| OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program |
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| Web Brief (Feb 07) |
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Matt Stennes, Linda Fitzpatrick and Tom Lauer
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Bridge program construction manager earns award for speedy citizen response
Though ODOT employees have five business days in which to respond to requests from the AskODOT citizen hotline, when Linda Fitzpatrick learned from motorists there was a visibility problem at night on Interstate 5, she resolved the situation and beat the deadline by two days. That quick response earned her a “Building Bridges” award, as well as an appreciative letter from at least one citizen.
Fitzpatrick, who is the Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners’ resident construction manager on the OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program Bundle 212 in Salem, received the award from Statewide Project Delivery Manager Tom Lauer on Feb. 6. The counterpart to ODOT’s “Driving Force” award, OBDP’s “Building Bridges” award recognizes exemplary work on the bridge program.
Safety is ODOT’s first priority, and being able to see highway lanes in conditions of poor visibility is paramount for travelers’ safety. The same winter rains that make sharp, white road striping so essential for drivers on I-5 also make it difficult for contractors to find a favorably dry window during which they can lay down that striping. To work around the rainy January weather, Fitzpatrick gathered ODOT maintenance personnel and contractor representatives, and they came up with an alternative: installing reflective pavement markers on the skip line between lanes and additional reflective markers on the center median barrier.
“The combination of good working relationships among ODOT, the contractor and the subcontractor, and favorable weather conditions, helped the process along,” said Fitzpatrick.
Those responsible for road maintenance in Region 2, Tim Potter and Don Jordan, were also pleased with the speedy resolution of the problem.
“Linda made those improvements happen right away,” said Jordan, maintenance and operations manager for District 3. “I was also impressed that the contractor stepped up to resolve the situation in a timely manner.”
The safety improvement was acknowledged by appreciative motorists, too.
“Your office and the contractor have taken customer service to a high level,“ wrote a motorist in his thank you e-mail. “I have never before sent in feedback about highway conditions. Your prompt, thorough response is most impressive.”
Fitzpatrick was modest about the praise.
“It’s always nice when timing works out,” she said.
Bundle 212, which covers a busy three-mile segment of I-5 near Salem, involves replacing seven bridges and repairing one. In addition, ODOT is widening I-5 from four to six lanes. Begun in 2006, construction on the project is already more than 50 percent complete.
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