The Nebraska Department of Transportation recently awarded the pre-construction services contract for replacing Omaha’s Saddle Creek Bridge through a public-private delivery plan.
For the replacement of the 90-year-old bridge, NDOT has opted for a construction manager/general contractor format, which brings private partners into the project during the design phase. The $4 million pre-construction contract went to Hawkins Construction Co. based in Omaha.
The designer will create the plans, while the contractor will “provide input on the design based on construction means and methods,” according to NDOT.
The department says the approach will encourage teamwork between the designer and builder, as well as between the public and private sectors. Other anticipated benefits from the CM/GC approach include lower costs, greater risk mitigation and improved schedule certainty.
The replacement for the 72-foot bridge will improve access to a heavily traveled part of Midtown Omaha’s Dodge Street, part of Highway US-6. The project is scheduled for mostly daytime work and will be constructed during traffic with lane closures.
The original Saddle Creek Bridge and its underpass were built in 1934 as part of the federal Dodge Street Project to improve traffic flow in the area and upgrade lighting, traffic signals and pedestrian subways. The original underpass was designed as a concrete rigid frame structure, and its 4,160-square-foot stone facing was constructing with salvaged Dodge Street curbstones.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Saddle Creek Bridge has remained mostly unaltered since its construction.
