Westside Parkway Phase 1 - Mohawk Street Extension Project
General Information
The Mohawk Street Extension is a 1.2 mile, six-lane, north-south arterial from Rosedale Highway to Truxtun Avenue. The project constructed bridges over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway, the future Westside Parkway, and the Kern River. A box culvert was also built for Mohawk Street to cross over the Cross Valley Canal.
Construction on the Mohawk Street Extension began in summer 2009 and the contract calls for completion in spring 2012. The project added a traffic signal at the Rosedale Highway/Mohawk Street intersection in September 2009 to facilitate construction, including the import of more than 38,500 truckloads of fill dirt totaling one-half million cubic yards. Improvements to the Mohawk Street/Truxtun Avenue intersection included signal modifications and access to the new roadway.
Railroad Bridge
Bridge type: flat slab on precast girders
The railroad bridge deck is 30 feet above the tracks. To construct the abutments, the contractor built two mechanically stabilized embankment (MSE) retaining walls and imported approximately 75,000 cubic yards of fill dirt. Pre-cast girders were set in place in February and the deck was poured in early March 2010.
Mohawk Street Overcrossing
Bridge type: box girder
This will be a future interchange to the Westside Parkway. The Overcrossing has a 246-foot long x 97-foot wide bridge deck. The deck is approximately 25 feet above the future Westside Parkway.Concrete required for the entire superstructure, which included the deck, stems, and soffit totaled 2,160 cubic yards. Incorporated into the design are special aesthetic treatments, including stone facing and decorative railing treatments and lighting fixtures.
Kern River Bridge
Bridge Type: flat slab on piles
The bridge has more than 320 piles, extending approximately 30 to 50 feet below the ground and averaging about 20 feet above the ground. There are two sizes of piles – 18-inch and 24-inch diameter. The 18-inch piles weigh approximately 15,300 pounds, and the 24-inch piles weight approximately 28,000 pounds apiece.
Trails
Construction of the Mohawk Street Extension project required a temporary closure of the equestrian trail, located on the north side of the Kern River, but the trail was restored as part of the Mohawk Street Extension project. The project also included the realignment of the Kern River Bike Path (at Mohawk Street), but the bike path will remain open during construction.
Project designer: Dokken Engineering
Contractor: Security Paving Company
Construction management: Nolte Associates
Construction costs: $27.7 million. Funding from Prop. 1B funds through the State Transportation Improvement Program.
