I-75 Project Is First In District 6 To Use Bonded Friction Course
Every day, Ranger Construction’s crews prove their dedication to quality, safety and service. This year, crews in the South Division will also be demonstrating their ability to safely tackle unusual projects in some of south Florida’s busiest regions.
This summer, Ranger South will begin a project to mill and resurface 5.3 miles of I-75 in the Miami-Dade area. The $11.5 million project will double as a proving ground for a new method of asphalt application called bonded friction course. It is the first project of its type in FDOT’s District 6.
On a typical job, a liquid binder called the tack coat is applied by one machine. A paving machine follows by up to a mile behind the tack coat applicator, sometimes driving through the tack coat. With the bonded friction course method, a tack coat applicator is attached to the paving machine. The hot mix asphalt is immediately placed on top of the liquid binder. It is thought that this method will yield a superior product, while eliminating the risk of tracking through the liquid.
In March, the division began a $5.1 million project to reconstruct two miles of Powerline Road in Pompano Beach. The reconstruction will improve the road surface and bring turn lanes up to current standards in this heavily commercial area. The job includes the rather unusual requirement of laying drainage pipe as much as 20 ft. underground. In response, Ranger South will use steel sheet piling to protect the crew’s safety during construction.
Other work for Ranger South includes a $2.6 million FDOT job to mill and resurface two miles near the Sawgrass toll plaza in Sunrise. The project was launched in April 2007 and will be completed by July 2008.
The projects complement a host of other work that Ranger South has underway, including a combined $9.1 million in site preparation, paving, signalization and lighting work on two miles of SR-7 in Hollywood and five miles of University Drive in Coral Springs.
In Boca Raton, Ranger South is also providing the site preparation, utility work and paving for a recreation center and alumni center for Florida Atlantic University. Both projects should be completed by summer.
Ranger South will also focus on a number of smaller projects this summer. In Pompano Beach, crews will provide site preparation, paving and signalization for a South Florida Regional Transit Authority Park-N-Ride, as well as a project at Bennett Elementary.
In Lauderhill, the division will perform the same services on seven intersections under a $676,000 contract that begins in September.
All this work comes on the heels of two large projects completed earlier in the year: A $3.4 million contract for US-1 improvements from Sunrise Boulevard to Oakland Boulevard, and a $2.8 million Stirling Road project. Both jobs involved milling and resurfacing with structural and friction curses, as well as signalization and lighting, landscaping, striping, and concrete sidewalk, curb and gutter installation.
Projects like these are valuable additions to Ranger South’s portfolio of quality, service and dependability, adding to the division’s strong track record of improving roadways throughout the region.