LEE’S SUMMIT – Today the Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission announced that the Radmacher-Wilson Team -- construction contractor Radmacher Brothers Excavating Inc. and the engineering design firm of Wilson & Company, Inc. -- won the competition for the Design-Build project known as the I-435 South Loop Link. Work is anticipated to begin in spring of 2018 and be fully completed by late spring 2020.
“We’re thrilled to work with both Radmacher Brothers and Wilson & Company on this project,” said Kansas City District Engineer Brian Kidwell. “We’ve worked with both of them independently on projects throughout the district. We expect great things from this collaboration.”
With a budget of $75 million, the department bundled multi-bridge replacements, resurfacing and corridor safety and mobility improvements from the Kansas state line to the Three Trails Crossing interchange into a Design-Build project delivery format. Interested teams competed to provide innovative, goal-driven, results-oriented transportation solutions within a fixed budget.
The Radmacher-Wilson Team competed against three other teams to develop the project proposal that demonstrated it provided the best value within the parameters. They had to meet or exceed several goals, including low-to-no impacts to the traveling public during construction, renew aging pavement and bridges and improve safety and reduce congestion.
In as little as 10 weeks, the team developed a project proposal that replaces the bridges at Wornall and Holmes, rehabilitates the bridges at 104th Street and the Blue River, and upgrades the pavement on I-435 which includes adding another lane -- all while maintaining the current four lanes of traffic during construction.
Additional improvements include removing the loop ramps at the Holmes Road Interchange, 12 foot inside shoulders along I-435, increased vertical clearance under the Wornall road bridge, new taller and safer concrete barrier wall and longer merge lanes in critical locations.
The combining of multiple needs along the corridor into “system improvement” approach, developing minimum requirements, project goals and a fixed budget really challenged the Design-Build teams.
“They were forced at every turn to think outside the box, balancing the selected construction details against the available funds,” said Project Engineer Perry Allen. “Ultimately, the proposal submitted by the Radmacher-Wilson Team took an innovative approach that provides exceptional value while meeting or exceeding the project goals.”
Radmacher is currently constructing the Route 50 and Route 291 Interchange Project in Lee’s Summit. Wilson & Company were designers of the I-49 and 155th Street Project in Belton, a project also being constructed by Radmacher.
The I-435 corridor was originally constructed in 1966 as a six-lane freeway, an additional lane was added in phases from 1983 to 1994. Minor improvements have been made over the past 20 years by both Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and MoDOT, but overall this corridor has been left virtually unchanged since 1994.
Learn more about the project here: www.modot.org/kansascity/major_projects/I435South/
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