State highway agencies and transportation professionals face the challenge of balancing essential roadway repairs and maintenance with mobility and safety concerns. As a result, some agencies are looking at nontraditional construction methods to rehabilitate roadways while reducing the negative impacts of construction. One such methodology achieving success is full road closure. A full closure is the removal or suspension of traffic from a particular section of roadway for the purpose of rehabilitation and/or maintenance. Full closures may be short term, lasting for a weekend, or longer term, lasting for months or more than a year. A growing number of rehabilitation projects have been done using a full closure approach, often with similar successful results. Contractors that are given full access to the road gain efficiencies that often reduce project duration and costs as well as improve the quality of the end product. These positive effects usually lead to increased favorable public sentiment, and potentially reduce both short- and long-term user costs. This document describes the planning, implementation, benefits, and lessons learned by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) during a rehabilitation project on Michigan Route 10 (M-10). This case study illustrates a successful application of the full closure approach. It is intended to provide transportation agency personnel and elected officials with a better understanding of the considerations necessary to implement full road closure on a project, and the benefits that can be obtained. During the summer of 2002, MDOT performed rehabilitation on a busy downtown connector. M-10 needed full surface reconstruction, and five bridges over the road needed repair, removal, or replacement. The project covered approximately 1.3 miles of urban freeway. MDOT engineers decided to pursue a full closure in order to expedite the construction process and improve safety for both travelers and workers. MDOT had previously used a full closure approach for work on the M-10. Experience from that earlier project facilitated the successful use of full closure for the 2002 reconstruction effort. (Author/publisher)
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