Eastbound US 36 cost update
The cost of the emergency rebuild project of eastbound US 36 was more than $17 million.
Cost break-down:
$14 million includes the design, construction and emergency response costs. Some of the major items covered include:
- Removing the collapsed wall and stabilizing the site: $2.3 million
- Installing more than 3,600 cubic yards of concrete: $2.2 million
- Drilling more than 5,800 linear feet of caissons: $1.2 million
- Installing about 275,000 pounds of steel: $854,000
- Installing nearly 16,700 square feet of concrete panels on the face of the Geofoam: $920,000
- Installing 48 tons is asphalt: $21,500
- Over 20,000 man hours were required to rebuild the collapsed section
- Remaining costs were for traffic control, landscaping, utility repairs, design work, emergency response and other work
The $14 million covers everything but an additional $3.5 million investment CDOT made to further expedite the project. CDOT installed nearly 24,000 cubic yards of geofoam. Through this process, the safest and most effective method for rebuilding was determined.
This allowed for faster reconstruction of US 36, which was critical for the safe operation of the road and quick transition back to normal.
The rebuilt section of US 36 includes drilling caissons down into the bedrock and placing a material called geofoam behind the retaining wall in place of the previous existing soil backfill. Geofoam is a lightweight backfill that has been used effectively in similar situations with soil settlement. Since geofoam is lightweight, it reduces pressure and stress to the underlying soil. It is also very strong, which means it can safely support highway loads and also lead to improved slope stability. Of the different options considered, this provided the best factor of safety
