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Project Overview
Construction Summary

The construction of the Project can be tracked in the Project Scrapbook/Current.

• All five contracts: 60% Complete
• Bridge Contract BR-1: Dredging of 340,000 cubic yards of material for the construction was completed in February 2001.
• Bridge Contract BR-2: Foundations contract completed June 2003.
• Bridge Contract BR-3A / Bascule or Movable Span Contract: consisting of the Outer and Inner Loop bascule spans; bid opening was held November 7, 2002. The engineer’s estimate was $167.897M. The low bid contractor, American Bridge/Edward Kraemer and Sons, bid $185.920M. Notice to Proceed was issued February 21, 2003. Contractor is approximately 54% completed.
  
  There are several cranes on the site. The formwork and false work for the Virginia side support of the outer loop of the bascule was constructed beginning in October 2003. The formwork and falsework for the Maryland side support of the outer loop of the bascule was under construction in March 2004. The falsework is the material that is first placed on the V-shaped legs. The formwork is the wooden outside with the rebar placed inside. The rebar is reinforcing steel covered in green flexible coating that provides the internal support. The forms, however, are hollow to allow for other elements to be placed inside.
  
  The falsework for the Virginia approach is expected to be removed in the coming weeks. This will reveal a concrete finish. The falsework will be stored in Jones Point Park until it is needed for construction of the Inner Loop Beltway Bridge.
  
  The pier supports are being cast - in - place, which means that the rebar (green steel) needs to be placed right on site. The rebar is very dense and each of the bars are tied in to provide the needed structural support. Then, the concrete trucks move into the construction staging areas and a large pump takes the concrete to the exact location in the pier that it needs to be placed. Surveyors use the survey tower to make sure everything is being placed in the proper location. Concrete sample cylinders are made for each of the truckloads of concrete. These cylinders are left to set and then are broken in a testing mechanism after 7 days, 14 days and 28 days. The concrete must be setting up at the appropriate strength for each of the tests in order to meet the contract specifications. The testing lab is on the Maryland side of the project in the construction field area on Oxon Hill Road . The specially outfitted lab is on site just for this project's construction of Maryland contracts.
  
  There are eight segments that need to be placed, beginning at the pedestal that was on top of the pile foundations. The top of the segments is called the knuckle and it has a different shape, entirely. The three piers for the support of the outer loop of the Beltway are identified as OL S, for Outer Loop South, OL C, for Outer Loop Center and OL N for outer loop north. The Virginia supports are V1, the Maryland are M1. There are support tendons that run between and through the segments so that they remain rigid during the curing process. These tendons are called post-tensioning tendons and they are stressed to provide stability.
  
  The V1 OL has three supports for the strength required to lift the concrete grid deck leaf. The tie girders began on the far south pier and the others will be underway soon. The tie girder is the base of the new roadway for the new bridge. The segments and tie girders (which form the top of an inverted triangle) require 7,866 cubic yards of concrete of which 98% was completed through January 5, 2005.
  
  The operator's tower will be cantilevered from the northernmost pier of the outer loop set of three piers at the V1 pier. The new operator's tower will have a glass façade and look sleak as its location between the two new bridges will make it an important aesthetic element of the new facility.
  
  While the progress at the Virginia support at V1 is going very well, the three - pier Maryland support at M1 is progressing very well, too. While the same amount of concrete is required, 6,075 cu. yds., or 77%, has been placed through January 5, 2005.The height of the new piers provides an indication that the new bridges will be higher than the existing bridge, thereby requiring fewer bridge openings. The actual new clearance is >80-ft allowing 2/3 of the vessels requiring openings at the current 50-foot clearance to pass beneath the new bridges.
  
  The two steel trunion towers have been installed at V-1 outer loop pier. Work continues on tie-beams at M-1 OL pier. Concrete work at M-1 OL is more than 85% complete. Next step at V1 OL is the cable pulling scheduled to start this week. Preliminary work necessary for the cable installation is underway. First concrete pours at V-1 Inner Loop are scheduled by approximately week of March 21.

A good vantage point to view the construction is from the fishing pier in Jones Point Park on the shoreline. Access from the path on the south side of the Beltway, in Jones Point Park, due east.

