Project Team
Owner: Broward County Aviation Department, Fort Lauderdale
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Cost: $82.8 million
Contractor: PCL Civil Constructors, Tampa
Engineer: Beiswenger, Hoch & Associates, North Miami Beach

This design-build project consisted of the completion of the design and subsequent construction of the Terminal Access Roadway improvements at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Some of the project elements included:

• Construction of six segmental concrete box-girder bridges.
  
• Removal of three existing segmental concrete bridges - the first time this bridge type has been dismantled.
  
• Demolition of a temporary road.
  
• An upper-deck bridge structure extension with several on-off ramps connecting the existing upper deck to one of the segmental bridges.
  
• Associated retaining walls.

The criteria included a three-level directional interchange leading into the airport that featured six precast segmental concrete box girder bridges with a combined deck area of 323,332 sq. ft. This interchange overpasses a six-lane segment of U.S. Highway 1, railroad tracks and the airport's perimeter road, adding to the project's complexity and the need for caution.

A value-engineer redesign was submitted soon after the design-build team was awarded the project. This redesign's goal was to optimize the interchange's geometric features and reduce the costs of the bridge structures. Design improvements encompassed horizontal and vertical geometrics, improved design speeds, compliance with driver expectations, as well as construction time and cost savings.