Public Works

US 395 NSC-Farwell Road lowering

Location: Spokane area

Owner/developer:Washington State Department of Transportation

Project team: Max J. Kuney Co., general and concrete contractor; Spokane Rock Products, ready-mix supplier

The project consisted of lowering Farwell Road and constructing four precast concrete tub girder bridges over Farwell Road along with 17 concrete-faced geo-synthetic retaining walls. More than 4,000 cubic yards of ready-mix concrete was supplied and less than 9 cubic yards was rejected.

Design elements for the new bridges were made from split-faced basalt formliners and precast medallions.

Special split-faced basalt formliner was used in forming the barriers and the facia walls. Permeon coating was then applied to these areas to provide a final finish that blends with the surrounding environment. Precast medallions were installed in the wing walls along with a complementary dark brown rail along the barriers for an artistic touch.

During the value-engineering phase, Max J. Kuney Co. proposed to build the precast concrete fascia panels on-site instead of the cast-in-place concrete facing originally specified for the geo-synthetic walls. The result was increased constructability and cost savings for WSDOT, which later adopted the design as one of its standards.

The anticipated lifespan of the project is more than 100 years, over which little maintenance is anticipated.