News

State Route 178 Widening in Bakersfield, California, Named 2017 Roads & Bridges Top 10 Road Project

State Route 178 Widening in Bakersfield, California, Named 2017 Roads & Bridges Top 10 Road Project

Awards
170502-0288-Pano_web_news

T.Y. Lin International (TYLI), a globally recognized, full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announces that Roads & Bridges has ranked the State Route (SR) 178 Widening project in Bakersfield, California, as #5 on its 2017 list of Top 10 Roads. TYLI served as Designer on the project for the City of Bakersfield. Roads & Bridges' annual Top 10 Roads awards recognize the top projects in North America based on project challenges, impact to the region, and scope of work.

Completed on time and within budget in May 2017, the SR 178 Widening project improves traffic capacity and enhances mobility to accommodate future traffic demand on this primary access corridor for the fast-growing Bakersfield area. The $25.5 million project widened three miles of SR 178 from two to six lanes from just east of Morning Drive to Masterson Street, and from two to four lanes from Masterson Street to Miramonte Drive.

Project challenges overcome include preparing plans, specifications, and estimate (PS&E) under an accelerated schedule to meet funding deadlines, the consideration of critical environmental factors, and most significant, the relocation of existing utilities. Utilities along the project corridor included a 36" gas transmission line, as well as electric, telephone, fiber optic, water, and sewer facilities. Due to the 50+-year age of the highway, as-built records for installation and relocation of utilities along the route were sometimes incomplete or non-existent. Additionally, areas for relocation of these facilities were extremely limited, calling for very careful planning by TYLI, the City of Bakersfield, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the utility companies.

View the Roads & Bridges Top 10 Roads article here.

Photo credit: Gilbert Vega