates, Protection Services, Hope Furrer Associates, Inc., Midlantic Marking Inc., Dominion Caisson Corporation, J.M. Comer Construction,Inc., Dixie Construction Company, Highlights Corporation, Penn Line Services, Inc., M.G. Imbach, Env, Quality Resources Inc., MIDASCO Inc., Chesapeake Conservation Services Inc., Long Fence Company, Paul J Rach, Inc., Swank Signs Erection, B & B Construction, Inc., Casper Colosimo & Sons, Inc., Genesis Steel Services, Interlock Steelworkers, Joseph H. Hock, Central Atlantic Contractors, Inc., Midlantic Piling, John Brawner Contracting, Cossentino Brothers, Colonial Dump Services, Freeman Construction Services and R&D Construction,Inc.