Try this: Go to the Project Scrapbook/Archives and follow the bridge construction from last year to now. Click on June 2003 (6 for June), and then click on Bridge. To follow progress go to each month, click on Bridge and you will se the progress. Some photos are of the bascule and some are for the Virginia Approach (BR 3B) or Maryland Approach (BR 3C), described below

• Bridge Contract BR-3B / Virginia Approach Contract: consisting of the Outer and Inner Loop for the Virginia approach; bid opening was held on February 13, 2003. The engineer’s estimate was $159.777M. The low bid was submitted by Virginia Approach Constructors (A Granite/Corman Joint Venture) @ $115.506M. Notice to Proceed was April 22, 2003. Contractor is approximately 49% complete. The area for the work is between the shoreline bulkhead and Royal Street (location of current abutment- new abutment located to the south is being built by VA-4 – Virginia Tie In Contract). The BR3B construction of the segments have been cast in pre-cast forms. The segments are match cast together as one leg of an arch. They are then separated for stockpile and rematched as they are placed for the arch in their final location.
  
  There are two casting beds on site, one for 14-foot segments and one for 16-foot segments. The use of the bed is determined by the requirements of the arches and where they are located. The contractor builds the segments in the casting bed. The falsework stays as a component for all of the segment construction. The individual segments require formwork but are all poured together. After the pour and the concrete cylinders are made the concrete has to set. During that time there is a steam cure method used to aid in the cure process. While the concrete has to meet the 28-day strength requirement stated above for the BR 3A contract, it can achieve that strength in a 24-hour period using the steam.
  
  After cure, the segments are separated and are stockpiled for future assembly. Some of the piers have as many as twelve segments and will be topped by the knuckle, as in Contract BR 3A, although most are shorter. The segments have grooves, on either end like fingers and slots, to connect when they are placed in their final resting place. The segments are then glued together and tendons run through them for support. The cable across is also used for the pre-cast method, like the cast - in -place method for the bascule contract. For the Outer Loop Beltway, all of the 230 segments have been cast and the casting yard is now closed.The segments are assembled, generally, one on the east side and one on the west side of each of the piers so that they can remain in balance. This assembly looks like Legos being built. These are REALLY BIG LEGOS, though. The contractor began his assembly of the segments at the V7 pier location, the farthest to the west. The supports for the Virginia Approach require two for the Outer Loop and two for the Inner Loop of the Beltway. V7 is the last pier of the bridge. The segments are assembled…V7 is the last pier of the bridge. Work has been underway placing segments and is completed at V7, V6 (next pier to the east), V5 and V4. Tie beams are also required for the Virginia Approach where 76 have been poured through this update. For the landside supports, foundations will have to be built for the new Inner Loop Beltway after the traffic is shifted to the new Outer Loop Bridge and the old bridge is demolished.
  
  Steel has been placed for the first four spans of the Virginia Approach. The first set of spans was placed over the relocated Mt. Vernon Trail requiring its temporary closure. This span was from the abutment of the road meeting the land at Royal Street to the west arch of the first pier. Steel beam delivery continued, mostly at night, and the beams that have been placed are now being bolted. Future deliveries of approximately 128 girders will be moved through the City on the WWB Haul Route during nighttime deliveries beginning in February 2005. Deliveries will take place two or three times a week.
  
  Contractor is continuing to erect concrete pier segments and work on the knuckles and tie beams. Contractor has set 219 of 230 segments and has erected 48 of the 184 steel girders. Next major activity will be pile driving for the foundations for the inner loop.

A good vantage point to view the segment construction is the path in Jones Point Park between Jones Point Drive and the south side of the park. This is an active construction area during the day and all construction fencing is closed during non-work times. Daytime work hours are 7 AM to 6 PM daily and 9 AM to 6 PM Saturdays in Jones Point Park.

Try this: Take your bike, or ride in a car, down to Jones Point Park Drive . From the vehicle parking lot, ride or walk into the park on the paved path. At the beginning of the path are two signs on the fence that let you know what is going on. You are going to go right through the construction staging area! The fences protect you from harm and please, mind the No Trespassing signs. When you head under the existing bridge, you will see one of the casting beds on the right hand side. The casting beds are still visible, although the casting yard has been shut down. The contractor is now placing the segments on either side of the path, heading right toward the large Virginia bascule support to the east.

Go back onto Jones Point Drive and head left to the Mt. Vernon Trail that goes under the bridge at Royal Street . Turn left again to join the path. You will see another sign on the fence. The path takes you beneath the first span of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge from the abutment on the right side to the pier on the left side. On top of the steel beams, there will be deck pans placed on which the concrete deck will be poured some time this Spring.

