The Aon Build America Awards recognize the nation’s premier projects, large and small, from across the country. The following 15 winners embody the industry at its best and illustrate how AGC contractors are building America’s quality of life.
This year AGC also recognized one special winner, with the first-ever Aon Build America Grand Award, which honors the nation’s top project and those individuals that demonstrated exceptional construction excellence to complete the nation’s most outstanding project for 2006.
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Southeast Corridor Constructors—Joint Venture of Kiewit Western Co. and Parsons Transportation Group
Transportation Expansion (T-REX) Project, Denver, Colo.
The T-REX Project included expansion of 17 miles of two interstate highways with tight space constraints and the addition of a light rail system with 13 stations inside the right-of-way. The project also reconstructed or widened 61 bridges and was completed 22 months ahead of schedule.
Southeast Corridor Constructors received a 93% positive rating from the 230,000 commuters who drove through the project daily. It also won a Marvin M. Black Partnering Award.
Clark Construction Group LLC U.S. Dept. of Transportation Headquarters
Washington, D.C.
Clark Construction Group constructed the new headquarters for the U.S. Dept. of Transportation in Washington, D.C., on an 11-acre parcel. The 2 million-sq-ft office complex spans two city blocks, making it one of the largest construction projects completed in the U.S. this year. The Clark team worked around metro rail tunnels running under the buildings, removed 30,000 cu yd of existing building foundations and remediated approximately 100,000 cu yd of soil. The project was completed on time and within budget.
W.W. Clyde & Co.
Point of the Mountain Aqueduct Project, Draper, Utah
The Point of the Mountain Aqueduct Project is the most significant undertaking in 50 years for the Salt Lake Valley Water District Authority. The project required careful planning, since the pipeline weaves through 12 miles of Salt Lake’s heavily residential southern suburbs. The project also accommodated the future construction of a divided highway along three miles of the pipeline alignment and coordinated the concurrent design and construction of the pipeline with the new Bangerter Parkway Construction Project. The project completed the connection between all major water delivery systems in the Salt Lake Valley.
Granite Construction Co.
Reno Transportation Rail Access Corridor—ReTRAC,
Reno, Nev.
The Reno Transportation Rail Access Corridor is the largest public works project ever undertaken in Nevada and includes the design and construction of a 2.1-mile-long, 54-ft-wide, 33-ft-deep train trench running through downtown Reno. Close collaboration of designers, contractors and the owner from the start of the project helped accomplish its goals. The new corridor eliminated traffic congestion, improved safety and enhanced overall downtown aesthetics. ReTRAC used design-build, resulting in shorter construction times, less traffic impacts and lower costs.
Tarlton Corp.
MetroLink Facilities 1—Forest Park: DeBaliviere Station to Kingsland Ave., St. Louis, Mo.
Tarlton served as general contractor on the first phase of the MetroLink expansion and performed more than 70% of the work, which totaled more than $80 million. The project used concrete in prolific ways, building more than 500 ft of concrete sewer bridges, installing three cut-and-cover tunnels totaling 1,400 linear ft and constructing a pedestrian tunnel under a major thoroughfare connecting to Washington University. The expansion, which opened in August 2006, provides MetroLink customers with a new eight-mile-long light rail line that connects downtown St. Louis to the southwest suburbs.
Weston Solutions Inc.
GE/Housatonic River Site—1.5-Mile Reach Removal Action, Pittsfield, Mass.
This river cleanup project was the largest and most complex of its kind to be implemented in the Northeast by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New England district. The in-river site remediation occurred over three years and included road building, sheet-pile cofferdam construction, installation of a removable dam, installation and removal of a gravity bypass system, water treatment, soil and sediment excavation and disposal, reconstruction and repair of existing retaining walls, construction of new retaining structures, river bed and bank restoration, native plantings and aquatic and riparian habitat enhancements.
James Construction Group LLC
Picardy Avenue Interchange and I-10 Widening and Rehabilitation, Baton Rouge, La.
