After our pizza lunch and project presentation, we put on our personal protective equipment and jumped into a van and a few trucks. Our trip to the construction site is shown in the picture below.

The various transportation drove us out about fifteen minutes to highway 69 in Kansas, which is currently under construction. On our first stop at 167th street, we parked at the edge of a giant ditch, which our tour guide told us used to be a high bluff. Due to the expansion of the bridge and highway, the bluff was dugout and used to hold excess water runoff. In addition, a creek running next to the highway was rerouted using the man made water retention pond. The picture below shows the van and trucks used to get to the site, as well as us asking questions about the purpose of digging out the bluff. The pond can be seen in the ditch behind us.

We then loaded back into the van and trucks and continued down the highway to our second stop at 157th street. On the way there, we saw scrapers with sensors connected to them that shows the operator where to move the scraper to level. New 3D technology like this allows for more precise and efficient work out on the busy highway, keeping workers safe and the schedule on time. Once at 157th street, we observed the two bridges above us. Our tour guide explained that although the two bridges are right next to each other, their purposes are different. One of the bridges was just a straight overpass, therefore simple in build. On the other hand, the other bridge was part of a highway exit. According to our tour guide, its curved nature made it especially difficult to design. We then took a group photo standing in the middle of the empty highway, under the two bridges mentioned. The photo is shown below.

After taking the group photo, we jumped over jersey barriers to climb up onto the bridges and get a better view of the highway construction. The jersey barriers were fairly high, so we all had to jump onto and over them. An action shot was taken, shown below.

After scouting the entire highway construction from the top of the bridge, we drove to our last stop at 119th street. Here, we were able to see what the highway looks like without any concrete or asphalt. What we observed could be referred to as the skeleton of the highway. We also discussed with the tour guide how they will be replanting trees that had to be taken down, but that it is very difficult to maintain trees so close to highway exits, since people would have to frequently water and upkeep. The skeletal structure of the highway can be seen in the photo below.

As the wind picked up and rain got heavier, we ran back to the van and trucks. We drove back to the office, replenished our stomachs on some leftover pizza, and departed for our airbnb.

Blog by Joanna Kryczka