The I-35 Northeast Expansion (NEX) Central project in San Antonio, Texas, has only been under construction for a few months, but the project team has already received its first award.
On November 15, Ferrovial Construction and Alamo NEX Construction (ANC) received the top award in bridges and tunnels category of the 2022 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure. The annual awards are judged by an independent panel of jurors, using criteria specific to each category. The finalists demonstrate excellence and digital advancements in their respective award category.
To provide extra capacity to the I-35 corridor in the greater San Antonio area, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) initiated a $1.45 billion project to construct a viaduct that will add three lanes in each direction. The scope of the project includes designing and constructing 21.8 miles of viaduct, two interchanges, and more piping for the drainage system. TxDOT awarded the contract to Ferrovial Construction, which had to overcome the challenges of working in a tight space while integrating the complex bridge structure with existing utilities and infrastructure. The ANC team realized early on that their traditional 2D design methods were costly and inefficient, which led to them seeking a collaborative 3D technology solution.
Ferrovial chose ProjectWise and the Bentley iTwin platform to improve information exchange and develop a digital twin. Using Bentley’s applications and the model, Alamo NEX Engineering Services Team performed clash detection to eliminate 3,530 collisions, identified and resolved visibility issues, and provided the construction team with precise material information, saving significant time and costs.
This award is inclusive of all the personnel working on the I35 NEX project, the Ferrovial Construction Engineering Services Department, the Texas Department of Transportation and the design engineering companies of TYLIN, Othon and Consor. Working with Bentley has allowed us to continue on our path of pursuing process innovation and delivering construction projects more efficiently