• Bridge Contract BR-3C / Maryland Approach Contract: consisting of the Outer and Inner Loop for the Maryland approach, was advertised January 7, 2003 and the bid opening was held May 1, 2003. Notice to Proceed was on June 13, 2003. The low bid was submitted by Potomac Constructors (a Joint Venture of the American Bridge Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Edward Kraemer and Sons of Plainsview, Wisconsin and Trumbull) at $191.183 million. Through January 5, 2005, the contractor is approximately 40% complete.
  
  At the shoreline, four casting beds are being used to form the arch ribs and the knuckles that are formed to be placed at the top of the arches. 50% of the segments have been cast and the casting yard is filling up with stored segments. The segments are being built similar to those on the Virginia Approach where they are built in long casting beds. The contractor is using the steam curing method in this location, as well. The "shuttle", the very large orange angular piece of equipment, is used to move the segments around the site and to place the segments on the barges to go to the river locations to be assembled. Once on the barge, cranes at the receiving pier pick the segment up and place it on the pedestal. The segments for the ribs at pier s M7, 9 and 10 have been erected with M9 all segments completed and awaiting the knuckle segments. It is very important to keep the segments steady as the tolerances for the placement of the segment sis very limited. Since the segments have the "tongue and groove" system, their mate segments must be able to join them nearly exactly. One small shift could affect the entire alignment of the pier as it is multiplied in the assembly.
  
  In addition to the pedestal and segment work, an abutment on the Maryland shoreline is also under construction. 48” diameter pipe piles are being driven near the shore to be able to accept the span from M10 to the land.
  
  Contractor has cast 381 out of 616 segments and erected 138. Pile driving at the Maryland abutment is continuing. We have received a revised schedule reflecting longer hours and more equipment and a Feb. 2006 outer loop completion date.

Viewing of this operation is not available from a land side public area, since the land on which the work is being done is private as are the adjacent homes. Viewing from the water is possible. Also visit the Project Scrapbook for more photos.

• All four contracts: Approximately 57% complete
• I-295 Contract MA-1A: Final settlement period has been completed and contract completed January 2005.
• I-295 Contract MA-1: consisting of Ramps E, E-1, F, and R. Additional work has increased value and contract now nearly complete at 97%. Remove rest of paragraph. A new ramp from SB I-295 to Oxon Hill Road was completed and opened to traffic on December 21, 2004. This ramp will join Oxon Hill Road, at a signalized intersection, across from the new National Harbor development main entrance. Oxon Hill Road widening is in the process of being completed by National Harbor, as a requirement of their Prince George’s County development approval.
• I-295 Contract MA-2&3: consisting of the Outer Loop approach and portions of the National Harbor interchange; bid opening was on October 31, 2002. The engineer’s estimate was $60.213M. The low bid contractor, G.A&F.C. Wagman, bid $45.353M. Award to Wagman was given on December 10, 2002; NTP was on December 23. The contract is approximately 88% complete. Bridge work is 95% complete with painting and finishing work required.
  
  Large high mast lighting in the interchange directs lighting downward and minimizes the number of poles within the interchange to light the entire interchange. Depending on the construction activities and how it affects the electrical supply, the lighting may at times not be operating.
  
  A ramp from southbound I-295 to Oxon Hill Road was opened on December 21, 2004. This ramp also is also signed to southbound MD 210.

• MD 210 Contract MB 1 / 2: Consisting of noise walls, retaining walls for Inner loop and landscaping/mitigation at Flintstone Elementary School, noise barrier at Forest Heights Baptist Church, Bald Eagle Road Bridge replacement and ramp connections. Notice to Proceed for G.A. & F.C. Wagman, Inc. was on February 4, 2004 for a $18.7 M contract. The contract is 81% completed. Work continues at the new Bald Eagle Road bridge crossing over the Beltway to the east of the existing Bald Eagle Road Bridge. Utility work continues on the north side of the Beltway. A retaining wall is being built for the fill behind the north side abutment. A support pier for the new bridge has been placed in the median.
  
  There will be two new sound walls that are under construction on either side of the beltway. Sound wall panels placement around Forest Heights Baptist Church began in January 2005. Placement of the sound walls near Flintstone Elementary will also be placed in the Winter 2005.
  
