Since mobilizing in December 2003, Tidewater Skanska, Inc. and the NCDOT have been making steady progress on a 5.5-mile section of I-485 in northwest Charlotte that includes three interchanges, four culverts and 20 bridges. APAC will be placing concrete for the mainline of I-485, while the cross roads — W.T. Harris Boulevard, Beatties Ford Rd., NC 115 and US 21 — will be asphalt.

S.M. Smith & Sons performed the clearing and grubbing on the project's heavily forested route. Initially the site preparation was to be done in phases, but NCDOT permitted the entire project to be cleared at once, which allowed Tidewater Skanska to work on different parts of the project at the same time. While this helped with the schedule, it did result in some erosion control issues.

Erosion control has been both a challenge and a concern for Tidewater Skanska and the NCDOT. In addition to Tidewater Skanska implementing standard erosion control measures, the NCDOT, with the cooperation of the project team members, has also partnered with NC State University on a research project to study new methods of erosion control on both this section of I-485 and a 4.5-mile section running from NC 27 to Oakdale Road, which is being constructed by Blythe Construction.

H.B. Rowe performed grading operations on the project, which included 2.3 million cubic meters of unclassified excavation. They have also done the storm drain work and some of the aggregate placement on the project.

According to Joe Raynor, project manager with Tidewater Skanska, accessing some of the more remote bridge structures on the project has been the biggest challenge. "Some of the work is taking place a long way from any cross streets," said Raynor. "You have to traverse using an open cut with all your materials."

In spite of this, construction on the project's 20 bridges is going well. As of August, 90 percent of the substructures have been completed and 50 percent of the bridge decks are in place. "Barring any unforeseen circumstances and bad weather, we hope to have all of the structural work complete by December of this year," said Raynor.

Richard Baucom, P.E., NCDOT's resident engineer on the project, added that Tidewater Skanska has done an excellent job with traffic control and safety measures, especially during night operations to place bridge girders over I-77. NCDOT had another contractor build paved median crossovers along I-77 during a previous job in order to facilitate the bridge work and night closures on the I-485 project.

So far, Tidewater Skanska has met an intermediate completion date for an interchange at Exit 18 and the new Northlake Mall. They hope to have some of the cross streets open and traffic across the new W.T. Harris Blvd. and Beatties Ford Rd. bridges in the next couple of months.

The project is scheduled for completion in December 2007.