Weather benefits K-150 project years ago
By MATT NEWHOUSE
News editor
The first mile of concrete paving on K-150 was poured this past week.
Officials say a mild winter allowed contractors to move forward quicker than expected in recent months. If things progress at the current rate, the project may be finished by next spring, they said.
"They have a contract date in September 2003, but we won't complain if it comes in earlier," said Bill Kaempfe, Marion, project coordinator for Kansas Department of Transportation. Whittwer Associates, Wichita, is the general contractor.
About 7.79 miles of K-150 in Marion County and 8.89 miles in Chase County are being replaced. Cost is about $6.297 million in Marion County and $11.305 million in Chase County.
"It's exciting, in that it's a total replacement, not an overlay, of a primary route in Kansas," said David Greiser, Salina, public involvement liaison for the district.
K-150 provides a convenient shortcut in east-central Kansas, but its roller-coaster shape and lack of shoulders made it a challenge for travelers. Some trucking companies forbade drivers to use it.
In Marion County alone, the new project includes 60 cross-highway pipes, 20 sideroad pipes, and nine massive crossboxes or culverts. The Marion County section involves moving 263,978 cubic yards of dirt and 48,892 cubic yards of rock. About 142,415 square yards of concrete will be poured for the pavement.
Raising bed
The valleys, most prominent in Chase County, are being filled in, and the tips of the peaks will be trimmed.
"We really don't expect there to be many no-passing zones on this highway when we're finished," Kaempfe said. "You'll be able to see quite a ways."
A tour of the highway made the point clear. Even though demolition is far from complete, a traveler can see farther along K-150 than at any time in the past.
The new highway will have two lanes each 12 feet wide, plus three feet of concrete-paved shoulder and five feet of gravel shoulder.
Instead of asphalt, it features a four-inch cement-treated base and a minimum 9.5 inches of concrete pavement, Kaempfe explained.
Crews finished almost two miles in two days last week, before rain shut down the paving. The contract calls for an average of six-tenths of a mile of paving per day.
Test beams are poured at the same time, then deliberately stressed until they break, to determine weight-bearing abilities, Kaempfe said. The concrete must cure at least four days, but will gain significant strength for the next 28 days. That's why a highway that looks and feels solid still may be blocked to traffic.
"When somebody's driveway fails, it's usually because they used it before the concrete fully cured," he said.
Much of the work involves cutting through the hard stone of the Flint Hills. The most common technique is to drill a series of holes in the ground, add explosive charges, and set them off.
"The ground puffs up like oatmeal, that's the only way I can describe it," Kaempfe said. When the dust settles, tons of solid rock has been converted to gravel and small boulders. Most of it is ground up and added back to the road as fill.
Contractors provide routes to the nearest cross-road for residents, but they understand why people get impatient with the noise, dust, and delays. Kaempfe said contractor crews are more sensitive to property owners' and residents' needs than people realize.
"One time they were out here helping a rancher move cattle," he said. They also hope to have enough pavement completed by Memorial Day for easy access to a small cemetery just off the highway.
Lengthy life
Plans call for the concrete to have a lifespan of at least 25 years, but some of the concrete highways built 50 years ago remain strong with just routine maintenance, Greiser said. Fifty years would be ideal for the new K-150, even with its regular load of heavy traffic.
Ten or 12 KDOT inspectors work on the project at any one time. Contractors are penalized for a poor job but can receive additional payment if, for example, the pavement is slightly thicker than specified.
K-150 remains closed to traffic. Work crews use a temporary access road next to the paved section It is one way — and the heavy trucks loaded with concrete have the right of way.
A tour isn't much fun for internal organs. The access roads are hard to travel, and inspectors must maneuver carefully among the roaring excavators. Bouncing and jouncing along, traveling along the road in its current state is like being on a sailboat during a heavy storm.
The native stone is hard on tires, too. Most of the heavy equipment uses tires that are filled with rubber instead of air. Even then, a pile of used tires bears mute testimony to the sharp stone. Often, the tread is worn clear away, and equipment runs briefly on the rubber core.