  Lagging continues to be installed for the support excavation system along the Inner Loop of the Beltway. Encroachment onto the Oxon Hill Farm is not required. Near the Flintstone Elementary School , caissons have been installed. For the Outer Loop near the Forest Heights Baptist Church, posts have been set for the new sound wall and are awaiting the panels of the sound wall.
  
  Along the Outer Loop of the Beltway retaining wall work and slope stabilization panels are in the process of being placed to retain the fill material.

• All six contracts: Approximately 53% complete
• Building Demolition in Jones Point Park: Completed
• US Route 1 Interchange, Soils Consolidation Contract, VA-2: Soils Contract has been completed.
• US Route 1 Interchange, Virginia Tie-In Contract, VA-4: was advertised September 10, 2002 with bid opening held December 17, 2002. The contract was awarded to Corman Construction, Inc. for $54.6 M, was within 1% of the engineer’s estimate. The contract includes building a Tie-In to the Virginia Approach to the Wilson Bridge. Work is on going throughout the contract area, on the north and south sides of the Beltway and to the east and west of Washington Street. The Virginia abutment has been completed. The contract is approximately 67% completed.
  
  Lightweight fill was placed behind the abutment reducing the placement time and ease of placement of fill material. Base course asphalt has been placed for the new Outer Loop Beltway between the abutment and S. Washington Street.
  
  The Mt. Vernon Trail has been completed adjacent to the new Outer Loop Beltway from the east side of S. Washington Street, in front of the Hunting Point Towers apartments. The trail from the deck to US Route 1 is under construction with concrete placed for some of the sections as well as stay-in-place forms for the deck.
  
  Widening on S. Washington Street is being accomplished with the reversible lane allowing for two lanes in the peak direction during the weekdays and prevalent direction on weekends. The widening on the east side of Washington Street has been completed and traffic is now using that roadway while the west side is being reconstructed.
  
  The deck on Washington Street will be a widened bridge with landscaping. The first of the four quadrants has been completed in the southeast and traffic is now using that portion of the deck, as it shifted from west to east. The work on the southwest quadrant is progressing well with the deck concrete having been placed.
  
  A one-acre wetland mitigation site has been constructed with over 12,000 plants, south of the Hunting Point on the Potomac Terrace apartments complex, and is a common site of bird watchers as it has attracted many species. When the contractor leaves the Hunting Point Tower complex (meaning the trailers are gone) and the temporarily relocated Mt. Vernon Trail is removed, a wetland mitigation site in that same vicinity will be created.

The construction can be viewed from the Mt. Vernon Trail which has been temporarily relocated from South Street for access during construction. Construction hours are the same as for the BR-3B construction, except by waiver for special activities.

• US Route 1 Interchange - Advanced Bridge, Contract VA-5: Was advertised on February 11, 2003 with bid opening on April 22, 2003. The contract was awarded to R.R. Dawson, LLC at $38.39M and was issued NTP on June 15, 2003.
  
  The contract is completed. The longest and overall largest bridge of the contract parallels the outer Loop of the Beltway and will provide the Outer Loop local lanes of the new Beltway. It required 18,502 linear feet of piles to be driven, 2,665 cubic yards of substructure concrete (88% complete), 359 concrete beams to be erected (324 in place) and 7, 013 cubic yards of superstructure concrete (71% complete).
  
  The ramps that are being built to carry the southbound US Route 1 traffic to the new eastbound Beltway piles have been completed. 65% of the steel beams have been erected and 14.5% of the superstructure has been placed. You can now see that these are actually two ramps that will take the southbound US Route 1 traffic to the new Outer Loop local roadway or the Outer Loop express lanes. This will allow for those destined outside of the Project Area to travel in Express lanes and not conflict with merging traffic in the I-295 or MD 210 interchanges. This will improve the operations over the new bridge and into Maryland.
  
  The relocated northbound US Route 1 to eastbound beltway ramp that is being built as part of this contract required construction of a temporary causeway in Hunting Creek to allow for equipment to have a base for the pile driving. 12,554 linear feet of piles were driven and 83% of the substructure has been placed. Over half of the 149 concrete beams have been placed and nearly a quarter of the superstructure has been placed. The new ramp bridge is approximately 300 feet to the east of the existing ramp to allow space for the new 12-lane Beltway and the reconstructed ramp form eastbound Beltway (Outer Loop) to northbound US Route 1.
  
  With work in close proximity to and in Cameron Run and Hunting Creek, extensive environmental monitoring is required. Placing riprap for erosion control and maintaining sediment and erosion control devices, as well as turbidity curtains are required. Monitors are placed for noise of pile driving as well as vibration of said action. Bubble curtains are placed around the in-water piles to protect fish.

