KDOT office recognized for K-150 project years ago
The contractor, owner, and engineer for the K-150 Highway project received national recognition from the American Concrete Pavement Association.
The Wittwer Group, Kansas Department of Transportation, Marion office, and Kansas Department of Transportation, Bureau of Design in Marion County, received the prestigious national awards.
Brice Goebel, project engineer with the Marion construction office, said that the award is a tremendous honor.
"There is only one award given nationally for the best concrete work," said Goebel, "and the Marion construction office received it."
The $6.2 million project was only one of two projects let for reconstruction in the entire state of Kansas in 2002.
The project involved 15.6 miles of asphalt roadway replacement using 78,767 cubic yards of concrete.
Construction for the project began in July, 2001 and was completed in August, 2003.
Goebel was the engineer for the K-150 project and attributes the success of the project to the staff.
"There were 15 to 20 people in the Marion construction office who worked on this project," said Goebel.
The original road had vertical curves, poor sight lines, and off-pavement slopes 70 to 80 feet deep with no shoulders. The reconstruction involved leveling off hills with fills of up to 60 feet.
The contract provided incentives for pavement smoothness, concrete strength, and uniform thickness. Wittwer earned a total of $141,772 in incentive money for exceeding the requirements. None of the pavement required remedial action.
Wittwer achieved the incentive, in part, by using a stringline made of aircraft cable instead of string, and "night smoothing" (adjusting the stringlines at night under vehicle headlights) to provide exceptional line precision. The team's quality control technicians also performed plastic concrete testing at a rate of 200 percent more then required.
Winners of the 14th Annual Excellence in Concrete Pavement Awards is the concrete pavement industry's highest and most prestigious awards, which recognize companies for smooth, safe, and efficient pavements.
