SASOL USA Mega Project – Heavy Haul Road

• Client

  SASOL

• Division

  Engineering, Survey & Mapping

• Scope

  Design and Oversee Construction of Heavy Haul Road, Installation of Subsurface Drainage, Intersection Upgrades

• Completion

  2017

Fenstermaker was the prime engineering firm for the SASOL Heavy Haul Road project and responsible for the following services: agency coordination; planning and environmental; surveying and ROW maps; roadway drainage and utility design; and construction engineering and inspection. Fenstermaker assisted SASOL with the rezoning of approximately 1,500 acres, coordination for 1,400 access agreements with landowners, and completed 35 construction permits. Fenstermaker completed the topographic and boundary surveys along with ROW maps. The Heavy Haul Road design consisted of approximately 2.4 miles of roadway widening and reconstruction along LA 379 as well as subsurface drainage improvements approximately 3 miles in length. As part of the design, Fenstermaker also completed improvements for several intersections and coordination for all utility relocations. Once the design was completed and construction began, Fenstermaker was responsible for all construction administration and inspection services.

The Heavy Haul Road was improved to accommodate the transport of large SASOL modules to the site, which involved over 700 oversized/overweight permit loads as large as 50’W x 50’H x 315’L and exceeding 3,000 tons. Additionally, the project required an upgrade to several intersections within the Heavy Haul Route which included geometric changes, rotating mast arm signal poles as well as the implementation of an adaptive traffic management system.

The project has received numerous awards in recognition of its uniqueness and innovation. Fenstermaker received the 2017 Excellence in Construction Award for Heavy Construction at the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. Awards Gala, alongside Barriere Construction. The project earned the 2018 Louisiana DOTD Transportation Excellence Award in two categories: Use of Innovative Product or Technology and Roadway/Bridge Construction > $10 million. The project was selected as the Grand Award Category Winner of the 2019 American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana Engineering Excellence Awards and received the ACEC National Recognition Award in 2020.