2021 ISSA President's Award for Excellence Submission - Pavement Preservation, Glacier National Park Submitted By: Intermountain Slurry Seal Inc. ...
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2021 ISSA President’s Award for Excellence Submission Pavement Preservation, Glacier National Park Submitted By: Intermountain Slurry Seal Inc., 1000 N. Warm Springs Rd., Salt Lake City, UT 84116, Josh.Bowen@gcinc.com & Antonio.Hernandez@gcinc.com
PROJECT SUMMARY LOCATION OF PROJECT
Intermountain Slurry Seal (Intermountain) was awarded the The project was completed in the historic Glacier National
Glacier National Park pavement preservation project by the Park located in northern Montana near the U.S.-Canadian
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in October of 2018. border which included the preservation of roadways,
The nearly 9-million-dollar project began in May of 2019 and campgrounds, parking areas, and vehicle pullouts. A large
was completed in July of 2020. The project was contracted portion of the project was located between W. Glacier,
for 2 years due to the level of difficulty and inclement Montana and St. Mary’s, Montana on the renowned Going-
weather at Glacier National Park. Intermountain exceeded to-the-Sun-Road which traverses across a portion of the
expectations by completing the project on time, under Rocky Mountains. Other noteworthy locations completed
budget, and with ZERO safety or environmental issues. were Many Glaciers Road and Chief Mountain International
Highway which serves as a link between Highway 89 and the
Many contractors and agencies familiar with the project
U.S.-Canadian border.
believed there was little to no chance the project could be
completed. The harsh environment working over the Intermountain’s type III crew gets an early start micro-surfacing
Continental Divide on the historical Going-to-the-Sun-Road Eastwardly up Going-to-the-Sun-Road in early May 2019.
(GTSR) provided the most difficult paving project
Intermountain has ever completed. GOING-TO-THE-SUN-ROAD
The project encompassed each of the preservation Glacier’s crown jewel is the historic Going-to-the-Sun-Road
techniques represented by the ISSA and Intermountain where elevations change from 3200’ up to 6,646’ at Logan’s
performed them at a level of mastery with excellent Pass. Going-to-the-Sun-Road often referred to as the Sun
workmanship and demonstrated operational excellence. Road is one of the most difficult roads in North America to
The scope of work and use of preservation techniques on maintain where snow fall can accumulate up to 80’. The
this project are a testament of the true value pavement Sun Road experiences late winter avalanches and year-
preservation can provide an agency. round snow run off that riddles the roadway with fallen
rocks and debris. The road in locations is narrow and
“The overall success of this project was a direct result of the winding causing vehicle sizes to be limited in width and
great collaboration, dedication, foresight, expertise, and height. FHWA scoped Type III micro-surfacing as a
commitment to excellence Intermountain provided preservation treatment on the road that has been opened
throughout the project.” Chris Rossmiller, FHWA since 1933. Intermountain’s success on completing the
Map of Work Locations
project was bound to Glacier’s unpredictable weather and SCOPE OF WORK LOGISTICS OF STAGING AND MATERIALS
the logistical coordination of paving Going-to-the-Sun-Road.
In May 2019 through September 2019 Intermountain Intermountain setup and mobilized to three different
performed approximately 660,000 SY of type III micro- staging areas to complete the 83.2-mile project. The
surfacing, 210,000 SY of type II micro-surfacing, crack National Park Service (NPS) allowed staging areas near
sealing and filling, and other subcontracted items. 370,000 Glacier National Park’s West entrance, twenty-four miles
SY of chip seal were completed in the 2020 construction into the Park off Going-to-the-Sun-Road, and in Babb at the
season by the July 8, 2020 completion milestone. East end of the project. Carefully scheduling and executing
Going-to-the-Sun-Road’s Paving Plan was pivotal.
Intermountain staging area 24 miles in from the West Entrance of Glacier
National Park.
Aggregates for both the micro-surfacing and chip seal were
produced and shipped by Schellinger Construction. A strict
One of the many rock overhangs on Going-to-the-Sun-Road that limits quality control plan had to be followed and weed free
vehicle sizes and speed. certification was required prior to any shipments.
Schellinger Construction performs milling of an asphalt repair in early May
2019 at the Park Headquarters.
