NJDOT
Commissioner Lettiere unveils new "Hyperbuild" initiative that
will shave years off road construction projects and save hundreds
of millions of dollars
(Newark)
New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Jack
Lettiere today announced an innovative new initiative that is
already gaining attention nationwide called "Hyperbuild."
Lettiere's Hyperbuild program will shave years off of road construction
projects and save hundreds of millions of dollars in construction,
design, and road user costs. Lettiere unveiled the first
15 projects that will be completed under the Hyperbuild program-saving
a total of over 48 years in project completion time and $628 million
in costs.
"This
program is about having a basic respect for motorist's time.
We need to have a sense of urgency when building a project that
affects people's everyday lives," said Lettiere. "Motorists
sit in more than enough traffic already in New Jersey.
So we are finding ways to complete projects faster, therefore
staying out of people's way."
The
impetus for the Hyperbuild initiative came this past summer when
the Route 70 Bridge in Southampton Township, Burlington County
was destroyed during the July flooding. The emergency necessitated
that the Department rebuild the bridge immediately and it was
completed rebuilt in only four months.
"The
question became, why do we need a natural disaster to complete
a project that quickly?" recalled Lettiere. "This is very
much about a culture change, an internal transformation in the
department that centers around getting things done faster."
The
Hyperbuild project strategy will condense any one or all phases
of a road project's development, which are the scoping, design,
and construction phase. Unfortunately, every DOT project
cannot be built using this accelerated technique . Projects
that are selected to be part of the Hyperbuild program typically
have environmental or Right-of-Way concerns that can be resolved
quickly and the department has the opportunity to use new construction
or design concepts to move the project to completion faster.
"Wherever
we have an opportunity to employ this technique, we are going
to try it," added Lettiere.
The
method in which each project will be streamlined will vary from
project to project. Language will be written into each Hyperbuild
construction contract that will ensure the contractor completing
the work will keep to the accelerated completion dates.
Lettiere
has selected 15 projects throughout the state to be included as
initial Hyperbuild projects, but more projects will be chosen
for inclusion in time. The
list of the initial 15 projects is attached.
