Ohio Highway Team Wins National Quality Award

Value Engineering and Web Technology in Spotlight

Austin,TX/September 4, 2003 – The National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ) today presented its 2003 State Award to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), ODOT District 6, the Kokosing Construction Company, and Parsons Brinckerhoff Ohio Inc. for the Interstate 70 Reconstruction Project. NPHQ is a partnership of federal and state highway officials and leaders in the roadway industry who advocate customer-centered practices for roads that are completed quicker, ride better, last longer, reduce congestion and improve safety.

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The Ohio partners tackled a stretch from downtown Columbus to the Franklin/Fairfield County line that had exceeded its 20-year design life and whose pavement was rapidly crumbling. The $82 million total reconstruction of 10 miles, with an average of 8 lanes per mile, was the largest highway project undertaken by ODOT at that time and included the reconstruction and widening of 34 bridges and the placement of 856,000 tons of asphalt.

Innovative approaches helped deliver the best possible outcome for customers. One example was Value Engineering incentives. These allowed the contractor to submit Value Engineering Change Proposals to lower cost or save time without altering the essential parameters of the project. If ODOT accepted the proposals, the contractor and state shared equally in cost savings. Kokosing's Value Engineering ideas ultimately saved $1.2 million. A few examples:

• A change from replacing two existing bridges over an abandoned railroad to removing the bridges, filling the void with soil, and placing pavement over the top;
• A change from constructing a precast retaining wall to casting it in place;
• A change from reconstructing two slab bridges to replacing the bridges with box culverts.

"The team sought ways to improve all aspects of the project, and Value Engineering was one success," said Bob Templeton, the Executive Director of the National Partnership for Highway Quality. "Another advance, in the realm of public support, was the use of the Internet to keep motorists aware of scheduling, work zones, ramp closings, and alternate routes. Sixteen web cameras displayed real-time information to let drivers make route decisions. Due to a partnership between ODOT and the city of Columbus, web cam images were offered on two web sites with camera views updated every few seconds. Project leaders used a menu of options to get the job done on time and improve the flow of traffic for the duration, all with customers in mind."

The National Partnership for Highway Quality encourages practices that will lead to a new era of roadway investment and performance to improve safety and service for highway users. It is composed of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA), The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Foundation for Pavement Preservation (FP2), Granite Construction Company, the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET), National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), Kiewit Corporation, RedVector.com, Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), URS Corporation, and Williams Brothers Construction Company.

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