August - 2020CONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM9by historic landmarks, sitting atop a long-used brick-lined sewage system and funneling tens of thousands of motorists through a dangerous ramp and merging configuration­needed to be rethought, redesigned and rebuilt.The use of technology on a variety of aspects was instrumental to the success, quality, and safety of the project.The projects successfully addressed the safety and efficiency of the interchange, corrected geometric deficiencies, provided missing interchange movements, optimized I-280 throughput, and improved the corridor's condition and reliability. With numerous key stakeholders­including Michael Baker's design team, client New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), contractor George Harms Construction, and other public and private entities­engineering project collaboration software and other communication tools­were vital to the project's success. Three-Dimensional Structural DesignThe three-dimensional structural design allows us to efficiently model, analyze, and design structures. This technology allows us to consider multiple design alternatives and select the solution that will best fit the client's needs. The three-dimensional structural design also allows us to easily see the impact of potential changes or modifications to the overall design, andallows us to provide better quality deliverables while helping realize project timelines and budgets. The I-280/21 Interchange Improvements project is in a highly-constrained area bothhorizontally,being locked in between multiple sensitive and existing features, and vertically,being restricted to navigate ahigh elevation differential for the connecting ramps to have acceptable grades. At two locations, the new bridge structures had to be tightly fit within these constraints. Additionally, a non-uniform new structure had to be tied to two existing structures that were being re-decked. A delicate and complex three-dimensional model had to be used to confirm the ability of the existing fracture critical steel box to carry the additional and heavier loads, as well as the unbalanced construction loads.Due to tight vertical clearances, a shallow depth structure consisting of curved steel girders supported on an integral post-tensioned concrete cross girder was used at another location. A full three-dimensional model was used to incorporate for the superstructure/substructure interaction as well as long-term nonlinear effects of the concrete cross girder. These designs could not be done without the use of advanced sophisticated analysis tools. Digital Data Collection ToolsTechnology helps us to map out and plan for construction project success before even breaking the ground. Tools like the three-dimensional laser scan radar survey by Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) help us assess the project areawithout being invasive and discover challenges that may arise during construction ahead of time. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) (or drones) also help us to collect real-time data about projects and areas that might not be easily accessed by traditional methods. We often use drones to improve progress tracking and to catch potential problems before they cost a project time or become costly. Even as the I-280/21 Interchange Improvements project was under design, the deck for the existing viaduct on I-280, which is being replaced as part of the project, was continuously breaking apart with the limited ongoing patching, causing safety concerns and required more extensive and immediate repairs. Our team mobilized the company's mobile GPRto collect data that identifies areas of the deck with compromised low concrete strength prone to fail. The nondestructive testing was then used to determine the proper fixes that were implemented years before starting the construction.Sensors in ConstructionAs the internet of things (IoT) continues to expand, our job sites are becoming part of the smart ecosystem. On job sites, sensors can be used for a multitude of applications that all contribute to quality control. We are monitoring worker safety using sensors to detect injuries or unsafe body temperatures and flagging dangerous behaviors like distractedness or drowsiness. The safety of the job site itself can also be monitored using sensors. By placing sensors strategically throughout the site, we monitor critical information like how temperature, noise, humidity, and vibration are impacting building materials and methods. Detecting these local variations in material strength or work integrity is important when planning projects in areas that may have extreme conditions. We can alsoensure that work is hitting certain benchmarks and tolerances, for instance using sensors to indicate when concrete has cured.
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