A 17-mi. (27 km) section of I-10 in Cochise County, Ariz., is undergoing a 9-month repaving project. In the center of the project is the town of Bowie, famous for the historical site, Fort Bowie. For more than 30 years, Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations eventually culminating in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama.

The project consists of milling and replacement of the existing asphaltic concrete in both lanes for eastbound and westbound I-10 from milepost 367.67 to milepost 385.03, and for eastbound I-10 from milepost 356.5 to milepost 357.7.

The ramps at the East San Simon Traffic Interchange also will be replaced.

Bridge rails will be updated on the San Simon River Bridge (eastbound and westbound), Cochise Avenue (eastbound and westbound), and Luzena Road (eastbound) structures. Additional work consists of removal and replacement of guardrail, placing millings at specified crossovers, new striping and other related work.

The project runs from January to September 2011, and encompasses 17 mi. (27.4 km) or 68 lane mi. (109.4 km)

FNF Construction of Tempe was named prime contractor with a contract of $9.48 million. FNF recently worked on another section of this highway, where it built a new traffic interchange at I-10 and Marsh Station Rd.

FNF is being assisted by Arizona Highway Safety Specialists Inc. (AHSS) of Chino Valley, who was subcontracted for the bridge barrier and guardrail work. AHSS is nearly finished with its portion of the project, as outlined in its $400,000 contract.

Valentine Surfacing Company of Vancouver, Wash., is performing the milling work with a Roadtec milling machine.

“Generally, the wearable teeth on the milling machine are replaced every three to four hours,” said Clint Amator, project manager of FNF. “Because some sections of asphalt were harder than usual, Valentine had to replace the teeth every hour and a half.”

Amator said that the hardened asphalt will not be a hindrance in finishing the project on schedule.

Other subcontractors on the job include Pavement Marking Inc. (PMI) of Tempe for roadway striping, and Gonzalez Construction Company, headquartered in Delores, Colo., for rumble strips.

“We’re running two milling shifts, night and day, and paving during the day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” said Amator.

Crews are working on 3 mi. (4.8 km) sections at a time, in which the speed limit has been reduced from 75 mph to 45mph. Class “C” wide-loads (more than 14-ft. wide) are detoured onto a 70-mi. bypass using U.S. 70 and U.S. 191.

FNF is using a Dillman hot plant set up approximately 8 mi. (12.9 km) from the work site. The project will require a total of 125,000 tons (113,398 t) of asphalt for paving. Other equipment includes two Cat 634 rollers that FNF rented from Empire Machinery and Rental in Tucson, and FNF-owned CAT pavers.

Paving work is expected to be complete by the end of June, with remedial work wrapping up in September.

CEG

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