Appalachian Corridor H: Scherr to Forman

TRC was retained by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways (DOH) to design a segment of the new $47 million Appalachian Corridor “H” roadway that includes approximately 2.13 miles of new 4-lane roadway, as well as a 600 ft long, 4-span steel plate girder bridge (Knobly Road Bridge) crossing existing County Route 3.

As part of the project, TRC staff completed a detailed value engineering study which eliminated the need for a 1,675 ft long, 200 ft tall bridge over the Middle Fork of Patterson Creek that was initially proposed by the DOH. Initially, the project alignment required nearly 3,000,000 cubic yards of excavation to be wasted offsite. Upon investigation, TRC proposed to place a box culvert in a deep valley under approximately 180 feet of earth fill which would thus result in the excess material being wasted within the project limits and avoid the high cost of hauling it offsite. This study resulted in a savings to the state of nearly $20 million through the design of a 1,427 foot long, 10’ X 10’ reinforced concrete box culvert with skewed wingwalls placed adjacent to the stream. Natural stream design techniques, including internal baffles and native streambed materials were also used throughout the length of the culvert. Natural stream design was also applied to a 1,200 ft section of Middle Fork Patterson Creek, downstream of the box culvert.

Additional tasks included preparation of the NPDES permit, completion of a comprehensive geotechnical investigation to determine subsurface characteristics, development of the right-of-way plans for the entire project, and the preparation of the deed descriptions for all parcels involved on the project. Upon completion of the contract plans, TRC attended a pre-bid meeting on the project to assist the DOH with addressing questions and comments from contractors that were bidding on the project. Following the design, TRC provided shop drawing review, construction consultation and construction inspection services for this project.

Client

West Virginia Division of Highways

Project Location

Grant County, WV