Emulsion for the micro-surfacing was supplied by McAsphalt log guardrail they removed in the fall in sections prone to team faced working in such remote areas. The severity of
Industries out of Ontario, Canada. Emulsion deliveries had avalanches. these incidents ranged from cars going over several
to be carefully ordered at least three days in advance to hundred-foot embankments, head on collisions in tight
July 13th, 2011 marks the record for the latest opening of
allow for proper paperwork submission and inspection time hairpin turns to a large rock fall causing a fatality. This route
the roadway since its inaugural in 1933. Intermountain’s
crossing the U.S.-Canadian border. Travel time for delivery has restrictions that are in place for obvious reasons.
challenge was to finish micro-surfacing this section by June
was a minimum 5-hour one-way trip. McAsphalt shipped Intermountain’s equipment is well over these restrictions,
21st in winter like conditions, and behind the NPS operations
different formations for both the type II and type III crews therefore special consideration and planning had to be
plowing the roadway and installing guardrail. Opening this
and adjusted when the crews switched from days to nights. taken to complete the job. Extra care and time were taken
section of the roadway early is vital to the NPS being the
The emulsion was carefully formulated for a slow break/ fast to follow their approved Safety, Injury and Illness Plans to
main attraction where millions of tourists from all over the
cure with the huge environmental risks working next to the avoid any accident from happening.
world visit to relish in the beauty of Glacier National Park.
many rivers and lakes throughout Glacier National Park and
The contract’s prosecution and progress offered a second Wildlife is present in all areas of the park including big horn
had to cure during nighttime placement in cooler
chance at completing this section in September but sheep, grizzly bears, and black bears. They are present
temperatures.
Intermountain knew the risk to placing micro-surfacing that everywhere within the park and can show up when least
The CRS-2P emulsion used for the chip seal had similar late in the year just before snow fall. expected to create imminent danger. Special precaution
shipping challenges due to the remoteness of Glacier and awareness had to be taken of the surroundings to avoid
National Park. Idaho Asphalt provided the emulsion to the any accident, especially at night. Bear proof containers
staging sites from Hauser, Idaho. were implemented while storing waste and all employees
were given an orientation by the park on the abundance of
TIME CONSTRAINTS wildlife and precautions to follow.
Several time constraints were set forth in the contract
special provisions, one was crucial and key to finishing the
job on time, it was dependent on the NPS’s ability to clear
the snowpack at higher elevations and tied to the unknown
whether conditions to follow. Route 10 Going-to-the-Sun-
Road is kept closed from mid-October to mid-June from mile
post 16.3 (Avalanche Parking) to mile post 36.2 (Jackson SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL
Glacier Overlook Parking). In the Spring, the park
employees plow the snow off the roadway sometimes only
PROTECTION
advancing 500 feet per day. During this time, the NPS Intermountain witnessed several unfortunate incidents in
sweep’s the entire road removing fallen rocks, uninstall the park throughout the life of the project. These events Big Horn Sheep crossing the roadway near Logan Pass around a hairpin
snow poles that mark the edge of the roadway, and install were not job related but portrayed the dangers the whole corner.
Specifications and special contract requirements called out Section has various challenges from continuous snow melt place the micro-surfacing adjacent to the miles of historic
several requirements not seen in many other contracts due running over the roadway to extreme weather looming in masonry wall that runs along Going-to-the-Sun-Road.
to the pristine environment of the national park. These the blink of an eye. Stringent time constraints were placed Intermountain understands the unfortunate events that
requirements help to keep the park looking natural and on this section and the NPS has a tremendous amount of weather can cause while micro-surfacing but also the
safeguard all existing features. Equipment inspections to work to undertake every year to prepare for their opening. importance of protecting any small splashes of emulsion
prevent the intrusion of noxious weeds were undergone The time frames allowed Intermountain to work in the that a spreader box can omit while mixing. Intermountain
along with a 24-hour decontamination process of all Alpine Section overlapped with the NPS’s operation. retrofitted their spreader boxes to be encased by rubber
Intermountain’s water tanks to prevent any parasites from Intermountain proposed working at night past the 21st of and prevent any emulsion from splashing out.
intruding Glacier’s bodies of water. June time constraint. This proposal allowed for more time
in the warmer months and would also grant the opportunity
to produce quality work while avoiding a territorial struggle
between Intermountain and the NPS working in the same
location.
One of the variable width spreader boxes retrofitted with rubber to
prevent splashing of the micro-surfacing.
Lake McDonald view from Going-to-the-Sun-Road.
Going-to-the-Sun-Road is a heavily traveled two lane road
A special plan had to be implemented to show the
with many narrow areas causing the need for traffic control
protection of property and the environment along with a
devices to be placed on the centerline of roadway to not
plan to prove how Intermountain would prevent any spilling
Going-to-the-Sun-Road on June 11th, 2019, just 10 days before the impede traffic. The spreader box was running over traffic
of materials onto existing features such as masonry rock
original deadline to complete the Alpine section of micro-surfacing. control devices and rather than put an employee in harm’s
walls and sidewalks.
way Intermountain came up with the innovative idea of
The FHWA stressed the importance of protecting historical
INNOVATION features within the park to Intermountain during the pre-
welding a “cone pusher” to the outside of a spreader box.
