Marathon weekend for Granite crews on I-80 off-ramp

Crews for Granite Construction faced a marathon weekend in order to get the westbound Interstate 80 off-ramp reopened in time for today's commute.

The off-ramp, which handles 15,000 cars per day, closed at 8 p.m. last Friday night so that it could be widened to two lanes and new concrete barrier added. Granite worked round the clock to complete the job in a 57-hour construction window so that the exit could be open again by 5 a.m.

Jason Brada, large projects manager for Granite Construction, says crews of about 10 men worked on a roughly 800-foot section of the off-ramp from the new concrete pavement on Interstate 80 to the top of the exit. The close confines of the workspace didn't allow for larger work crews, Brada says.

"Adding lots of people doesn't always solve the problem," he says. "The important part is to have good operational planning and review that plan with superintendents and foremen so that everyone is comfortable that it is an achievable goal to get the work done in a weekend."

In addition to widening and paving the new lane dimensions, crews had to slip-form new permanent concrete barriers that replaced the metal guardrail. The existing paving will be milled and overlaid over Mother's Day weekend, Brada says.

Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Magruder says the weekend was a perfect time for the closure because there were no scheduled special events or activities at University of Nevada, Reno.

Granite is steadily progressing on the highway project. Brada says crews are just finishing set-up procedures to pour the whole eastbound section of lanes from Keystone Avenue to Fourth Street. Granite expects to complete its work on the $72 million design/build job this fall, Brada says.