Owner: New Jersey Department of Transportation (Trenton, NJ)NJDOT I-295
Lead Designer/Construction Manager: Dewberry (Fairfax, VA)
Sub-Contractor: C. Abbonizio Contractors, Inc. (Sewell, NJ)
General Contractor: PKF Mark III, Inc. (Newton, PA)
ESCS Supplier: Haydite, DiGeronimo Aggregates, LLC (Cleveland, OH)
The largest project ever undertaken by the New Jersey Department of Transportation began in 2013 in Camden County, NJ and is expected to cost $900 million before it is completed in 2021. Approximately 250,000 vehicles travel through this Interchange every day making it one of the busiest in the nation. The current configuration requires I-295 motorists to exit the interstate and weave across other congested highway lanes to return to I-295. The vehicle crash rate at the intersection is seven times the state average. The project will eliminate these dangerous merge conditions by building an overpass over Route 42 and I-76, making it possible for I-295 to continue through the area unbroken.
The first phase of the project required 20,000 cubic yards of ¾” structural lightweight geotechnical fill complying with NJDOT and ASTM C330 specifications. Lightweight aggregate was required in order to minimize settlement and reduce loads in embankment fill areas and behind MSE walls. Typical fill depths under the new exit/entrance ramps ranged from 5 ft. to 15 ft. of expanded shale aggregate.
The construction site is a NJDEP flood hazard area and contains freshwater wetlands and tidal wetlands/marsh areas. The successful completion of the project would not have been possible without extensive use of ESCS lightweight aggregate that is not only lightweight but also structurally strong, durable and free draining.