Intermountain fabricated the pusher and implemented it on
Glacier National Park’s, Going-to-the-Sun-Road’s, Alpine construction meeting. The main concern was being able to
the project with great success.
This picture was taken at 4:00 am in the alpine section of Going-to-the-
Sun-Road. The crew works feverishly to clean inundated pavement next to
the rockface.
Traffic Control Device pusher to push devices outside of spread box. Intermountain placed plastic to protect the concrete park features from oil
stains and used solo cups to preserve the existing snow pole holders.
CHALLENGES
• 9 Miles of Hand Work: The most strenuous portion
• Protection of Property and Landscape: The team’s of the project was a labor intensive 9-mile intermittent
goal in Glacier was to keep it just as they found it, historical section of pavement next to the rock cliff face. The
and beautiful. This required slowing production down and pavement runs adjacent to the Sun Road following a jagged
taking valuable time to cover curb and gutter, sidewalks, path underneath rock overhangs and inundated with
and the miles of masonry wall that follows the Sun Road. vegetation, rocks, and dirt. The falling rocks and necessity
Innovative supplies and techniques were purchased and of performing the work at night made for a risky operation.
developed to help the team with their goal. The crew was separated into a cleaning crew and paving
crew. Once the pavement was cleaned and prepped
Going-to-the-Sun-Road has thousands of snow pole holders Intermountain’s paving crew would drop wind rows of
throughout its length that created a new challenge. The material and squeegee the material by hand next to the rock
holders had to be protected and uncovered prior and after face. On a good night Intermountain would place a meager
micro-surfacing treatment. 1 to 2 trucks of material and averaged only seven tenths of a
mile per night. The truck mount crew handworks the type II material next to the rockface.
• U.S. Port of Entry: One particularly challenging area equipment to be used do to the equipment sizes and
was on Chief Mountain International Highway at the U.S- logistics of paving, but with the limited amount of time for
Canadian Border. The work between the border crossing completing the project and FHWA’s desired aesthetics
gate and the U.S. Port of Entry inspection station had to be Intermountain completed more than 75% of this section
completed between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. prior to June with their continuous equipment.
30th, 2019. Intermountain’s truck mount pavers were
retrofitted with extra lighting and worked closely with the
border patrol officers to complete this portion of the project
with average temperatures between 40° and 50°
Fahrenheit.
• Treacherous Paving on Going-to-the-Sun-Road: The
nighttime Type III micro-surfacing in the 9-mile Alpine
section was the most difficult paving Intermountain has ever
completed. The crew equipped extra lighting to the
continuous paving equipment to help the drivers navigate
next to the masonry wall and guardrail. Certain hairpin One of many areas of Going-to-the-Sun-Road with continual water runoff.
turns did not allow the continuous operation to perform as
usual. This required the paver to unhook the supply trucks • Weather Conditions: Glacier National Park weather
as they rounded sharp corners and reconnect them once the is unpredictable and very difficult to plan around. At any
corners were cleared. time the crews had to be prepared to shut down
The Type III crew paves West up the steep grade towards Logan’s Pass. immediately with no radar and relying on the old fashion
The road is so narrow in sections there is not enough room way of judging the clouds.
for trucks to pass by each other. While paving the drivers • Water Diversion: Sections near the top of the Sun
had to carefully coordinate areas wide enough to allow for In early May of 2019, while Schellinger Construction was
Road had constant water running across the pavement.
passing. Each round of trucks had to be piloted to and from performing asphalt patching on the East side of the project,
Intermountain fabricated temporary dikes to divert the
the stockyard and the material was placed one round at a construction was temporarily suspended due to a blizzard
running water in these sections just long enough to place
time. After a round of trucks was placed they would travel that delivered over two feet of snow. This is only one
micro-surfacing and allow for cure. A few micro-surfacing
to designated safe areas large enough to turn around and be example of many, almost every day of operations the crew
scoped sections required a small crew to mobilize back to
piloted back to the staging area to refill. were at risk of a torrential down pour or even a snowstorm.
the park in 2020 to complete where the same innovative
Glacier National Park has historically recorded snowfall at
processes were followed to divert the water runoff and
The contract in this 9 mile section allowed for truck mount least once each calendar day of the year.
place micro-surfacing.
