Salem Creek Connector
Best highway project over
$5 million: Salem Creek
Connector, Winston-Salem, NC
General contractor: Blythe Con-
struction, Inc.
The Salem Creek Connector pro-
ject aimed to maintain and improve
connectivity between the Research
Triangle Corridor and Downtown
Winston Salem. The project in-
cluded a new four-lane boulevard
with a diverging-diamond inter-
change at U.S. 52.
Blythe created a temporary track
to ensure that Winston-Salem
Southbound Railroad’s train, which
ran daily across two bridges that
were to be replaced, could operate
without interruption.
The railroad bridge over U.S. 52
offered other challenges, such as
coordinating its construction with
the phasing of the U.S. 52 roadway.
Traffic flow had to be maintained,
requiring multiple traffic shifts and
temporarily diverting all south
bound traffic onto the new ramp
alignment. The project included twin new
arches over U.S. 52 to reflect the
community’s Moravian heritage.
Extensive community consulta-
tions included frequent outreach
events with North Carolina Depart-
ment of Transportation (NCDOT),
local staff and Happy Hills neigh-
bourhood community members.
Wilmington Bypass Segment B,
Wilmington, N.C.
General contractor: Balfour Beatty
This $124 million, three-mile
bridge and roadway project – US-17
from State Road 1430 to West of
US-421 North of Wilmington, repre-
sented the culmination of a 15-year
plan to reduce traffic congestion in
New Hanover County and improve
accessibility to Brunswick County to
the south.
The project represents a suc-
cessful collaboration between
NCDOT, Balfour Beatty, the US
Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast
Guard, CSX Transportation, Duke
Energy and a strong subcontractors
network. Among many challenges, the an-
nual Toomer Creek fish moratorium
prohibited bottom-disturbing work
from February to mid-June. Balfour
Beatty strategically allocated re-
sources to “in-water work” for
seven months so that the restriction
would not derail progress. However,
when the team began pile driving to
install the trestle and begin the
bridge foundation, challenging
ground conditions quadrupled the
time required to drive each pile to
its minimum tip elevation.
Consequently, all employees and
subcontractors committed to an ag-
gressive 24-hour schedule through
the holiday season to drive all 184
Wilmington Bypass Segment B
6 — Summer 2018 — The North Carolina Construction News
piles before the February fish mora-
torium started.
Balfour Beatty drove the largest
precast pile in southeastern North
Carolina and constructed one of the
longest post-tensioned spans in the
state. Placing the post-tensioned
girder section required careful engi-
neering and detailed coordination.
The project team preserved the in-
tegrity of the untouched wetlands
and delivered the three-mile bridge
and roadway project on time.
Individual “Build with the Best”
Pinnacle Award: Vaughn Wicker,
International Code Council
(retired) Vaughn Wicker
The Build with the Best award
honors someone who is not a con-
tractor but has contributed to the
construction industry’s betterment
and the Carolinas’ overall economic
welfare. Vaughn Wicker worked for the In-
ternational Code Council (ICC) for
23 years before he retired in May,
2017. He served as the council’s
representative covering the South-
east, including North Carolina and
South Carolina.
Over the years, his experience as
a code official made him an excel-
lent member advocate, and he al-
ways provided great service and
support to the construction indus-
try. The award citation says CAGC’s
Leslie Clark often called upon
Wicker anytime she had questions
regarding codes — and he was al-
ways eager to help. He would also
dedicate time to sharing the impact
that proposed building code bills
would have on the construction in-
dustry.