Georgia_20_2010

GEORGIA STATE EDITION

A Supplement to:

441

59

75

Cornella 19

Rome

85

27

Athens 441

Atlanta

20

Madison 85

20

Augusta

Griffin 129

Vol. XXII • No. 20

1

Macon

185 19

October 6 2010

Milledgeville

75

La Grange

301

16

Columbus

Dublin

Swainsboro Oak Park

341

Statesboro

441

16

Lyons Americus

27 82

McRae Cordele

75

Albany

Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479

82

Blakely

84

Douglas Tifton

82

“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”

Savannah Dorchester

341

Cuthbert

27

301

1

19 319

Pearson

Moultrie

Bainbridge Thomasville

84

Valdosta

95

Waycross Brunswick 82 1

441

Crews Finally Set to Finish Savannah’s Truman Parkway By Eric Olson

CEG CORRESPONDENT

Residents of Savannah, Ga., will soon be able to rejoice as a massive road project that was first discussed more than 40 years ago, is finally nearing completion. Work began earlier this summer on the fifth and final phase of the Harry S. Truman Parkway, a major north-south thoroughfare on the city’s east side. Although the project was first planned in the 1960s, it was not until 1990 that any dirt was moved. After that, the road was built in increments over the next 20 years, delayed by everything from the expected funding problems to a pair of endangered eagles that were found to be nesting along the proposed route. When the last phase is completed in December 2013, motorists will be able to travel along a freeway that stretches from President Street, just east of downtown along the Savannah River, south for about nine miles to Whitfield Avenue and then west across wetlands to the busy Abercorn Street corridor, near Holland Drive. This last stretch, from Whitfield to Abercorn, a total of 2.08 mi. (3.34 km) is the final phase of the project. It could also potentially be the most problematic as much of it will need to be an elevated roadway over the Wilshire Canal, the Vernon River and an adjacent marsh. Still, the man in charge of building the last phase of the Truman Parkway doesn’t anticipate any problems. Jeff Kracun is a senior project manager in the Wilmington, N.C., office of Balfour Beatty see PARKWAY page 2

It will take 1,580 piles to get the roadway over this marsh.

Page 2 • October 6, 2010 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

An extensive amount of grading must be done for the road surface and the approaches to the elevated roadway over the marsh.

Project First Discussed 40 Years Ago Now Nears Completion PARKWAY from page 1

Infrastructure Inc., a worldwide building company with lots of experience in constructing large road projects. It is Kracun’s job to get the $67.5 million project built on time and under budget. “We have already started the bridge over the marsh and even though it will take 1,580 piles to get the roadway over that marsh, it is a pretty straightforward job,” he said from the job site. “The rest of it is building some small overpasses and grading and paving a level area for the road surface. I really don’t think there will be any problems.” Weather also should not be a concern, he added, as the winter months in Savannah are generally pretty mild. Assisting Balfour Beatty in getting the Truman Parkway finished is R.B. Baker Construction Inc., of nearby Garden City, Ga., and Corbett Electrical Construction in Lake Park, Ga. R.B. Baker is doing all the grading and asphalt paving on the project, while Corbett is mounting and repositioning the electrical utilities along the route. Balfour Beatty is putting in a temporary work trestle from which to drive all of those piles throughout the marsh. To get that done,

the firm is using a pair of Manitowoc 4100 cranes to drive the piles, as well as to build the bridges and overpasses on the project, Kracun said. Currently, Kracun is employing about 18 people through his company on the early stages of the project, with the subcontractors using a number of other workers to help haul fill from a nearby site that serves as a Boy Scout camp. “Right now, we’re hauling borrow, probably 60 percent of the borrow for the road between Whitfield Avenue and the marsh,” Kracun explained. “Then we have to go to the other side of the project and haul borrow for the stretch between White Bluff and the marsh, as well as between White Bluff and the upper part of the new road. We have probably 10 to 15 trucks continually hauling all of that fill in here.” Beginning next March, work will begin on building a pair of overpasses, with gradeseparated interchanges for the Truman Parkway at both Whitfield Avenue and White Bluff Road. Planners have always envisioned the Truman Parkway as a thoroughfare that will increase capacity and ease congestion for the

