Georgia 2, January 24, 2024

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Crews currently have detours in place in order to perform work on the project, such as installing diaphragms on the I-16 eastbound overpass and installing overhang jacks on the I-16 westbound overpass.

Contractors working for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will continue construction on the I-16/I-75 Interchange Improvement Project in Macon-Bibb.

Crews currently have detours in place in order to perform work on the project, such as installing diaphragms on the I-16 eastbound overpass and installing overhang jacks on the I-16 westbound overpass.

Construction on this $500 million project has taken place in multiple phases, with the latest updates being provided by GDOT. Phases 4 and 5, from I-16 westbound/I-75 to Walnut Creek, will see many milestones being constructed. This portion of the project includes: • Continue construction of bridge substructures and superstructures for I-16 Spring Street entrance and exit ramps; • Continue construction of new Second Street bridge substructure; • Continue construction of one new I-16 westbound bridge substructure and two superstructures; • Continue construction of two new I-16 eastbound bridge substructures; see GDOT page 6

Construction crews are ramping up activities on the Georgia Department of Transportation’s $500 million I-16/I-75 Improvement Project in Bibb County.

Page 2 • January 24, 2024 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

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Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • January 24, 2024 • Page 3

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Page 4 • January 24, 2024 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

GDOT Awards $189M Contract to Raise Savannah Bridge The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) said Jan. 3 that it had chosen a general contractor to oversee a $189 million project to raise Savannah’s towering Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge so that today’s larger cargo ships traveling up and down the Savannah River can pass underneath and reach one of the nation’s busiest seaports.

Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. will serve as the general contractor on the maintenance and construction project, designed to replace the existing cables across the main span of the structure, along with bridge bearings and joints.

GDOT noted on its project website that Kiewit also will explore shortening the cables to reprofile the existing cablestayed bridge to obtain a higher vertical clearance which may improve ship navigation within the channel.

Built in 1991, the Talmadge Memorial Bridge carries four lanes of traffic on U.S. Highway 17/Ga. 404 Spur between downtown Savannah and the South Carolina state line. With a main span of 1,100 ft. and a total length of 1.9 mi., the beautiful structure currently provides 185 ft. of vertical navigational clearance for oceangoing ships sailing to or from the Port of Savannah, the fourth-busiest U.S. port for cargo shipped in containers.

The AP reported that Kiewit expects to begin work on the bridge project in the first quarter of 2025.

Officials with the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) began calling for the bridge to be replaced more than five years ago,

Collins noted that Kiewit was awarded $6.5 million for pre-construction services and will provide GDOT with additional costs for the Talmadge Memorial Bridge’s construction once a final design has been selected.

The state agency noted that pre-construction work will begin within the first quarter of 2024, and collaboration between the project’s designer, Parsons Transportation Group, based in Chantilly, Va., and Kiewit will occur throughout the year as GDOT prepares for full construction.

saying its clearance will eventually be too low to accommodate growing classes of cargo ships.

GDOT’s solution, at least for now, is to replace and shorten the bridge’s massive cables to raise its center span by an additional 20 ft. The state agency told the AP that most of the work can be done without closing the bridge to traffic.

“That’s something we’re confident can be accomplished in a safe fashion,” said Kyle Collins, a GDOT spokesperson, “though there will have to be some temporary closures.”

The transportation department signed off on the Savannah bridge raising effort one year ago and had been seeking to hire a general contractor early so the firm could consult on the project while it is still in the design phase.

Alternative Plan Also Under Consideration Griff Lynch, president and CEO of the state’s Port Authority, said that GPA’s $1.9 billion investment to grow Savannah’s cargo handling capacity needs to be met with taxpayer-funded infrastructure upgrades. Less than two years after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished a $973 million deepening of the Savannah River shipping channel, his agency is already seeking congressional authorization to study another round of dredging.

Meanwhile, even as it prepares to raise the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, GDOT is simultaneously studying a longterm project to either replace the structure altogether with an even taller bridge or build a tunnel allowing cars to travel beneath the river.

A September 2022 report estimated those costs could reach $2 billion. 

Atlanta Area Projects Include EV Plant, Warehouse Complex Rivian Automotive, a California-based maker of electric vehicles (EV), announced in late December that it had chosen Clayco, a national engineering and construction firm, to build its innovative $5 billion dollar manufacturing plant in the Stanton Springs industrial area east of Atlanta.