Most of the piers can be observed south of the Beltway near Ourisman Dodge. Public Access is not available to the construction site.

• US Route 1 Interchange- Main US Route 1 Contract (VA 6/7): Contract was advertised on July 22, 2003 with the Bid Opening on November 12, 2003. Notice to Proceed was issued on December 23, 2003 to Tidewater Skanska, Inc. for a contract of $1466M, the largest single contract that the Commonwealth of Virginia has ever awarded. The contract is approximately 25% complete. This contract will complete the balance of the US Route 1 interchange including a new bridge on US Route 1 over the Beltway, interchange ramp construction and reconstruction to accommodate the local/express roadway configuration, ground improvement, widening of US Route 1 from Franklin Street (north) to Huntington Avenue (south) in the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County.
  
  The contractor began work with extensive utility relocations. This included electrical, stormdrains and water line relocations. In addition, other communications companies such as Dominion Virginia Power, Verizon, Comcast and City of Alexandria and Fairfax County forces have been busy relocating their utility lines. The utilities in the City of Alexandria Public Safety Center complex were also affected by the construction and extensive coordination. Some nighttime and weekend utility outages were required at the PSC and at different intersections and other locations within the US Route 1 interchange. Utility work in the Franklin Street/US Route 1 intersection has required the closure of Franklin Street west of Washington Street since November 2004 and will continue through February 2005. While lane closures are inconvenient to drivers and sometimes to commuters taking short cuts, it allows for the contractor to work efficiently as they do not have to open/close for construction operations during limited work hours each day.
  
  There are nineteen bridges in this contract. Two of the ramp bridges on the north side of the interchange near the Lee Recreation Center, continue to the west and parallel the Inner Loop or westbound Beltway. These will be the new ramps from northbound and southbound US Route 1 to the new Inner Loop local lanes and Inner Loop express lanes. The driving of 24” square pre-cast, pre-stressed piles continues although nearly 50% of the 1,000 cubic yards of substructure concrete has been placed and steel beam placement is expected soon.

• Telegraph Road Ground Improvement (VB 4): The contract was advertised on January 13, 2004 with bid opening on February 25, 2004. Notice to proceed was issued on April 4, 2004 for this $2.98M contract to Shirley Contracting Co., LLC. The contract is approximately 94% complete. The contract includes soil consolidation using wick drain technology, excavation, use of lightweight backfill, utility relocation and drainage installation. With building vacancies required for the interchange construction, security fencing has been placed around the now vacant properties. The buildings will be demolished as part of a contract to be advertised in March 2005, with work expected in Summer 2005
  
  The main focus of the contract is to strengthen soils in the interchange to be able to accept a larger footprint of he roadway and the over passing Beltway supports. Similar to the Soils Consolidation contract between US Route 1 and Telegraph Road (VA 2) and the Maryland Soils Consolidation Contract at I-295 (MA 1A), a surcharge of fill will be added and left over time for the soils to reach the required consolidation. There are six areas in the interchange that will be surcharged: three on the north side and three on the south side of the Beltway. Generally theses are located west of the METRO Yellow Line.
  
  In preparation for the soils surcharge, the following is required:

  Clearing and grubbing – 90% complete
  Excavation from another site and stockpiling of fill to be used – 45% complete
  Preparation of subgrade - two areas complete
  Add geotextile fabric, sand blanket, PV drains

  The method that will be used involves placement of a geotextile material as a boundary and then layering a sand blanket. Drains are added with measurement devices in the layer. The measures are for tracing the vertical and horizontal shift of soil. As surcharge is added, the soils consolidate and water goes into the sand layer. The water then falls off into the groundwater. The soils particles are then allowed to consolidate. With the addition of more soils, under controlled conditions, the soils will consolidate at the required rate to effectively meet a load requirement. This can take a number of months or years. This contract is due to extend through March 2006.
  
  Microtunneling is a technique that is being used to bore under the Beltway for a utility casing. This was successfully accomplished for 220-feet of a 48-inch casing. Other utility company vehicles such as Washington Gas will begin to be seen in the vicinity for the relocation of their utilities. Preparation is under way for a mid-February microtunnel in the vicinity of the METRO line. Beginning on the north side of the Beltway. The boring machine actually tunnels under the Beltway, without disturbing traffic, to place a utility underground.