Top 10 Roads and Bridges

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Pull over, take a picture. For the second consecutive year,
ROADS & BRIDGES presents its Top 10 road and bridge projects in the U.S.
The editorial staff received a number of submissions, and judged each piece on
several factors including size, contractor challenges and motorist impact. All
jobs have either been designed or completed in the last 18 months.

Top 10 Roads

1. DALLAS HIGH FIVE

The Big Bertha of interchanges is scheduled to be complete in
2007. Designed to carry 500,000 vehicles a day, the Dallas High Five?a
five-level structure?consists of 43 bridges, 630 columns and 591,000 sq
ft of concrete. Total cost: $260 million.

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2. I-210

California says this is it. Interstate 210 will be the final
new freeway built on virgin land in the Sunshine State. It will stretch 28.2
miles from the city of La Verne in Los Angeles County to the city of San
Bernardino, linking two of the most populated counties. Total cost: $1.2
billion.

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3. ROUTE 895

Richmond, Va., has put on a few miles. Completed this fall,
the 8.8-mile Pocahontas Parkway, one of two major projects, provides an
essential east-west highway connecting southern Richmond/southern Chesterfield
and eastern Henrico. Total cost: $324 million.

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4. BROOKLYN-QUEENS EXPRESSWAY

The largest NYSDOT contract ever awarded involves
reconstructing and resurfacing roads and ramps, building 15 new road bridges,
reconstructing the connector from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to the Grand
Central Parkway, widening lanes and changing alignments. The job will be
finished in June 2004. Total cost: $230 million.

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5. I-195

Safety was the driving force behind the relocation of I-195
in Providence, R.I. The DOT is preparing to move 1.6 miles of I-195 2,000 ft to
the south outside a barrier that protects the city from hurricane flooding.
Construction, which will affect 250,000 vehicles a day, will be complete in
2008. Total cost: $450 million.

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6. ROUTE 288

Richmond's second traffic reliever will build new segments
of Route 288 in Powhatan and Goochland counties and finish four lanes of Route
288 from the Powhite Parkway (Route 76) in Chesterfield County to I-64 in
Goochland County. The proj-ect, which will be finished late in 2003, will
complete a planned western loop around Richmond. Total cost: $236 million.

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7. U.S. 70

New Mexico's first-ever design-build contract calls for
widening a 38-mile segment of U.S. 70 from two lanes to four and should improve
safety on what has historically been one of the most dangerous sections of the
interstate. Total cost: $129 million.

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8. SOUTH LAKE SHORE DRIVE

The city of Chicago continues to get whacked with new
construction. With the new Wacker Drive near completion, work is just beginning
on South Lake Shore Drive. Crews will pave in both directions from 23rd Street
to 67th Street. The schedule runs for 33 months. Total cost: $162 million.

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9. U.S. HIGHWAY 93

Motorists will no longer be right on top of the action at
Hoover Dam. Traffic will be pulled off the U.S. landmark and placed on a calmer
version of U.S. Highway 93. The old two lane, full of twists and turns, will be
replaced with a four-lane road located 1,500 ft downstream of the dam. Total
cost: $231 million (includes bridge construction).

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10. U.S. 136/ILLINOIS 336

This 60-mile corridor is already well under way. More than
21 miles of the project is now open to traffic. Lane totals range from two to
five. Total cost: $77.5 million.