I-90 paving bidder uses lasers to stay on course.

Byline: Brian Johnson

An Iowa-based road builder hopes to make good use of innovative paving technology on a nearly $40 million Interstate 90 fix in southern Minnesota, a project that's believed to be one of the biggest concrete paving jobs in state history.

North Hampton, Iowa-based Croell Inc.'s bid of $38.5 million was in line with the Minnesota Department of Transportation's $35 million to $40 million estimate. The project will cover 16 miles of I-90 pavement and six bridges between Highways 15 and 169 in Martin and Faribault counties.

MnDOT opened bids for the project on Tuesday. Five other bids ranged from $40 million to $44.5 million. The two-year project is scheduled to begin this spring. The plan is to begin with the westbound lanes in 2019 and follow up with the eastbound lanes in 2020.

Matt Zeller, executive director of the Concrete Paving Association of Minnesota, said the project is among the biggest concrete jobs ever let by MnDOT. The project calls for about 154,000 cubic yards of concrete, according to MnDOT.

By comparison, the $207 million I-35E MnPASS project in the east metro required about 200,000 cubic yards, Zeller said.

"MnPASS was the biggest we have seen," said Zeller, a former MnDOT assistant concrete engineer. "This is probably second or third top five as far as size of jobs."

Glen Coudron, MnDOT's I-90 project manager, said the I-90 upgrade is "at least one of the largest" concrete projects in MnDOT's District 7. It's a "long-term, extensive fix" made possible by state bonding money from the 2017 legislative session, he said.

A busy commercial corridor in southern Minnesota, I-90 sees about 9,000 to 10,000 vehicles per day in the project area, Coudron said.

Croell will use "string-less" paving technology on the project to create a better road surface at a lower cost, said Tom Schmitt, Croell's paving manager. The technology makes the work less susceptible to human error, he said.

String-less paving equipment uses GPS technology and lasers to track the movement of paving machines and calculate the positioning, according to the American Concrete Pavement Association.

Traditionally, paving crews have put up "string lines" every 25 yards or so to measure...

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