Michael Baker provided roadway, structures, maintenance of traffic, and utility design for the bridge and roadway replacement at I-80 over the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) at Blackrock and S.R. 172 over I-80. This was the first project to include all disciplines in the Model Based Design Construction (MBDC) delivery initiative and has successfully demonstrated that all disciplines can work together in the same 3D environment while submitting model-centric documents for review and construction. Using the Construction Manager/General Contractor process, all team members collaborated to improve the quality and precision in which design documents are submitted for construction.
The replacement spans for the I-80 Blackrock bridges consist of two single-span, bent type abutment steel plate girder bridges that are approximately 256 and 235 feet, requiring complex detailing and a 60-degree skew due to site conditions, existing bridge foundations, and railroad geometry requirements. The 3D model of the design helped the team visualize the complexities of the project site and how the new bridge and walls would interact with the existing bridges and bin walls.
The I-80 Structures Replacement project supports UDOT’s vision of Keeping Utah moving by minimizing impact to travelers, which was achieved by using a temporary bridge during construction, allowing all existing lanes to remain open and resulting in a positive impact to the community. I-80 is one of the highest traveled corridors for truck traffic and this project supports UDOT’s strategic goal of optimizing the mobility of traffic as well as preserving infrastructure by providing widened bridges over UPRR on I-80 and a redesigned SR-36 off-ramp to accommodate future expansion.