C.W. Matthews, APAC Build Unique 17th Street Span

Thu June 27, 2002
G.W. Hall

C.W. Matthews Construction Co., of Marietta, and APAC-Georgia Inc. recently began a $38.2-million joint venture project that will provide the city of Atlanta with one of its most unique bridges.

“The new design will create a connection that is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and viable for pedestrian and bicycle access,” Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Commissioner Tom Coleman said when the design was unveiled. “We would like to thank the citizens’ advisory group and the architects for their hard work on this project. I am very appreciative of the results of collaboration between the engineering firm, URS Corp., the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, the city of Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Transportation.”

“This design has a modern look that blends in with the adjacent existing and anticipated development,” noted Georgia DOT Urban Design Engineer Joe Palladi. “This bridge will handle the anticipated traffic from Midtown to the Home Park area and the Atlantic Steel development. It will be a connector over the I-75/I-85 Connector.”

GDOT officials expect construction costs to exceed $130 million. Plans call for completion of the entire project in 2006, with the bridge expected to be open to traffic by late 2003.

GDOT awarded the contract for the initial phase of the 17th Street Bridge project to C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. and APAC-Georgia Inc. This phase consists of more than 1.5 mi. (2.4 km) of construction to extend Atlanta’s 17th Street across the I-75/I-85 Connector from the new Atlantic Station Development to West Peachtree Street. Phase One of the project also will include a partial realignment of Techwood Drive.

C.W. Matthews and APAC began this work in January 2002. The first steps of the project involved grading, erecting barrier and retaining walls, and blasting rock that workers found in unexpected places. C.W. Matthews has already had 35 employees assist with the project, while the APAC-Georgia work force has totaled around 40. By the time they finish this work, workers from the two companies will have moved more than 350,000 cu. yds. (267,594 cu m) of earth, with rock representing 50,000 cu. yds. (38,228 cu m) of that total.

To complete the heavy lifting associated with the work on the walls, C.W. Matthews brought in two 110-ton (100 t) Link-Belt LS 218 cranes and an American 5300 crane. The company purchased its Link-Belt machinery from Atlantic & Southern Equipment, which was previously known as Owsley Equipment Company. C.W. Matthews acquired the American crane from Moody Equipment, which was previously known as R.S. Armstrong.

APAC, meanwhile, supplied a variety of machinery to assist with the earth-moving chores. This equipment included a Caterpillar 345 excavator, a Hitachi 550LC excavator, two Komatsu 300 excavators, a Komatsu 400 excavator, a Caterpillar 330 excavator, a 318 rubber-tire backhoe, a Caterpillar 12 G motorgrader, a Caterpillar 140H motorgrader, two Caterpillar IT28B loaders, two Caterpillar D350 articulated rear dump trucks and six Volvo A25C articulated rear dump trucks. Other equipment included four rollers and two water trucks.

APAC acquired its Volvo and Hitachi equipment from Metrac. The company obtained its Caterpillar machinery from Yancey Brothers and its Komatsu excavators from Stith Equipment Company. All of these equipment dealers have operations in the Metro Atlanta area.

APAC’s initial work also involved excavating and putting in shoring to allow Sunbelt Structures, a subcontractor for the joint venture partners, to extend the Orme Street sewer 750 ft. (229 m) beneath the construction zone. The City of Atlanta required construction of a 10- by 10-ft. (3 by 3 m) box culvert as a condition for allowing the GDOT to have access to the right of way.

“We have worked with C.W. Matthews and APAC for more than 25 years on various projects,” said Mike Williams, president of Sunbelt Structures. “They had confidence that we could collaborate with them on this project in a way that would ensure that the project went as smoothly as possible.”

Sunbelt Structures began working on the sewer line extension during the first week of March 2002, and expected to complete its portion of the project by the end of May. Because there was no way to shut down or detour the entire existing line, the Sunbelt team had to stage its work and utilize bypass pumping to detour the flow as it completed each segment. To complete the work as rapidly as possible, Sunbelt worked on both ends of the line simultaneously.

“We realize that our piece of work was on the prime contractors’ critical path,” Williams said. “So it is important to complete our work as quickly as possible.”

To accomplish this goal, Sunbelt Structures assigned 16 employees to the job, and equipped them with several key pieces of machinery. This equipment included two Link-Belt 108H cranes, two Caterpillar 325 excavators and a Caterpillar D5 bulldozer. Like the prime contractors on the job, Sunbelt obtained its Link-Belt cranes from Atlantic & Southern Equipment and its Caterpillar equipment from Yancey Brothers.

“The new sewer line will require 1,500 yds. of concrete, which is being supplied by Thomas Concrete,” Williams said. “When we finish our work, APAC will move back in to handle the back fill.”

As Sunbelt Structures works on the sewer line extension, C.W. Matthews and APAC-Georgia are constructing retaining walls and the bridge substructure. Completing the bridge will require more than 7.2 million lbs. (3.3 million kgs) of structural steel, 3 million lbs. (1.4 million kgs) of reinforcing steel, and 20,000 cu. yds. (15,291 cu m) of concrete.

“Erecting steel over the traffic on the I-75/I-85 Connector will represent one of the biggest challenges associated with this project,” said Peter Feininger, vice president of C.W. Matthews. “We will have to close portions of the Downtown Connector during the weekend to complete that part of the project.”

Feininger expects to use a 450-ton (408 t) American crane or a 300-ton (272 t) Link-Belt to hoist structural steel into position above the roadway. Some lifts will handle steel sections weighing more than 250,000 lbs. (113,398 kg) and measuring 163 ft. (50 m) in length.

These massive steel segments will form the backbone of a structure which, when completed, will measure 829 ft. (253 m) from end to end, and 113 ft. (34 m) across. A canopy-covered, 22-ft. (6.7 m) wide sidewalk will run along the south side of the bridge, which also will feature a 24-ft. (7.3 m) lane for future rail transit, two 18-ft. (5.5 m) wide bus or bicycle lanes, and four 11-ft. (3.3 m) wide lanes for vehicular traffic. A 30-ft. (9 m) wide sidewalk will traverse the north side of the bridge.

State-of-the-art intersection designs and streetscapes at the approaches on the east and west sides of the bridge will channel pedestrians onto the bridge structure. In addition, C.W. Matthews and APAC-Georgia will put in more than 5,600 ft. (1,707 m) of curb and gutter, and more than 4,700 ft. (1,433 m) of storm drain.

“The 17th Street Bridge Project will have a lasting impact on transportation in the city of Atlanta,” Coleman said. “We look forward to the day when this great project is complete.”

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.