IH-39 Mill and Overlay

Background

An 18-mile section of southbound Interstate 39 (IH-39) in Waushara County, Wisconsin, was experiencing joint deterioration and aging pavements. Two segments of the roadway required mill and overlay of existing asphalt, while a third required replacement of the existing asphalt. In addition, concrete approach slabs to bridges and all beam guards needed replacement.

Approach

Foth was tasked with surveying the project area, analyzing and identifying joints and other structures in need of replacement, and creating a staging plan that supported reconstruction under traffic. As part of our survey efforts, we utilized mobile LiDAR scanning (MLS) to obtain accurate, detailed data quickly and safely. Utilizing our MLS system, the full survey was completed in one day, avoiding traffic delays or slow downs and ensuring our crew was not exposed to high-speed traffic safety risks.

Mill and overlay operations were staged to be completed one lane at a time with limited work zone lengths, and all work was completed while maintaining one open lane of traffic on weekdays and two open lanes over each weekend. Ramps at three sideroad interchanges were also milled and overlaid requiring the closure of interchanges and detouring of traffic.

Results

Design was completed under three separate PS&E packages. The first two packages were let in March 2022 and constructed that same year. The third package was let in September 2022 and is scheduled to be constructed in 2023. The combined let amount of these projects was $12.4 million, which was within 0.3% of Foth’s engineer’s estimate.