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No Goofing Around With
Safety
(1st / 2nd Quarters 2008)
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Quality Control Technician Jaime Duarte
conducts a test while Superintendent David Strickland looks on.
(Photo by Carl Thiemann) |
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Dozer Operator Ricky Burgos
levels dirt for new lanes on Ranger North’s Turnpike widening job near
Orlando, Fla. (Photo by Carl Thiemann) |
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Superintendents Mike Trail and
David Strickland discuss the day’s progress. |
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Water Truck Operator Jim Evans
ensures that the material will be moist enough to compact. Watering also
keeps the dust down, another important factor during road construction.
(Photo by Carl Thiemann) |
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Grader Operator David Thomas
shapes a new entrance ramp.
(Photo by Carl Thiemann) |
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Roller Operator Carlos Sosa
directs dump trucks into position for unloading, while Dozer Operator
Ricky Burgos spreads the dirt. (Photo
by Carl Thiemann) |
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Grading Crew Member Angel Soria
and Quality Control Technician Jaime Duarte dig up a core sample for
testing. (Photo by Carl Thiemann) |
On Busy Orlando Turnpike Job In the bustling
tourist mecca of Orlando, Fla., where daily traffic back-ups can
get longer than the lines at Disney World, keeping road projects
safe and efficient is no Mickey Mouse operation.
On Florida’s Turnpike (SR-91), the city’s main north-south
artery, Ranger’s North Division is taking extra safety measures
as it begins widening a section of the roadway under a $52.5
million contract with the FDOT.
To accommodate traffic flows and protect the safety of road
crews, temporary barrier walls will be installed to create a
buffer between the work zones and the busy highway.
The barrier wall will be moved along with the crews as they work
on a 3.4-mile length of the Turnpike, stretching from the
East-West Expressway (SR-408) interchange to just north of
Beulah Road.
The project runs through the existing SR-429/Florida Turnpike
interchange, where Ranger North
will widen various acceleration and deceleration lanes from six
to 12 lanes. Other sections will be widened from four to eight
lanes.
The division will also replace the Turnpike bridges over Beulah
Road and the SR-50 connector bridge over the Turnpike. The
contract includes a new storm water retention pond, storm
drainage, concrete roadway barrier and reinforced earth walls.
It also includes lighting, signage and intelligent
transportation system signs.
During the project’s two-and-a-half-year time span, an estimated
168,000 tons of lime rock base and 85,000 tons of asphalt will
be placed. In addition, crews will install just over two miles
of precast sound wall with an average height of 20 ft. The walls
will include a special finish with themed graphics.
With so much work to accomplish on such a busy traffic corridor,
safety and efficiency will be paramount throughout.
And while road traffic may be lighter when cars can simply fly —
like the DeLorean in Universal Orlando’s “Back To The Future”
exhibit — for now Ranger will use more down-to-earth methods to
keep motorists and road crews safe during road construction
projects.
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