Bridging the Burro

US Highway 93 between Wickenburg and Wickieup crossed Burro Creek with a steel arch bridge that was built in the 1960's.

In 2003 ADOT advertised a project to widen US 93 and build a second steel arch bridge alongside the original. At R. E. Monks Construction, we specialized in hard rock excavations and we had already done a couple of sections of US 93, so from a highway standpoint, this job was sweet. Only there was this pesky bridge in the middle and we didn't have the expertise to take on something of that complexity.

So we started calling plan holders and when we cold called Traylor Bros, we said that it was a great rock job, but the bridge was a problem. Traylor's crew laughed and said that they had looked at the job and thought it was a great bridge job, but the rock work would be a problem for them. So the Traylor team flew over from San Diego and a joint venture was born.

From the onset, the project was plaqued with issues. The biggest one being the stability of the East Abutment. There was unexpected geotechnical engineering and stabilization to be done before the abutment could start. This work resulted in a significant delay to the project and we all knew this would put the ADOT partnering program to the test.

Fortunately, ADOT's Kingman District worked hand in hand with us to minimize impacts, maintain our relationship, and unite for the good of both parties.

The slope was stabilized and blasting for the abutment was completed.

The Bridge was completed successfully and Burro Creek went on to win several State and National Awards, including Arizona's Partnering Excellence Award.

Sam Elters and Mike Kondelis of ADOT met with our senior staff on a monthly basis to review the partnering surveys and talk about job issues, of which there were many. Through committment from all parties, the project was completed without any formal claims. All issues were resolved fairly and equitably.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Director, Victor Mendez, who eventually went on to serve as Deputy Secretary of Transportation under President Obama.

Victor is seated behind me to the right and Sam Elters is seated on left. Sam was elevated to State Engineer during construction of Burro Creek, but he kept his finger on our pulse until we finished. Mike Kondelis assumed the District Engineer Position and I couldn't have asked for a better replacement for Sam.