Challenge Design-Build Project Delivery Addressed

The design-build team used their experience and expertise to convince the owner to accept a Diverging Diamond Interchange as a new, more efficient and – most importantly – safer option. Also, timing was a challenge, as the potential presence of the long-eared bat restricted work activities for several months, requiring the design-build team to accelerate the work to get back on schedule. In addition, there were other owner-directed changes – one was maintaining a ten-foot area behind a proposed sound wall, which required making it a combination retaining wall and sound wall – and another was changing an already approved railing to a decorative railing. And, finally, a tomato truck crashed under the new bridge and ignited; on investigation, the team determined that the damage from the burning tomatoes was superficial and could be remedied (the driver was unharmed). The team used all the efficiencies of design-build to work through delays and issues to deliver the project on time.

Summary

This project reconstructed the Interstate 66 (I-66) / Route 15 interchange in Prince William County, Virginia, to relieve congestion, enhance public safety, improve operations, bolster capacity and accommodate forecasted traffic demand in the project area. It redesigned the interchange as a Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) — the first of its kind in the region — to best accommodate the projected traffic volumes as well as critical pedestrian movements in the interchange area.

Client/Owner: Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
Design-Builder, General Contractor: LANE Construction Corp
Project Manager: The Lane Construction Corp
Engineer: Rinker Design Associates, PC
Specialty Contractor: Tavares Concrete
Specialty Consultant: T3 Design
Key Subcontractor: Quinn Consulting Services
Duration of Construction: 22.5 months
Project Cost: $ 38,869,628