TTS Agency Partners with Flatiron on Logistics Program for High Profile Minneapolis Bridge Project
The logistics challenge was immense: the relocation of more than 11 million pounds of steel over a three month period from a major construction site in Minneapolis to three different locations in California. So Total Transportation Services agent Mark Suddreth came up with a plan.
The millions of pounds of steel needing to be transported consisted primarily of thousands of I-beams and support poles that were used for the reconstruction of the giant I-35W bridge in Minneapolis that spans the Mississippi River. The bridge had tragically collapsed last August killing dozens of people and creating ongoing traffic problems for the city.
Prior to its collapse, this bridge carried more than 140,000 vehicles a day. The loss of this vital link increased commuter expenses, created a burden on surrounding roads and costs approximately $400,000 per day in lost revenue.
The massive rebuilding project has been on a fast track through the Minnesota Department of Transportation who awarded the design and construction contract to Flatiron Construction Corporation in a joint venture with Manson Construction. The $234 million project broke ground last October and is schedule to be finished in December.
The new St. Anthony Falls Bridge will be a 1,216-foot-long, 10-lane concrete bridge with a 504-foot-long precast segmental main span. The bridge is supported by three land-based piers with four columns at each pier, standing 70 feet tall.
As the rebuilding project got underway, Flatiron called TTS agent Mark Suddreth, who operates Zalcam Logistics in Wilson, North Carolina, and asked him to come up with a logistics solution to move all the support steel away from the job site as the construction progressed.
After understanding the unique requirements on the project, Suddreth’s first inclination was to figure out how to move the material over the road with a massive trucking effort – something he knows very well.
With a trucking plan and pricing in hand, Suddreth began to rethink the approach to this project figuring there might be a better way. Suddreth believed the more efficient and cost effective way would be to utilize intermodel as the primary mode particularly after he discovered some flexibility on the transits time requirements of Flatiron.
Leaning on the intermodal expertise and experience of another TTS agent, Lee Quigley in Modesto, California, Suddreth devised a new plan to move the steel from the point of origin in Minnesota to the three distinct destinations in California using multiple partners to facilitate the complex move via intermodal.
The result was a 40% reduction in transportation costs and Flatiron awarding Suddreth the transportation contract to move the steel.
Suddreth’s role in the high-profile bridge project began a few weeks ago with the first load moved from the point of origin. So far, 113 loads have now been moved of a total of 250 loads that are estimated to be required for this project. Each load averages over 180,000 pounds per flat rail car. The loading is a round-the-clock, seven day a week operation with a deadline of September 1 for everything to be moved from the construction site.
The project required Suddreth to put together multiple logistics partners to facilitate the complicated transportation requirements – including long and short line rail, transloading, inspection and trucking services.
“The initial challenge was to source and identify the right partners and get them in place and in sync with the move,” said Suddreth. “Once we did that, our primary role has been to anticipate, coordinate and communicate with everyone on every single load.”
The various parties Suddreth brought in on this transportation project include UP/BSN, Patriot Rail (www.patriotrail.com), Progressive Rail (www.progressiverail.com) and Advance Distribution and Logistics (www.advancedlogistics.com). Each provides a key role in the process with Suddreth and Total Transportation Services providing the project management and system support.
“This project really represents the essence of what Total Transportation Services has to offer as a true 3PL professional,” said Suddreth. “We offer one source for a very complicated move working with multiple partners, effective planning, integrated systems and proactive communications.”