Construction Progress-Paving The Parkway Paving is complete on the 42-mile mainline of the Suncoast Parkway Project, including many of the local service roads and the recreational trail. More than 400,000 tons of asphalt has been used to complete paving of the entire project. The asphalt place on the Suncoast Parkway is different than the asphalt historically placed on roadways in Florida. It is SUPERPAVE, which stands for SUperior PERforming PAVEment. It is a process new to the United States, but widely used in Europe. This process provides an exceptionally durable pavement, highly resistant to heavy truck traffic and wheel rutting. Florida is one of six states utilizing superpave for state roadway projects. The remaining states are all implementing superpave . The Suncoast Parkway Project is the second expansion project by Florida's Turnpike using this new process. The first was the Polk Parkway, which was completed in early 2000. The traveling public may not visually notice any difference in superpave, but they will see the benefits in the pavements ability to withstand the ever-growing need for a quality roadway capable of handling large volumes of private and commercial vehicles. This is just one of the ways that Florida's Turnpike is paving the way for a safe and pleasurable commute for our patrons. Bridge Building Bridge Building is a major component of the construction process on all six sections of the Suncoast Parkway Project. Whether the bridges are made from concrete or steel; whether they are placed over existing roadways, streams, wetlands or rivers, bridges are more complex and require more planning and preparation than is first realized by the casual observer. On March 29, 1999, eight bridge beams were set for the Suncoast Parkway to bridge over State Road 50 (Cortez Boulevard) in Hernando County. Many months earlier the bridge subcontractor built the foundation by driving pilings to firm earth or rock. Then the road building contractor put in the embankment and earth retaining walls. When that was nearly complete, the bridge subcontractor came back to construct the concrete supports ("bent caps") for the bridge superstructure. For the State Road 50 bridge, steel girders were fabricated and assembled at Tampa Steel Company. Each beam was approximately 170 feet long and weighted approximately 30 tons. The girders were shipped in pairs, for stability, to the job site on March 22nd and March 23rd for placement by the bridge contractor. Motorists, residents, and emergency services were given advance notice of the beam's placement. Variable message boards, press releases, and articles in local newspapers helped to alert all concerned of the intermittent lane closures that would be necessary between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. Local law enforcement officers directed traffic throughout the evening. LeWare Construction Company brought in two, 160-ton American Cranes to set the beams. With one crane on State Road 50 and one crane on the bridge embankment, they performed four lifts (two beams per lift). This method consisted of the crane on State Road 50 and the one on the embankment "walking" the assembled beams from the south embankment across State Road 50 to their final position at the bridge. To be successful, this operation required coordination by a team including Turnpike construction, Turnpike safety personnel, ICF Kaiser Inc., Prince Construction Company and LeWare Construction. Suncoast Parkway - Public Information Office For information on the connecting Veterans Expressway click here! FAQ * Suncoast Parkway Facts * Construction Notes * Maps * Contact Us * Suncoast Parkway 2
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