This major infrastructure redesign showcases state-of-the-art construction and accelerated contract fulfillment in the face of unforeseen obstacles that included Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The project entailed east- and westbound interstate reconstruction and the building of new components that included frontage roads, on/off ramps and four bridges. Throughout the project, James Construction took steps to ensure jobsite and motorist safety, construction integrity and adherence to schedule, resulting in completion eight months ahead of schedule.
Zachry Construction Corp.
Zachry Corporate Headquarters Conference and Employment Center, San Antonio, Texas
Zachry constructed a new conference and employment center with the potential to become the first LEED-certified building in San Antonio and the first platinum-LEED building in Texas. Zachry used 4-D modeling software that links 3-D computer-aided design components with a project schedule.
Bowen Engineering Corp.
Cinergy Gibson Station FGD Project, Owensville, Ind.
Bowen used creative construction methods to overcome challenges and reduce costs in the construction of the Cinergy Gibson Station FlueGas Desulfurization Project. Detailed step-level planning and videotaping of the work was implemented to continuously improve the process of installing the large anchor bolts, resulting in a $300,000 savings to the owner. Bowen’s contribution to this project marks a significant step toward higher air quality for the residents of southern Indiana and Illinois.
Alberici Constructors
GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly Complex,
Lansing, Mich.
The General Motors Lansing Delta Township Assembly Complex Project converted 375 acres into a campus-style automotive assembly facility totaling 2.4 million sq ft. In 20 months, a greenfield site was transformed into a major complex where raw steel enters at one end and finished vehicles are shipped to dealers at the opposite end. This project was the first design-build/guaranteed-maximum-price implemented new manufacturing facility that GM has ever created, the first LEED-certified automotive manufacturing facility, and the first project to manage all of its design with 3-D model imaging.
Barton Malow Co.
University of Virginia—John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.
Barton Malow Co. worked with the University of Virginia to design the most extensive sports and entertainment complex between Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, N.C. The design team faced numerous logistical challenges, including complicated existing site problems such as possible flooding and low soil-bearing pressure. However, the arena broke ground on time in 2003 and finished on time and at budget in June 2006, despite many site deficiencies that included the need to build a new site stormwater management system.
Sundt Construction Inc. and
DPR Construction Inc.
The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University,
Tempe, Ariz.
Arizona is rapidly becoming a leader in the field of biomedical research, and the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University is the centerpiece of this new growth. This unique complex was built to meet the most stringent demands posed by experimental programs in biotechnology and nanotechnology, to enhance communication and collaboration between researchers with an open, shared lab design and a central atrium linking all floors. The project was completed on an 18-month time frame, allowing ASU to fully utilize the lab for recruitment and initial research.
Barnhart Inc.
Barrack Renovations at MCRD San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
The $8.4-million renovation project for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwestern Division included repairs to barracks, demolition of a 107,160-sq-ft, three-story building, demolition and rebuilding of walls, ceilings, roofing, mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems and modifications to the exterior facade to change the architectural style. The building was renovated on an aggressive 182-day schedule driven by the anticipated arrival of more than 1,400 new Marine Corps recruits.
Walsh Brothers Inc.
Fenway Park State Street Pavilion and EMC Club,
Boston, Mass.
The Fenway Park Pavilion Seat Expansion and EMC/State Street Club Project illustrates the accomplishment of an ambitious concept in a sensitive historical environment. The Walsh Team completed $45 million of the complex construction within the six-month winter off-season, used precise phasing and logistics to ensure complete protection of Fenway Field and structurally lifted and shored the historic facility to accommodate the installation of a new ring of columns that would ultimately support the significant addition. Walsh delivered this ambitious project in time for the 2006 season and $1.5 million under budget.
Harbison, Mahoney, Higgins Builders Inc.
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento, Calif. The 1889 cathedral, located one block from California’s state capitol building, is one of Sacramento’s architectural crown jewels. This delicate restoration project represents the construction industry’s highest standards for its innovation, cooperation, cost-effectiveness and timeliness. The Harbison, Mahoney, Higgins team used new technologies and innovative techniques to tackle this project, which required extensive waterproofing and seismic upgrading to prevent its collapse in an earthquake. Its elaborate dome was also in dire need of restoration after being closed off on the interior for more than 70 years.
