Super 605 Freeway Project Nearing Halfway Mark in Last Segment

The goal of the Super 605 Freeway Enhancements Project is to rehabilitate a 28-mille corridor of I-605. Spanning close to 200 lane miles of freeway, the project covers the entirety of the freeway, beginning in Duarte in the San Gabriel Valley and extending all the way down to Los Alamitos near Long Beach. This stretch of freeway has not had any major system-wide improvements for 55 years since its construction in 1971.

Over the past eight years, L.A. Metro has been working with HDR, Caltrans, the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments to create a project that will improve the safety, mobility, and connectivity throughout the region. They chose concrete pavement for the overwhelming majority of the project, with the goal being to be extend its lifespan, reduce costly repairs, provide a smoother ride for motorists, and create a safer environment for Caltrans workers – and motorists – by reducing the frequency and duration of pavement maintenance.

Funding for the six-plus-year, $298.4-million project comes from the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), $273.3 million; Senate Bill (SB) 1, $23.3 million; and the State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), $1.8 million.

The Super 605 Freeway Enhancements Project was designed to be executed in three individual segments. The first segment was awarded to the joint venture of C.A. Rasmussen and Vanguard Construction, who are now nearing completion of their work, ahead of the initial schedule. Peterson-Chase General Engineering Construction got the contract for the second segment, and they have recently concluded their portion of the project, also ahead of schedule. And Myers and Sons Construction, who won the third segment contract, is approaching the halfway mark in the last segment of the project.

Segment 1
The C.A. Rasmussen/Vanguard JV Team replaced the distressed pavement and concrete slabs in Segment 1, starting at Katella Avenue in Los Alamitos/Long Beach and extending to Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs. At a contract value of $49 million, construction included rehabilitation of 96 lane miles of pavement, upgrading curb ramps to ADA regulations, replacing signage and striping, and applying High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST) to select ramps and connectors to enhance skid resistance on the road surface. HFST is an epoxy resin with fine calcined bauxite aggregates, which provides additional friction on super elevations (curves) at connectors and off-ramps.

C.A. Rasmussen is the managing/lead contractor and is responsible for the execution of the contract with Vanguard, who is handling the individual slab replacements (ISRs) and placement of new Jointed Plain Concrete Placement (JPCP) and Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP) during Extended Weekend Closures (EWCs).

The following four graphics depict the schedule for an EWC.

In total, Segment 1 had 10 scheduled EWCs, down from an initial 15, thanks to the innovative staging work of the JV team.

To help inform motorists in advance of each weekend closure, more than 27 message boards were placed throughout the 605 corridor and on adjacent freeways.

Extended weekend closures (EWCs) included Friday nights to place K-rail traffic control configurations, and Sunday nights to remove them.

Traffic control was monitored by crews 24 hours a day throughout the weekend.

Along with the EWCs that allow work on full lanes, Individual Slab Replacements (ISRs) have been taking place on an ongoing basis, as they can be performed in a single shift, thanks to the team’s efficient execution and use of rapid strength concrete. ISRs provide efficient repair to a small section of freeway that may otherwise be in good shape. The old concrete pavement from both the full lane replacement work and the individual slab replacements is being sent to Vulcan Materials for recycling.

Here’s an example of the project site compression in one of the areas, which was typical during an EWC. With only one ingress and egress, if a single excavator slows down, then the whole operation slows down. If one demolition or base truck breaks down, then the whole operation is delayed. Fortunately, it rarely happened.

Two batch plants were set up to deliver the 17,500 cubic yards of concrete that Vanguard used in placing the mainline JPCP, CRCP, and ISRs. C.A. Rasmussen performed the roadway excavation, placed the Class III base and HMA, along with all non-mainline concrete work, including maintenance vehicle pull-outs and ADA curb ramps. RV Concrete supplied the concrete for C.A. Rasmussen’s work on the approach slabs and proposed an innovative solution that raised the elevation and profiles of the newly installed approach slabs, and significantly improved the roadway conditions of the final pavement.

