Three years into the project with just a little more than a year to go, the I-10 Corridor Project in San Bernadino County is well on its way to completing on time and serving to relieve congestion on this critical transportation link that hosts 265,000 residents, commuters, and interstate travelers daily. That number is projected to double over the next several years, so it’s important to reduce traffic congestion for motorists today – and in the future. Efficiently flowing traffic means less fuel burned thanks to less idling in traffic jams, and thereby less CO2 released into the air. Along with reduced carbon dioxide output, money is saved through lower fuel consumption and time is saved by not being locked in traffic. Now that’s sustainable.
The first of three phases of the I-10 project that’s currently under construction stretches 11 miles from the Los Angeles County/San Bernadino County line to just east of the I-10/I-15 interchange. Lane-Security Paving JV, the joint venture of Lane Construction and Security Paving Company, is currently constructing two new Express Lanes in each direction for the
The budget for the entire three-phase project is $929.2 million, with $672.9 million allocated to the current phase one work.
The work is being performed under a Design-Build contract, and according to Abdallah Salama, Deputy Manager, Construction, the efficiency of design and construction taking place at the same time has shaved years off the entire timeframe of the project, ensuring that all toll lanes will be open by March 2024 at the very latest.
The scope of work being performed includes the reconstruction or modification of existing ramps located at 10 interchanges, seven local arterials, and 26 structures. Extensive new drainage systems have been constructed, along with new retaining and sound walls.
“To minimize the impact on traffic flow,” Salama stated, “the Lane-Security Paving JV Team is keeping five lanes open throughout the entirety of the project, using multiple-lane crossovers to divert traffic from one roadbed to another.”
Some of the more challenging work has involved the replacement, widening, and improvement of 18 bridges throughout the corridor to accommodate the additional new Express Lanes. Prefabricated concrete elements – precast box girders and precast wide flange girders from Con-Fab – were used for the superstructure construction of half of the bridges.
Additional challenges involved working around overhead power lines and the need to build temporary bridges before demolition of the old ones to ensure the flow of stormwater wouldn’t impede construction or traffic. Staging the massive cranes to bring in the precast elements, along with the actual bridge installation work kept everyone on their A-game. Subsequently, all of the bridge work has been completed without incident.
More than 390,000 cubic yards of concrete is going into the pavement portion of the project. The team erected Security Paving’s RexCon Model S batch plant on site to produce the concrete, with the cement supplied by CalPortland. Vulcan Materials is providing the aggregates, and CMC is putting in place 11,000 tons of rebar. CEMEX is supplying the ready-mix concrete for the structural portion of the job, which will total 90,000 cubic yards when the project is complete.
Once all three phases are completed, the project is expected to reduce traffic congestion, increase throughput, enhance trip reliability, and provide long-term congestion management of the corridor in the Inland Empire.