Headquartered in Chicago, Clayco is a full-service turnkey company, with additional services including real estate, architecture and design-build construction.

Rivian, a company at the forefront of the EV industry, is setting out to create an 1,800acre Georgia complex to build its sustainable transportation.

Dedicated to preserving the natural world for future generations, the manufacturer wants both its vehicles and facilities to be energy efficient and sustainable; the same idea is to be applied to the construction and operations of the Georgia factory, according to a news release from Clayco.

Tony Sanger, Rivian’s vice president of facilities, said in a statement that the collaboration between Rivian and Clayco is a symbiotic partnership that will propel the local community forward.

“We have an ambitious goal to develop an eco-conscious facility that illustrates our mission of keeping the world adventurous forever,” he elaborated. “With Clayco’s dedication to developing innovative ideas and solutions, we are confident they are the right partner to ensure the Rivian plant is a shining

example of sustainable manufacturing.”

Not only will the new complex contribute significantly to the continued growth and adoption of electric vehicles, but it is also expected to create approximately 7,500 employment opportunities — demonstrating the company’s commitment to both the local and national economies.

Plans call for the Rivian plant’s construction to begin in the coming weeks, with vehicle production expected to ramp up in 2026.

The EV manufacturer has been a hot topic of conversation in the Stanton Springs area ever since it was first officially announced in late 2021, the Covington News reported.

Two months ago, prior to selecting a contractor, the Joint Development Authority of Newton, Jasper, Morgan and Walton counties (JDA) and Rivian closed on bonds to finance the EV plant.

Clayco will handle primary construction duties for the Rivian complex, with Jacobs as its engineer of record and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill serving as its design architect.

New Industrial Park to Be Built A development team announced plans Jan. 3 for a warehouse complex roughly an hour southwest of downtown Atlanta aimed at the region’s growing manufacturing and logistics industries.

Grandview Partners and Farpoint Development recently acquired 134 acres in

LaGrange, Ga. to develop Lafayette Logistics Park, which is set to include up to 2 million sq. ft. of warehouse space. The land was purchased in late November from Southpoint Realty Group LLC at an undisclosed price.

Located along Interstate 85, the complex will rise near Kia’s West Point manufacturing plant as well as factories and facilities utilized by Walmart, Kimberly-Clark and Duracell.

The industrial park will be located just 6 mi. from the future West Georgia Inland Port, a rail terminal set to connect LaGrange to the Port of Savannah as well as close to the Kia factory.

Grandview Partners, a minority-owned real estate fund manager based in Connecticut, said LaGrange’s status as a growing industrial hub will only increase with the success of the proposed inland port.

“LaGrange is emerging as a top logistics market in the Southeast,” Eric Helfand, a founding principal at Farpoint Development, said in a media release. “Lafayette Logistics Park is strategically located and will create quality jobs while supporting continued business growth in the region.”

The Daily News noted that the construction of the industrial park is being completed in two phases, with the initial phase expected to get underway within the next few months and be completed by the end of 2024. It will include four industrial facilities ranging from

187,000-255,000 sq. ft. in size.

Phase II will begin once substantial work is completed on the first part of the construction and encompass a single, 700,000-sq.-ft. facility.

“With many notable national and regional manufacturers anchored in Troup County, and LaGrange’s recent selection as the next major inland port site by the Georgia Port Authority, Lafayette Logistics Park is well positioned to provide much much-needed industrial space for the region over the coming years,” explained Trevor Oliff, director at Grandview Partners.

Scott Malone, president of the LaGrange Development Authority, said the primary driver for bringing in new facilities like the Troup Logistics Center and the Pegasus Industrial complex, which have been leased

by Kia or their suppliers, has been the automaker’s electric vehicle expansion.

Developing the Lafayette Logistics Park is more about the inland port, he noted, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

“From a historical standpoint, we have 111 manufacturing facilities in Troup County, but we’ve never focused on logistics,” Malone elaborated, noting the new logistics developments will help manufacturing continue to bring good jobs and investment into the county and city. 

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • January 24, 2024 • Page 5

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Page 6 • January 24, 2024 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Bridge Work Under Way On GDOT’s $500M I-16/I-75 Project

Crews are utilizing drilled caissons with mass concrete for the bridge foundations located in the river. This design helps maximize construction by allowing more environmentally friendly construction activities to take place in the river, without detrimentally affecting the adjacent ecosystems.

