Independence Excavating, Inc.
Independence, OH 44131
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Pennsylvania Turnpike New Baltimore Side Remediation
Project Information
- Project Location:
- New Baltimore, PA
- Approx Contract:
- $30,000
- Status:
- Completed - Mar 2017
- Structure Type:
- Road / Highway
References
- Client:
- Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Scope Of Work
Independence Excavating started 2015 off with a big victory, winning a contract for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, “America’s first Super-Highway.” This project was located in New Baltimore, approximately one hour east of Pittsburgh. The scope of our work involved remediation of a portion of the mountain that had been sliding into the turnpike since it was originally constructed, a problem dating as far back as the time when the Pennsylvania Railroad occupied the right of way in the 1920s.
The project scope was to move the entire turnpike alignment two miles away from the slide area and into a temporary setting, move the entire volume of soil, including the slide remediation and the new alignment, and then put traffic back to the existing alignment in preparation for future contracts to widen and improve the run of the existing curves. All work was conducted without impeding the operation of the nearby Allegheny Tunnel, which is vital to the east-west commerce of the turnpike operations.
Several aspects of this project made it a challenging endeavor for our Pittsburgh team:
- The ultimate goal of the project was to improve the safety of the traveling public to fix the slide, as well as straighten the windy and most accident prone portion of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
- A total of four million cubic yards of earth will be moved.
- 2.4 million cubic yards of the project is the remediation of the slide, which will be completed in cuts of up to 80 feet into the slope of the 1/4 mile hillside, removing the saturated, failing soils and reconstructing the entire hillside.
- All of this work was performed in the overlooking hillside of the notable St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and Retreat Center. The church is a historic, beautiful structure that has been an early monastery, Sunday haven for turnpike travelers and an anchor to the New Baltimore community.
- The Independence team laid out an aggressive schedule that not only remediated the hillside, but did so significantly more efficient than the 2 ½ year schedule that was planned for in the original contract.
