DFW Connector DesignBuild Success Story Presented to the

DFW Connector Design-Build Success Story Presented to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Sam E. Swan, P. E. August 2, 2011

Project Overview • • • Developer: North. Gate Constructors $1. 02 billion design-build project Contract executed October 6, 2009 Work began Feb. 17, 2010 42 percent of contract earned ($396 million of $931 million in construction as of May 2011) • 37 percent of schedule completed (622 out of 1, 702 days as of May 2011) • Estimated completion: 2014

Project Overview Tarrant County Dallas County City of Grapevine City of Coppell City of Colleyville City of Irving City of Euless Town of Flower Mound Town of Southlake SH D/FW International 114 Airport Town of DART Southlake The T SH RTC & NCTCOG 26 FHWA FAA City of USACE Colleyville Grapevine Mills Mall Bass Pro Shop Gaylord Texan Baylor Hospital SH 121 FM 2499 SH 121 City of Coppell City of Grapevine 635 City of Irving SH 114 DFW International Airport SH 360

Project Overview

2011 Work - Current • 16 bridges under construction simultaneously – Major direct connectors: Eastbound 114/121 to 121 north, northbound 121 to westbound 114, eastbound 114 to southbound 121 • First new permanent pavement opened in temporary configuration, late 2010 • Utility relocations ongoing • North Entrance at DFW Airport – Keeping traffic moving into third-busiest airport in the world

Innovations Used • Design Task Forces – Weekly meetings – Best technical solutions – Designer/contractor/owner-Tx. DOT/stakeholder participation – Coordination between design and construction

Innovations Used • Phasing of the Project – Started during the procurement – Focused on: • • • Maintaining existing capacity Creating large efficient work areas Minimizing full freeway closures Minimizing ROW and Utility conflicts Creating work areas unaffected by traffic Creating temporary configurations better than existing – Organized by block: • Break the mega-project into manageable pieces.

Block Phasing

Innovations Used • 3 -D Design – Better visualization – Identify and eliminate conflicts – Tied to our P 6 schedule with Synchro – Able to download directly into our GPS controlled equipment

Innovations Used • Construction – GPS grade control equipment – Conduits for water and lime into the median – Electronic tracking of equipment, trucks and materials

Innovations Used • Project. One – Microstation and In. Roads files organized by discipline – Effectively find and view files and projectspecific training videos

Innovations Used • Microstation/ In. Roads – Integrates tools specifically designed for quantity takeoffs, work plans, strip maps, and more

Innovations Used • In. Roads corridor modeler • 3 D view of model components

Innovations Used • Trimble Business Center – Directly imports model data and converts to machine control files

Innovations Used • Trimble Business Center – Used to visualize data, assist and help "QC" (quality control) the model – Models loaded into "rovers" and installed on equipment – Excavators – Dozers – Blades

Innovations Used Quantity Takeoffs

Innovations Used 3 -D Quantity Takeoffs

Innovations Used • Truck and Material Tracking

Innovations Used • Trakit GPS – Mobile devices placed in trucks • Ability to see the location of the trucks in real time • Ability for managers to track cycle times and look for bottle necks

Innovations Used • Material Tracking – Integrated suppliers • Integrated electronic tickets – Weight reconciliation • North. Gate owned and operated truck scale • Material trucks weighed once they leave the quarry and again when they arrive at North. Gate – Five. Cubits - Kiosk Overview. ppsx

Innovations Used • Unattended Weighing Systems

Innovations Used • Wireless Paving – Leica Geo. Systems • First used by Kiewit in 2003 • Eliminates wire or string line • Improves access and safety

Innovations Used • Tx. DOT Field Technology – IPads/Tablets • • • Verify paperwork, inspections, quantities in the field Timely Shorter review times Eventual GPS link to design documents Onsite verification of field work as designed

Innovations Used • Track Mounted Crushing Equipment – Mobile Crushers • All crushed materials to be used as base material for concrete paving • Reduced trucking cost

Innovations Used • Concrete Batch Plant

Innovations Used • Public Information – Mobile App (in development, first for Tx. DOT) – E-alerts, weekly/monthly project updates – Business owners’ task force – Business access coordination – Project website stats (May 2011) • • 241, 492 total visits (high of 41, 081 visits in January 2011) 693 average daily visits (high of 1, 325 average visits, January 2011)

Public Information Stakeholders affected by the DFW Connector: Benefits of a PI Team on a designbuild project: • Tarrant and Dallas County • Cities: Grapevine; Southlake, Irving, Coppell, Colleyville, Euless, Flower Mound • D/FW International Airport • DART • The T • RTC & NCTCOG • FHWA • FAA • USACE • Grapevine Mills Mall • Bass Pro Shop • Gaylord Texan Hotel • Baylor Hospital • 300, 000 daily commuters • Business community • Onsite-integrated team – Owner led with close interaction from Tx. DOT – Attend weekly meetings – Obtain up-to-date schedule/design information • Sharing information – Share quickly changing information with stakeholders in a timely manner – Assists with their planning – Know what’s coming • Community partnering – Maintain a presence within the community • Timely mitigation of issues

Public Opinion • Documented public feedback since December 2009 through April 2011: (percentage of complaints vs. commendations) • Complaints: 61% • Commendations: 39% • Percentages flipped in last few months as construction has intensified

DFW Connector Project Tx. DOT-North. Gate Partnering

Working Together • Partnering between North. Gate and Tx. DOT started before construction • Open door policy • Open and transparent communication • Weekly discipline task force meetings between North. Gate and Tx. DOT

Task Force Partnering • Independent facilitator with quarterly meetings • Proactive vs. reactive approach • Participation from all project personnel – Tx. DOT and North. Gate • Identify issues needing escalation

Task Force Partnering (con’t. ) • Quarterly activities: – Project survey to assess the success of agreed upon goal areas – Review and revision of individual task force action plans – Analysis of “rocks in the road” • Identify issues needing escalation

Issue Resolution • Issues identified and handled quickly before they become larger issues • Issues follow a standard project escalation method • Weekly task force leaders meeting to identify potential areas of concern

Executive Partnering • Senior project management – North. Gate – Tx. DOT – FHWA • Issue identification and partnering from a senior level

Project Quantities - Fun Facts • 2. 1 million cubic yards of embankment (dirt) – Would fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium 20 feet deep • 1. 6 million square yards of concrete paving – 170 times the area of the American Airlines center • 130, 000 linear feet drainage – 400 times the length of a football field

Additional Project Quantities • • • 600, 000 square yards of concrete removed 550, 000 square yards of asphalt removed 47 bridges 380, 000 tons of asphalt 740, 000 square feet of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls • 2. 9 million cubic yards of excavation

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