State Route 68 - Arizona

Project Abstract

The project involved reconstruction and widening of a 13.5-mile of an existing two-lane road into a four-lane roadway. The State Route 68 project was built utilizing a design-build contracting method. Design-build is a relatively new approach to highway construction that helps ensure an improved quality and a more efficient construction process. The approach allowed construction of portions of the new roadway while design of the other portions was still underway. This resulted in completion of the highway project in a shorter period of time than with traditional construction projects. It was concluded that projects of this type could be accomplished without significant disruption of the surrounding natural environment.

Wildlife along SR 68.

Project Description The State Route 68 project was built utilizing a design-build contracting method. Design-build is a relatively new approach to highway construction that helps ensure an improved quality and a more efficient construction process. The approach allowed construction of portions of the new roadway while design of the other portions was still underway. This resulted in completion of the highway project in a shorter period of time than with traditional construction projects. It was concluded that projects of this type could be accomplished without significant disruption of the surrounding natural environment. The project involved reconstruction and widening of a 13.5-mile of an existing two-lane road into a four-lane roadway. The construction phasing and sequencing has been planned with primary consideration of the traveling public and businesses. The west end of the project near Bullhead City was completed first to increase travel capacity and improve business access in the area. An element of the plan was to maintain and utilize passing lanes in other segments so that one lane in each direction would be available at all times. Existing pullouts and passing lanes were maintained during the construction. Upon completion of the project, two lanes of travel were provided in each direction, with the lanes of travel separated throughout the length of the project. In the developed area within the Bullhead City limits, the lanes were separated by either a raised median or a two-way left-turn lane. Other areas were designed with an open depressed median. Where access was to be maintained in the raised median area, left-turn pockets were constructed. There were five construction sections included in the project. Context-Sensitive Factors Several unique features were built into the SR 68 design-build project. Included were the following:

Traffic was maintained on all passing and travel lanes during construction of the new roadway.
Lane rental was used to minimize the duration of lane closures by rewarding the contractor for keeping travel lanes open and charging them a fee for lane closures longer than five minutes.
Incentive/disincentive program was used to encourage the contractor to keep the travel time between Bullhead City and Golden Valley similar to the time prior to construction.
An extensive community outreach program was implemented to keep motorists informed about the SR 68 project.
A non-traditional retaining wall was installed near an historical property in order to maintain the historical aspects of the property.

History of Project SR 68 is a critical highway for the northwestern Arizona region. It provides a vital link for employment, tourism and commercial trucking. The Arizona DOT included several innovative features into the design-build contract to benefit the traveling public during construction. The project was the first design-build job in a rural area in Arizona. Design-build allows a design team and a contractor to work together, at the same time, to complete a project in a much shorter period of time than when working under a traditional design-bid-build schedule.
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