October 2009

I-94 value engineering team wins top AASHTO award

Darrell Berry was the leader and facilitator of a Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) team that was recognized with the 2009 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Value Engineering Award for their work on the Interstate 94 Value Engineering Study.  This prestigious award was presented at the AASHTO National Value Engineering Conference in San Diego, California.  The winning team conducted a value engineering (VE) study for the improvement of 33 miles of I–94, a busy interstate connecting Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The study corridor begins just east of Madison and extends to the Jefferson/Waukesha County Line.  Darrell Berry is now employed with Mead & Hunt.

“This study resulted in significant cost savings and operational improvements as compared to the original plan,” said Berry, who facilitated the weeklong study.

This segment of I–94 needs repair, and traffic projections warrant an expansion from four to six lanes by 2026.  The WisDOT Southwest Region Planning Section commissioned a VE study to aid in deciding how to best program future rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.  VE study process follows a systematic methodology and a multi–stage job plan.  The goal is to increase the value of products and services by improving their function or reducing the costs.

As federal, state, and local governments make every effort to obtain the greatest value for their tax dollars, value engineering is becoming a major part of the transportation industry.  More and more projects go through a VE study in an effort to produce innovative, high–quality infrastructure improvements cost effectively.

The I–94 VE Study developed and evaluated six pavement rehabilitation and reconstruction alternatives in addition to the original baseline alternative.  The baseline alternative had a life–cycle cost of $195 million.  The recommended alternative had a life–cycle cost of $147 million, resulting in $48 million saved (24.6 percent).  In addition to the cost savings, the recommended alternative employs simple traffic control and does not require temporary widening to add and remove lanes.  The short duration of interim work using standard construction techniques eases the construction of the project.  It also minimizes user delays and impacts during construction, improves shoulders and flattens or shields steep side slopes, corrects cross slope on the mainline, and provides capacity when needed.  WisDOT adopted the VE team’s recommendation and is proceeding with implementation of this best value solution.

“The award was well deserved.  The study was performed well with a team comprised of highly skilled and capable professionals, and results were very useful to the State DOT,” said Peter Garcia of FHWA’s Wisconsin division.