(Above left to right) Carl K. Boyer, CEO/President, Yeager Skanska, Inc. and James L. Moore, Yeager Skanska, Inc.

Building roads and other civil engineering projects throughout California and the West continues to be the focus of Yeager Skanska Inc., formerly E.L. Yeager Construction Company, Inc. Vice President James Moore reports that the firm, part of Skanska USA Civil Inc. has an extensive list of current projects underway throughout the state. He explains the recent purchase of the company allows it to also bid on projects involving structural steel bridges, offshore work and tunneling.

One such project is the long-awaited widening of Interstate 15 between Victorville and Barstow. The job involves about 200 Yeager Skanska personnel and began last year with a two-and-a-half-year timeline for completion. The winning bid was nearly $98 million. San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) contributed $22.5 million to the construction funding. "We're actually creating three new lanes in either direction," Moore stated, "by widening the existing roadbed. We're also constructing a railroad bridge for utilization by the Cemex Cement Company."

Caltrans explains that the four lanes of I-15 that currently connect Victorville and Barstow were built in 1958. The current interchanges were completed in 1972, when the average daily traffic count was 15,000 vehicles per day. The current traffic load is in excess of 50,000 vehicles a day and engineers predict that by 2025 that number will double. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimates 5.4 million cars annually make the trek from Los Angeles to Las Vegas-making I-15 auto traffic the largest single source of visitors to Las Vegas and its casinos.

(Above left) Yeager Skanska, Inc. uses a Cedarapids CR561R paving machine on the Caltrans Interstate 15 Victorville/Barstow Project. (Above right) Yeager Skanska Inc's Caterpillar roller on the I-15 Project.

Yeager Skanska has a portable Gencor drum plant on the I-15 project that will produce over 360,000 tons of asphalt. Project Manager Dennis Putnam explains that number includes 62,000 tons of Type A, 39,000 tons of Type C, and about 13,000 tons of open-graded asphalt. The firm is also operating a portable rock plant processing its own aggregate.

In an effort to expedite traffic around Mojave in Kern County, Caltrans awarded a $60.4 million project to Yeager Skanska in November 2001 to build a new four-lane freeway bypass. The ten-mile stretch, from five miles northwest of Mojave, crossing Highway 14 northeast of Mojave and reconnecting with existing Highway 58 east of the city, will be completed late this year. The alignment includes new interchanges at each end of the new construction plus another interchange at Highway 14 with about 100 employees involved in the job.

Mojave Project Manager Doug Murphy reports that approximately 320,000 tons of asphalt will be utilized on the job. "The portable Gencor drum mixer is capable of producing 450 tons an hour and requires four operators," Murphy stated. "Some of the aggregate we're running through our plant is lime treated to enhance compaction and eliminate moisture. We're conducting our own quality control and quality assurance for Caltrans. That's done at the plant along with testing of gradations in the aggregate and oil content. We're using AR4000 oil from Paramount Petroleum.

(Above) Yeager Skanska's Gencor 400 Ultra Drum Asphalt Plant at Wild Wash in Victorville, California.

A $110 million improvement to the Interstate 5/Interstate 805/State Route 56 interchange in San Diego is another current project by Yeager Skanska involving about 100 employees. The project, which began in March 2002, is due to be completed in 2007 and will bulge to 23 lanes at its widest point making it one of the state's largest interchanges. The project includes construction of a separate freeway bypass system parallel to the I-5 main lanes separated by a concrete safety barrier and widens I-5 to 12 lanes between Carmel Valley and Del Mar Heights roads. Freeway shoulders are also being widened at the I-5/I-805 junction and two-lane direct connectors at the I-5/I-805 junction are being built.

Michael O'Donnell, project manager, reports that about 75,000 metric tons of asphalt and concrete base will be used on the job. "The asphalt is being purchased from Vulcan Materials Company's San Diego facilities in Carroll Canyon and Mission Valley," O'Donnell added, "it's a fairly typical job paving the shoulders and ramps."

(Above) A Holland Loader loading a 100 Ton Capacity Caterpillar bottom dump truck at State Route 58 in Mojave, California.

Yeager Skanska also recently received a $25.4 million contract with the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) to build a highway bridge on the Pacific Coast Highway in the Los Angeles port-area community of Wilmington. The half-mile-long bridge will carry PCH traffic over the ACTA freight rail expressway, a branch rail line and Alameda Street. The 800-meter-long elevated highway crossing is built on CIDH piles and precast, prestressed bulb T-beams over the railway that stretches from Los Angeles to the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. The new bridge diverts car traffic above the railroad and is designed to increase safety, improve traffic flow and reduce emissions. Yeager Skanska received the bid February 13, 2003, and the bridge is expected to open for traffic by Spring 2004 with completion of the project due in Summer 2004."

Other current projects include work on Highway 180 in Fresno, widening of I-10 in El Monte and elevation of Prado Dam's crest for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers near Corona. Yeager Skanska also has crews in Redlands working on the San Timoteo flood control channel for the Corps of Engineers. Moore explained that Caterpillar equipment makes up the bulk of Yeager Skanska's fleet of equipment.

(Above left) Interstate 15 Victorville/Barstow. (Above right) Railroad bridge replacement for CEMEX Cement on I-15 Victorville/Barstow.

Ernest L. Yeager founded the former E.L.Yeager Construction Company in 1919. His sons, Jacques and Gene Yeager, later operated it and built it into one of California's largest civil engineering firms. In 1995, a group of senior managers, including Moore, Doug Aadland Jim Crews, Jacques Yeager Jr. and company president Carl Boyer purchased the company from Jacques and Gene Yeager. Skanska, a multi-billion dollar Swedish firm, acquired E. L. Yeager Construction Company, in September 2002 from the ownership group.

Skanska, one of the largest heavy construction companies in the world with about 76,000 employees worldwide, was founded in 1887 and started by manufacturing cement products. Today, the firm has operations in 11 home markets. Primary markets are the United States, Sweden, United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and the Czech Republic. For more information about Yeager Skanska, Skanska and Skanska USA Civil, visit www.skanska.com.