SPECIFICATIONS AND MIX DESIGNS OF https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/news/19-46.htm • Customer Satisfaction- Intermountain received
https://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/news/19-17.htm tremendous praise from the FHWA and the NPS on all facets
PROJECT https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/crews-continue- at the completion of the project.
pavement-preservation-project-in-glacier-national-park
The contract was governed by the FHWA Standard • Planning and Scheduling- The project had a near
Specifications (FP-14) https://highways.dot.gov/federal-
AWARD WORTHY CONSIDERATIONS impossible schedule to complete with more constraints than
lands/specs additional special contract provisions are any other project they have previously managed.
available up on request from Intermountain Slurry Seal. • Innovation- Intermountain worked with FHWA Intermountain crews and management came up with an
through partnering selecting preservation treatments that excellent plan and executed it flawlessly.
The micro-surfacing specification follows very closely to the
would best serve the underlying pavement and provide the
ISSA A143, Recommended Performance Guidelines for Micro • Level of Difficulty- Going-to-the-Sun-Road was
least inconvenience to the public. Intermountain proposed
Surfacing and the chip seal specification was from the arguably one of the most difficult roads in North America to
using micro-surfacing at night which ultimately was the only
Montana Department of Transportation available at have been successfully micro-surfaced, the 9 miles of
successful way the project would be completed on time.
https://www.mdt.mt.gov/business/contracting/standard_sp handwork Intermountain performed in the Alpine section
ecs.shtml was the most extensive clean up and physical tasking work
Intermountain came up with innovated tools, retrofitted
they have ever performed.
Copies of the both the type II and type III mix designs are equipment and supplies to streamline the completion of the
available upon request from Intermountain Slurry Seal. project.
AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
MEDIA AND PRESS RELEASES • Safety- Intermountain had zero safety instances
Intermountain would like to give special thanks to Chris
working in a hazardous environment with falling rocks,
Rossmiller with the Federal Highway Administration,
steep cliffs and at night with limited visibility.
without his support, collaboration, and partnering the
Intermountain planned with proper traffic control and
project would not have been such a great success.
project execution to ensure the motorists and crews were
safe. Chris Rossmiller
Federal Highway Administration, Western Federal Lands Highway
• Environmental- The crews worked in a very fragile Division
Glacier National Park received over 3 million visitors’ in environment with extreme risks and used best practices and Senior Project Engineer
2019. With the vast amount of tourist keeping the public good judgement to go the extra mile to prevent any Chris.Rossmiller@dot.gov
informed was very important. A few of the NPS press environmental harms.
Daniel McFarland
releases and some local media coverage can be viewed at
• Appearance and Workmanship- The crews RockSol Consulting Group, Inc.
the web addresses below: Construction Services
performed immaculate workmanship on the project and
held true to the beauty precedence of Glacier National Park. Mcfarland@rocksol.com
https://www.ktvq.com/news/montana-news/famed-glacier-
national-park-road-to-close-for-construction The final completed work has an admirable appearance.
The Type III Micro-surfacing continuous crew works on a travel lane in Glacier National Park’s pristine environment. Limited cell phone coverage and lack of internet meant no weather radar. The project was completed with no environmental issues.
The Type III Micro-surfacing crew begins placing at 9:00 p.m. on a July night. The crew will place into the morning hours to complete the monumental Going-to-the-Sun-Road.
Following a rain storm the crew resumes work on Going-to-the-Sun-Road.
The Type III crew makes their way up Going-to-the-Sun-Road through the Triple Arches inside the Alpine Section.
The Type II crew placing micro-surfacing at Logan’s Pass Visitor center in June 2019, trying to get the parking lot micro-surfaced before the Park’s opening date.
The Type II crew places micro-surfacing next to the rock face in any areas available where the snow run off is not impacting their work.
e Type II crew places micro-surfacing in the early morning hours, trying to complete a 9 mile stretch of handwork in Glacier National Park’s Alpine section.
Completed section of Going-to-the-Sun-Road at the West Glacier Park Entrance Station done with Type III Micro-surfacing
A completed section of Going-to-the-Sun-Road near Logan’s Pass.
Completed section of Going-to-the-Sun-Road on the East side of the park next to St. Mary’s Lake.
Chip Seal operation in full production on Chief Mountain International Highway, Roadway that connects US-89 to Canada leading towards Waterton Lakes National Park.
Chip Seal Operation working on Chief Mountain International Highway on the Blackfeet Reservation, Chief Mountain is a sacred location for the Blackfeet Tribe.
Finished
The TypeChip Sealplaces
II crew with amicro-surfacing
Fog Seal on Chief Mountain
next International
to the rock face in anyHighway. This 14where
areas available Mile section
the snowwas
runcompleted
off without any environmental or safety incidents.www.intermountianslurryseal.com
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