A GOMACO GP-2400 slipform paver, featuring hydraulically powered vibrators, handled the paving. Vanguard is performing the diamond grinding on the new pavement to meet the smoothness requirements.

Concrete operations went relatively smoothly throughout the project. The team’s biggest challenge was access to and from the project during the Extended Weekend Closures. In order to construct the roadway safely, the team had to modify the staging/traffic control plans. As a result, during the majority of the Extended Weekend Closures, there was only one ingress and egress. Coordination was key, especially with the two joint-partner crews working closely together. Schedules overlapped at the tail end of C.A. Rasmussen’s operations and the commencement of Vanguard’s work. Thanks to extensive planning of everything from hauling routes to staging locations, and even portable restroom sites, the work by the two crews meshed well.

Segment 2
In May of this year, Peterson-Chase completed the rehabilitation of the pavement and individual concrete slabs in Segment 2, which begins at the I-10 intersection and goes all the way to the terminus of I-605 north of I-210. The crews placed 1,580 cubic yards of Rapid Strength Concrete (RSC), replacing the most damaged sections between I-10 and I-210 in both northbound and southbound directions.

Peterson-Chase also paved 37,500 square feet of five new ramp termini with an additional 1,124 cubic yards of RSC. Work also featured pedestrian upgrades at on- and off-ramps, curb ramps, pedestrian accessible signals, and upgrades to six traffic signals. Construction also included eight new vehicle maintenance pullouts, more than 12,000 linear feet of guardrail, the installation of five new sign structures, and the replacement of 27 overhead sign panels.

Segment 3, the largest of the three in this project, covers the remaining stretch of I-605 between Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs up north to the intersection of I-10. The scope of work includes the rehabilitation of 93 lane miles of pavement, with 43 miles undergoing full replacement and the balance of 50 miles having individual slabs replaced. Additional scope of work includes upgrading more than 16,000 linear feet of guardrail, replacing 16 overhead sign structures, and 53 acres of landscaping and stormwater improvements to help prevent trash and other pollutants from draining into the San Gabriel River. Targeted completion for Segment 3 is early 2030.

Myers and Sons began work on the 10 miles of Segment 3 on August 30, 2024. The team is working over extended weekend closures (EWCs) for maximum efficiency to perform full replacement of lanes 3 and 4 with Lean Concrete Base (LCB) and Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement (JPCP), with Rapid Strength Concrete (RSC) solely being used in both applications. It was projected that it would take approximately 70 EWCs to perform all of the work, but the current schedule has reduced it to 59 EWCs.

As reported by Senior Project Manager Sal Deraki on June 15^th, the crews recently concluded extended weekend closure no. 26. To date, Myers and Sons has completed 90,932 linear feet of both northbound and southbound lanes 3 and 4, with approximately 100,000 linear feet left to go.

To expedite set-up and removal for the weekend closures, Myers and Sons invested in a temporary steel barrier system. Thanks to its lighter weight, the system is much easier and faster to install and extract.

A few challenges have come up during the course of construction, and the team is diligently working with Caltrans to resolve them, with existing joint issues in three miles of lane 3 being one of them. Traffic safety is another, and the California Highway Patrol is on site to prevent drivers from entering the closed worksites over the weekends. A third – and unforeseen – challenge is a host of precast and reinforced panels that were not shown on the plans, which created a logistical problem with removal and disposal, but it is being resolved. Other than that, work is progressing smoothly and the rehab work is scheduled to be completed over 33 more extended weekend closures.

Big thanks and a tip of the hard hat go out to Myers and Sons Senior Project Manager Sal Deraki for all of his contributions and photos for this story, C.A. Rasmussen Project Manager Jesse Gonzalez for his project data and photos, and Peterson-Chase Project Manager Kolbe O’Donnell for his project update.