I-75 Modernisation, USA

• Equity partners: AECOM Capital, Dan's Excavating, Ajax Paving Industries, Jay Dee Constructors
• Reconstruction of 5.5 miles of I-75 corridor
• Safety upgrades to freeway
• Construction of new four-mile storages and drainage tunnel
• Long-term operations, maintenance and rehabilitation

Our I-75 project, which reached financial close in November 2018, focuses on segment 3 of the I-75 Modernisation project, a segment covering 5.5 miles of the I-75 corridor. This crucial corridor had not received any comprehensive improvements since its construction in the 1960s.

The state of Michigan needed to increase capacity on this stretch of the highway in order to ease congestion – this part of the I-75 carries up to 174,000 vehicles every day. The introduction of dedicated car-pooling lanes was intended to further ease congestion and encourage more efficient vehicle use.

Environmental

Recycling of construction materials

By using portable concrete production plants the project has sought to reduce the distance travelled of construction material whilst unlocking some efficiencies in the use of resources in construction.

Above and beyond the contractual requirements, the following initiatives will be addressed to minimise the use of non-renewable natural resources, reduce emissions and eliminate the need for landfill disposal:

• 100% of existing base and sub-base road material (175,000 cubic metres) will be salvaged and recycled to be used as backfill material for drainage structures and embankments. This will also reduce the journey time for soil movement.
• 100% of the existing cement concrete pavement (280,000 cubic metres) will be used as a road base for new road construction
• 100% of the existing hot mix asphalt (335,000 square metres) will be recycled and used to construct tunnel sites or other works
• 100% of the reinforced steel used in the original construction will be recycled to help the state of Michigan reduced energy costs, emissions from new steel production and production of new materials.
• Steel from existing bridge beams, signs, guardrail and fencing will be salvaged for recycling.

The following initiatives to recycle waste products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water consumption have been implemented:

• Integration of systems to reduce the amount of cement use on the project by 18 million kilogrammes and the carbon intensity of the cement used.
• Recycled glass will be used to improve road lane marking reflectivity.
• Recycled mix plastic materials will be used for guardrail posts, replacing woodblock posts.

Protection of wildlife and environmental management

Measures have been put in place to mitigate impact to the natural environment with the support of qualified biologists:

• Installation of fences to minimise vehicle-wildlife interaction.
• Planting of native trees and landscaping to support plant and wildlife habitats.
• Controlling invasive species by removing existing invasive species along the project’s right-of-way and selecting locally appropriate, non-invasive plants for landscaping.
• Maintenance and vegetation clearing is timed to avoid the breeding season for migratory and non-migratory birds.
• Remediating contaminated land within the project’s right-of-way to support reduced future contamination

Water management

• Construction of an underground drainage tunnel to mitigate flooding risk.
• Separation of stormwater from sanitary sewer in local collection facilities to mitigate combined sewer overflows and reduce amount of combined flows/stormwater needing treatment.
• Spill management controls implemented to prevent hazardous material from entering the drainage system.
• Catch basins and screening at pump station designed to capture sediment/debris prior to release into the drainage basin

Social

Community engagement

Proactive engagement strategy with local community including:

• direct line of communication through public meetings with community and other local stakeholders and a community hotline staffed by the project company.
• project company employees are supporting volunteer efforts for local non-profit organisations and schools.

Addressing community concerns

• Noise pollution mitigation measures implemented including restricted working hours, noise wall construction and monitoring of noise levels
• Dust suppression techniques implemented
• Existing pedestrian bridges and sidewalk facilities upgraded to accommodate usage by persons with disabilities

Health and safety

• Project-to-date total recordable incident rate is over 20% less than industry average
• Over 30% reduction in traffic accidents post-initial construction completion (Adjusted for reduction in traffic due to effects of the pandemic)

Governance

John Laing is closely involved in the responsible delivery of this project with management positions of CEO, CFO and Chief Technology Officer in the project company.