The Challenge
The new Southern Beltway needed a deep-cover stormwater managment system to improve travel conditions between USR 22 and I-79.
Customized Reinforced Concrete Pipe Supports up to 100 Feet of Fill
The new Southern Beltway needed a deep-cover stormwater managment system to improve travel conditions between USR 22 and I-79.
Started in 2017 and scheduled for completion in 2022, Southern Beltway is a new 13-mile, four- lane toll expressway commissioned by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to improve travel conditions between U.S. Route 22 and I-79. The $800 million multi-phase project is anchored by a deep-cover stormwater management system constructed with customized reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) from Rinker Materials.
Designed and managed by DTE Energy, CDR Maguire Engineering and Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. with environmental oversight from MS Consultants, inc., deep embankments across the project site require specially manufactured thick wall RCP to accommodate fill ranging from 50 feet to 100 feet. With rolling hills and valleys, millions of cubic yards of soil are being excavated from the landscape to create a flat terrain for the expressway. As a result, the stormwater management system features a wide variety of RCP sizes ranging from 15” to 84” in diameter installed by several different contractors during various phases of the Southern Beltway construction. The success of this complex project is grounded in collaboration between many organizations working towards a common goal.
“There are a lot of players involved here. It’s cliché, but coordination and communication are always number one,” said Josh Farley with CDR Maguire and project manager between the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies and the County Line Road Bridge. “It’s all designed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, but the pieces have to fall in place in the right order.”
“Our reputation for providing deep fill reinforced concrete pipe for multiple projects with Pennsylvania Turnpike, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Ohio Department of Transportation led to Rinker being selected for six phases of the project,” said Mike Morgan, sales manager at Rinker Materials.
The new upgrades to Southern Beltway with the help from MS Consultants environmental oversight will improve travel conditions.
“It’s all designed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, but the pieces have to fall in place in the right order.” According to a CDR Maguire project manager.
