Teichert Construction is completing the paving work on a new roundabout at Bixby Road as part of the San Benito Route 156 Project, which features the construction of a new 5.2-mile, four-lane highway between San Juan Bautista and Hollister, on a new alignment, running parallel to the existing Highway 156. (See the January 30, 2024 issue of Innovation Highway for initial coverage: https://swcpa.org/new-san-benito-route-156-construction-underway/)
Located roughly at the center of the San Benito Route 156 Project, the Bixby Road Roundabout serves to provide access to the highway from the agricultural fields directly south of Highway 156, and creates safe access to the highway for local residents living just north of the roadway. Two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes enter and exit the roundabout from SR 156, and one southbound lane and one northbound lane enter and exit from Bixby Road, Highway 25. Construction and right-of-way costs for the roundabout project are $11.1 million and support costs are $3.8 million, for a total of $14.9 million.
The pavement within the roundabout is the same as the mainline, Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement (CRCP); here at a thickness of 10.8 inches. The center island of the traffic circle is a large, sloped cone covered by a blanket of stones. Surrounding the center island is a truck apron built with CRCP 13.8 inches thick to withstand the heavier truck loads. The CRCP is colored to differentiate the truck apron, which provides additional interior pavement to accommodate a semi-truck’s wider turning radius.
Longitudinal reinforcement for the CRCP continues through the roundabout, east and west. The north and south sections of Bixby Road are isolated from the mainline, as is the interior truck apron. To help with the load transfer from the isolated sections, support slabs similar to terminal joints were included.
Although the location of the roundabout is not exactly in an area that gets a lot of foot traffic, there are splitter islands for pedestrians at all four corners, which are ADA compliant. There are also bicycle ramps approaching and departing the roundabout, providing a safe detour away from vehicle traffic.
The Bixby Road Roundabout Project will be completed by the end of August. Work began on the entire project in August 2022 and is slated to complete by autumn 2025.
A tip of the hard hat to Teichert Project Manager Nate Gonzalez and Concrete Paving Superintendent Greg Bartholomew for the project photos and details of the work.