GDOT from page 1

• Pouring bridge deck spans and edge beams on new I-16 eastbound bridge superstructure; • Continue construction of two new I-16 westbound entrance ramps; • Continue demolition of bridge ramp to I-16 eastbound; • Continue construction of new MSE (retaining) walls along I-75 northbound and southbound and other walls throughout the project; and • Installing pipe and other drainage structures throughout the project area.

Phases 2 and 3, being executed by E.R. Snell, has been worked on for the better part of 2023, but there are still punch list items that still need to be completed. Those include: • Continue construction of Riverside Bridge approaches, roadway and lighting; • Continue construction of the Walnut Street bridge, lighting and guardrail over I-75; • Completed construction of the superstructure for two of the new I-75 northbound and southbound bridges; • Continue demolition and removal of the existing I-16 westbound and I-75 northbound and southbound bridges; • Construction of MSE (retaining) walls along I-75 northbound and southbound and at other locations throughout the project continues; • Construction of concrete sound and visual walls along I-

Overall, the I-16/I-75 Interchange Improvement project will enhance safety and mobility of the interchange by widening and reconstructing I-75 from Hardeman Avenue to Pierce Avenue and I-16 from I-75 to Walnut Creek within the city of Macon and Macon-Bibb County.

75 northbound and southbound continues; • Continue demolition of the existing pavement on the left lanes of I-75 northbound from Hardeman Avenue to north of the Riverside Bridge; and • Continue concrete paving for new I-75 northbound and southbound roadways, and new I-75 southbound ramp to new I-16 eastbound.

Project’s Need Overall, the I-16/I-75 Interchange Improvement project will enhance safety and mobility of the interchange by widening and reconstructing I-75 from Hardeman Avenue to Pierce Avenue and I-16 from I-75 to Walnut Creek within the city of Macon and Macon-Bibb County. This project represents a $500 million investment in the city, the Middle Georgia region and the state’s transportation system and will support Georgia’s growing freight and logistics industry.

More specifically, the project aims to construct additional interstate lanes, wider shoulder lanes and additional on- and off-ramps. A new collector/distributor (CD) road system will be constructed parallel to both I-16 and I-75, which will allow additional non-interstate traffic capacity.

Modifications will be made to bridges and surface streets within the project area to accommodate the additional interstate and CD lanes. These surface street improvements will add or expand dedicated turn lanes, which will reduce con-

Phases 4 and 5 of the project include construction of bridge substructures and superstructures and pouring bridge deck spans and edge beams on new I-16 eastbound bridge superstructure.

gestion and improve mobility for commuter traffic.

Completed Phases Phase 1: I-16 Eastbound — Improved approximately 1.5 mi. of I-16 EB between I-75 and Coliseum Drive. Phase 1 construction contract was awarded to C.W. Matthews, low bid at $70 million.

This portion was completed in summer 2022. Roadwork included operational improvements to I-16 WB at the Spring Street interchange. These improvements eliminated the existing weave and improve safety on I-16 EB between I-75 and Spring Street. Crews also closed the Spring Street loop ramp and constructed the I-16 EB collector distributor (CD) road between I-75 and Spring Street.

Pleasant Hill Community Phase 1B involved the mitigation improvements to the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood on each side of the I-75 corridor.

The Phase 1B construction contract was awarded to E.R. Snell for $13 million.

This portion of the project was completed in spring 2018.

Roadwork included the relocation and rehabilitation of home to seven vacant lots and building 17 new residential structures throughout the community; created a linear park that includes green space and multi-use trail, lighting and information kiosks along the east side of I-75; created the Jefferson Long Park on the west side of I-75; the boyhood home of Little Richard, the Penniman House, was relocated adjacent to the Jefferson Long Park and serves as a community resource center, where specially created mobile interpretative panels are now displayed; constructed noise and visual walls along I-75 within Pleasant Hill; replaced the David Lucas Pedestrian bridge, transformed an existing open drainage ditch into a grass-covered culvert and streetscaping (resurfacing and sidewalk rehabilitation) throughout the community; and the closure of Frontage Road between First and Second Streets to be used as greenspace access to pedestrian bridge.  (All photos courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation.)

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • January 24, 2024 • Page 7

Page 8 • January 24, 2024 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide