TDOT State Route 29

T&L was retained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to provide professional transportation related services for the State Route 29 (U.S. 27) improvements project.

The project consisted of various field surveys and the design and preparation of preliminary plans for:

• A 2.90 mile section of four-lane divided highway rural section in a new location with a design speed of 70 miles per hour from 0.7 mile south of Westminster Road to State Route 62 in Wartburg, Tennessee.
• The connection at State Route 62 included a trumpet interchange.
• Approximately 4,700 linear feet of side roads and approximately 2,800 linear feet of interchange ramps at the State Route 62 connection.

The project was developed to the Preliminary Plan stage. TDOT conducted a public meeting and the information obtained at the public meeting resulted in relocation of this section of State Route 29 back to the existing alignment.

T&L was subsequently retained by TDOT to provide the following scope of services:

• Surveying and design services for upgrade of 5 miles of two-lane existing State Route 29 roadway to five-lane (center turn lane) urban section roadway with a design speed of 50 miles per hour;
• Curb and gutter and 6,900 linear feet of side roads and both open and closed stormwater conveyances;
• Preliminary design included consideration of both erosion and sediment control and stormwater management facility locations with regard to right-of-way impacts associated with the project.

The project extends from 0.5 mile north of Ray Cross Road and Mossy Grove Road (formerly Westminster Road) to old State Route 62 in Wartburg, Tennessee.

The Right-of-Way Field Review was conducted with TDOT in August 2017. T&L is now the process of finalizing the Right-of-Way Plans.

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I-81 Safety Improvements

Thompson & Litton, in association with AECOM, was selected by VDOT to provide engineering services for the I-81 Corridor Safety and Operational Improvements Design-Build Project in Rockbridge County, Virginia. English Construction Company serviced as the Design Builder for the project.

The project is located in Rockbridge County, Virginia and included the addition of a truck climbing lane in the northbound direction of Interstate 81 from approximate mile marker 195.8 (approximately 0.3 mile south of Route 716) to approximate mile marker 202.5 (approximately 1.5 miles north of Route 710 at Exit 200, Fairfield). The total project length was approximately 6.7 miles including necessary transitions and tapers.

Transportation engineering design services included:

• Truck climbing lane;
• Replacement of three bridges located at Route 716, Route 712 and Route 710,
• Improvements of the existing I-81 northbound left and right shoulders;
• Drainage, erosion and sediment control, and stormwater management;
• Maintenance of traffic plans;
• Upgrades to all guardrails, guardrail transitions and end treatments; and
• Retaining walls required for bridge structures.

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East Chilhowie Street Bridge

Originally built in 1885, the historic East Chilhowie Street Bridge had been in continuous use for vehicular traffic from 1885 until 2003. Reportedly the oldest two-lane iron bridge still in use in the Commonwealth of Virginia, it is representative of a bridge building system that was prominent at the time of construction for utilizing shop fabrication and shipping of preassembled parts to the site for erection.

The bridge is a wrought iron Pratt through-truss design with a span of 80 feet 6 inches and 18-foot clear width for traffic. Two five-foot wide sidewalks are cantilevered to the outside of the truss. The relatively porous asphalt deck allowed water and salt to seep through the deck and severely corrode the stringers and vertical truss web member connections, and many layers of lead based paint covered the entire structure.

The Town could have demolished it and replaced it with a standard modern bridge, but pride over the unique structure influenced the decision to renovate, which included the following:

• A platform was built beneath the bridge, suspended from anchor beams placed on the bridge approaches allowing construction crews to do all of their work without entering the river (the use of a platform eliminated the need for environmental permitting related to in-stream work);
• The bridge was encapsulated for removal of the lead based paint; steel plate was added to reinforce the floor beams, while stringers were completely replaced; and
• A 7-inch thick reinforced concrete deck was poured in place.

The total construction time was six months and the total cost for renovation was $492,208.

The bridge serves as a connector link for Marion’s History Walk, River Walk (Middle Fork Holston River), and Park Boulevard Trails and is used by motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. It is a valuable economic development tool that is helping to promote trail-related tourism and Marion’s strong historical heritage and natural recreation assets.

The project received the ACEC/Virginia Honor Award for Engineering Excellence.

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Dickenson County Route 637 Access Road

T&L provided surveying, roadway engineering design, geotechnical investigations and permitting for 1.07 miles of mountainous terrain rural local roadway improvements on Route 637 (Rose Ridge) in Dickenson County, Virginia.

The purpose of the project was to improve safety on Route 637 to accommodate increased traffic from the intersection at Route 83 to the new consolidated Ridgeview High/Middle School entrance.

Design tasks included:

• Horizontal and vertical alignment;
• Taper and turn lanes on Route 83;
• A ’roundabout’ with landscaping and lighting at the school entrance;
• Pavement marking/sign plans;
• Phased E&S Control Plans to be commensurate with the Maintenance of Traffic Plans;and
• Development of the SWPPP with associated VSMP permit forms and permitting through the locality and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

The scope of work also included coordinating and holding a public hearing, construction contract bidding, and construction contract administration services. The roundabout is the first ever constructed in VDOT’s Bristol District.

The Owner’s construction budget was $3.25 Million, which included contingency. The project was a financial success as noted by the following costs during various stages of the project.

The project was completed in 2016.

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