I-64 Capacity Improvements / Segment I – Sound Walls

VDOT contracted with Shirley Contracting Company, LLC to add a 12-foot wide travel lane and shoulder along a 5.6 mile stretch of I-64 in both directions, spanning just west of Jefferson Avenue (Route 143 exit 255) to east of Yorktown Road (Route 238 exit 247) in Newport News, VA.

The west bound lane required Sound Walls to reduce traffic noise to local residents. Terra Constructs constructed 540 spread footing foundations with anchor bolts and steel posts and installed 21 drilled shafts with concrete and galvanized steel posts, erecting approximately 208,000 square feet of precast sound absorptive concrete panels covering 2.4 miles (12,550 linear feet) of I-64.

Terra Constructs was selected as the subcontractor to design and install foundations, posts and panels for two 15-foot high Sound Walls to reduce traffic noise in key residential areas impacted by the highway widening.

• Extremely challenging geotechnical soil conditions
• High water levels in soils
• Aggressive schedule and tight timelines
• Highly-congested traffic area
• Limited right–of-way constraints
• Significant construction activity being conducted simultaneously

The Terra Constructs team used our vast experience and construction knowledge and enlisted the design expertise of ERS Structural, LLC to develop and implement innovative solutions which included:

• Undercut/Flowable fill and spread footings along with other specialized engineering methods which met stringent project design requirements
• Drilled Caissons and Retaining Panels which were installed using specialized, supportive excavation techniques
• Installation of steel posts and Sound Absorptive Concrete Panels which were fabricated by Faddis Concrete Products to maximize sound attenuation requirements

Terra designed and installed efficient Sound Walls which met VDOT noise study requirements, and completed the project on-budget and on-time despite a fast track timeline of 7 months.