north-south traffic on Savannah’s east side. The current major north-south road is Ga. 204/Abercorn Street, but that route has seen a great deal of commercial building in the last 40 years that keeps extending south and east past the edges of town. Consequently, the traffic congestion also has continued to grow. At the point where the Truman Parkway will tie into Abercorn are a number of shopping centers, restaurants and big box stores, so the completed portion of the parkway, with its traffic-light-free design, should be able to provide some relief for the heavy workday traffic. Nearby DeRenne Avenue, north of the current work, which also can get quite congested with traffic, may also see some relief from the new roadway. Residents of nearby Skidaway Island, just to the south and east, hope that they, too, will benefit from the finished parkway as it will give them an easier commute from the Abercorn corridor. Mark Wilkes, the director of transportation for the Chatham-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission, hopes that the work on the Truman Parkway’s final

phase will also get the conversation started on improving Abercorn itself in order to alleviate its traffic concerns. That might include enhancements to its pedestrian and bicycle pathways, he said. Once completed, the Truman Parkway will offer motorists two lanes in each direction with a 24-ft. (7.3 m) wide raised median. Hopes are that the construction will mean an increase in local jobs, maybe as many as 100 direct jobs at the peak of activity, as well as increased business for area suppliers. The jobless rate in the Savannah area is currently around eight percent. Although the Georgia DOT provided the money for the Truman Parkway’s final phase, the road is not part of the Georgia state highway system, nor is it planned as an Interstate highway. The freeway is maintained instead by Chatham County and is one of three such roads in the state — the others are the nearby Veteran’s Parkway, also in Savannah, and the Ronald Reagan Parkway in the Atlanta area. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG

Page 4 • October 6, 2010 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

THEY PLANNED A MEETING AND NO ONE EVEN CALLED ME.

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • October 6, 2010 • Page 5

RESTORE YOUR MACHINE’S PRODUCTIVITY & RELIABILITY. Yancey’s Machine Rebuild program incorporates the very latest technology and critical engineering updates into your machine at a fraction of the cost of buying a new earthmoving machine.

Or maybe they did. Truth is, I’m not that organized. I forget things. And I’m told my planning skills are “lacking.”

These three levels of Machine Rebuilds restore your machine’s original productivity and reliability while Caterpillar® product improvements and updated components are installed to increase performance. The three levels of Rebuilds are:

Yancey Bros. Co. on the other hand, is another story. They’ve got a plan for everything. A Maintenance Plan that means fewer surprises and less downtime. You don’t even have to show up.

CATERPILLAR® CERTIFIED REBUILDS incorporate as many as 350 tests and inspections, plus automatic replacement of up to 7,000 parts, to ensure the same high level of quality you would expect from a new Caterpillar machine. YANCEY CUSTOM REBUILDS include many of the same upgrades as a Cat® Certified Rebuild, but provides you the flexibility of customizing the rebuild to meet your specific needs and budget.

To see how a plan comes together, check out www.YanceyBros.com .

CAT® CERTIFIED POWER TRAIN REBUILDS include a complete disassembly and rebuilding of the power train. All critical engineering updates and improvements are included in the replacement or recondition of approximately 3,000 parts.

www.YanceyBros.com

ALBANY (800) 768-2892 AUGUSTA (800) 446-5131 AUSTELL (877) 292-6239 BRUNSWICK (800) 299-5010 CALHOUN (800) 752-9804

COLUMBUS (800) 633-5240 DACULA (888) 852-5949 KENNESAW (866) 487-2228 MACON (800) 633-5180 SAVANNAH (800) 755-8382

STATESBORO (888) 764-6506 VALDOSTA (800) 755-6841 WASHINGTON (888) 678-3211 WAYCROSS (888) 948-2443

©2010 Caterpillar All rights reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow,” the “Power Edge” trade dress as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission.

On the left is a photo of a Cat® D8R. On the right is the same Cat® D8R after a Caterpillar® Certified Rebuild from Yancey Bros. Co. was completed.