Sutter’s Gold Road and Bridge Improvements
Over the course of a 55-hour closure at ACC West Coast’s Sutter’s Gold project, they closed multiple connector ramps and interchanges of a California Highway. During this closure they repaired one bridge, removed asphalt concrete, cleaned and installed new joint seals, and placed both PPC and HFST overlays on the various bridges. The majority of this project was completed during this closure, highlighting the capability of ACC West Coast to coordinate multiple crews and resources to complete a large, complex project in a short window.
Most bridges in the United States are many decades old and have deteriorated significantly during their lifespan. Due to high traffic volumes and location, a full replacement of these bridges is extremely time-consuming, expensive and complicated. Repairing these bridges once they’re worn down can be very expensive—but is still cheaper and quicker than a full replacement.
“These 55-hour closures require us to do a lot of planning ahead of time to focus our efforts,” says ACC West Coast Vice President Cliff Barber. “Something that might have taken months of work gets compressed into a very short time window… but we end up producing a high-quality product.”
The ACC West Coast team has been a pioneer in Polyester Polymer Concrete (PPC) and High Friction Surface Treatments (HFST) across the country and continues to evolve. HFST is a targeted safety treatment that dramatically increases roadway friction at specific locations with high crash rates. By applying specialized angular aggregate to the pavement with a rapid setting polymer binder to improve pavement friction, crashes are often cut by 90% or more. PPC is a specialized bridge overlay material that utilizes a rapid setting polymer mixed with sand and aggregate to make a material that is extremely strong and durable—even in thin layers. Additionally, PPC extends the life of structures like bridges by protecting the original concrete bridge deck, proving incredibly helpful in high traffic areas such as California, ACC West Coast’s home state.
“Thin layer polyester is generally just for bridge decks. On this project, we've got all situations, so we are on highway panels, asphalt over existing polyester then placing polyester on a bridge deck. You’ve got every scenario out here for this project,” says General Superintendent Bill Holt.
By modifying their in-house equipment and the polyester mixture, ACC West Coast can control and perfect the design for each project. This results in keeping drivers on the road, giving old structures new life.
“It definitely makes you proud to know that you're helping. You put down this safety friction treatment [HFST] that actually allows cars to brake quicker, reduce crashes and potentially save some fatalities that could have happened if it wasn’t there,” said Claudio Roman. “Every time I drive over an HFST overlay we did; I point it out to all my friends and say, ‘Hey, we put that down.’”
Through repairing and installing these well-crafted treatments, the ACC team ensures projects like Sutter’s Gold are able to safely transport drivers for years to come.