The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) presented the 2006 Aon Build America Awards, the highest honor within the construction industry. Eighteen projects were selected as winners and three were selected for merit awards at AGC’s 87th Annual Convention.
“The Aon Build America Awards recognize the nation’s premiere projects, big and small, from across the country,” said AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr. “The Build America Award winners embody the industry at its best and truly illustrate how AGC contractors are building America’s quality of life.”
The Build America Awards contribute directly to the AGC Education and Research Foundation. Since 1993, The Build America Scholarship Program has awarded more than $250,000 in scholarships to approximately 80 construction management and civil engineering students.
Entries are submitted from every area of general contracting including: federal and heavy, municipal and utilities, highway design-build, environmental, international and construction management projects in the categories of new and renovation.
Winners are chosen by a contractor’s toughest critics, a group of peers and judged on: meeting the challenge of a difficult job; excellence in project management; contractor’s innovation in construction techniques; contractor’s state-of-the-art advancement; contractor’s sensitivity to the environment and surroundings; excellence in client service and the contractor’s contribution to the community.
The awards are a long-standing AGC tradition, beginning in 1972.
New Building
• Hensel Phelps Construction Co. for Colorado Convention Center Expansion, Denver, CO.
This new addition to the Colorado Convention Center added 1.4 million sq. ft. of new space to double the center’s size and included a new 1,000-space parking garage and a 5,000-fixed-seat auditorium.
Hensel Phelps relocated a road and an active light-rail line, with only one morning to switch the light-rail and road operations that maintain continuous operation of both critical transportation modes. Meetings and conferences were not interrupted throughout the construction of this landmark civic building that represents a gateway to downtown Denver.
Building Renovation
• Shawmut Design and Construction for Trinity Church in the city of Boston, restoration and expansion program in Boston, MA.
This $28-million project included an exterior and interior restoration of this world-renowned H.H. Richardson-designed structure located in the heart of Boston’s Copley Square. The phased program served to preserve the historic structure, integrate new building systems to bring the church up to modern building codes and expand the undercroft to accommodate growing parish program activities.
New Building (Less than $5 million)
• Artistic Builders Inc. for Stor Self Storage in Austin, TX.
This project consisted of constructing a five-story building that totaled more than 80,000 sq. ft. With the challenge of fitting the building on the property to meet local codes and severe restrictions on cutting or filling of the land and stringent impervious coverage restrictions, more than seven acres were developed.
The storage building consisted of 17,286 sq. ft. that includes a significant wine storage area. This project performed habitat studies for endangered species and installed a water quality pond to protect water quality.
Building Renovation (Less than $5 million)
• Douglas E. Barnhart Inc. for Copley Symphony Hall Administrative Offices Remodel in San Diego, CA.
The construction of the $2.6-million remodel of the San Diego Symphony headquarters required the steel used for the project to be cut into small pieces and brought in by hand. No heavy equipment was used on the project and much of the construction debris was carried out by only a furniture dolly.
The high-end finishes were paid special attention. Barnhart ensured that a seamless transition of the new construction met the historic beauty of the existing structure.
New Federal and Heavy
• Caddell/Blaine Joint Venture Project for Target Building/Spallation Neutron Source Project/Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN.
This $58-million one-of-a-kind research and development facility stands at the forefront of an advanced neutron-based nanophase science and promises to make a very significant contribution to technology.
There were zero lost-time accidents and constant innovation in techniques for handling sophisticated robotics and electronics. This project finished on time, on budget and was built to extremely high-quality control standards and exemplified a true team effort.
Federal and Heavy Renovation
• Soltek Pacific for Tecate Border Station Historic Renovation and Expansion Project in Tecate, CA.
The work included for this 19,262-sq.-ft. expansion and historic renovation project entailed the construction of new facilities and repair and renovation of an existing historic structure located at the U.S. Port of Entry at Tecate, CA.
The work included fences, roads, parking, primary inspection stations, pedestrian processing facilities, offices for government employees and staff, cargo inspection stations and incidental related work.
New Highway
• Palmetto Bridge Constructors — A joint venture of Tidewater Skanska Inc. and Flatiron Constructors Inc. for Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, SC.
The most important construction project undertaken in the state of South Carolina links the two cities of Charleston and Mount Pleasant.
The bridge comprises major interchange high-level approaches and a 1,522-ft. cable-stayed main span. The cable-stayed main span is the longest in North and South America.
Highway Renovation
• Boh Brothers Construction Co. LLC for I-10 Twin Span Bridges over Lake Pontchartrain in Orleans and St. Tammany parishes, LA.
Serving as a vital link in the transportation infrastructure of the New Orleans area, the I-10 Twin Spans over Lake Pontchartrain was damaged by the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina deterring supplies, water, food, and military help from reaching an already damaged and isolated region.
The project repaired damage to the eastbound bridge caused by Hurricane Katrina removing fallen spans, realigning shifted spans and replacing fallen spans with good spans from the westbound bridge.
New Municipal and Utilities
• Barnard Construction Company Inc. for the Saluda Dam Remediation Project in Lexington, SC.
The largest ongoing dam project in the United States for the past three years. The dam was deemed unsafe in the 1970s given the city of Columbia, SC, was located directly downstream and within the floodplain of a dam failure.
The project entailed a new backup dam be constructed immediately downstream from the existing dam. The project received an excellent safety record and was completed on or ahead of schedule.
Municipal and Utilities Renovation
• ASI/Cianbro Corporation — A joint venture — for Loch Raven Dam Rehabilitation in Baltimore, MD.
Determined to be a high-hazard dam that could prove unstable in the event of a major storm event, the Loch Raven Dam Rehabilitation project was a $31-million, 41-month project that was completed under budget and ahead of schedule.
New Construction Management
• Rentenbach Constructors Inc. and C.T. Wilson Construction Co. Inc. for Rams Head Center in Chapel Hill, NC.
The Rams Head Center was a multi-use facility constructed on a 4.6-acre site on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The facility includes a 57,000-sq.-ft. two-story dining facility, a 43,000-sq.-ft. two-story recreation facility, 10,000-sq.-ft. student grocery store, a 50,000-sq.-ft. landscaped plaza and a subterranean storm water storage/irrigation system, all completed on top of a 700-car parking deck.
Construction Management Renovation
• Consigli Construction Co. Inc. for Bowdoin College, Chapel Towers Restoration, Brunswick, ME.
Restoration of the twin towers of the Bowdoin College historic chapel entailed repairing damage suffered from weather and age — the original building was constructed between 1845 and 1855.
The project demanded the dismantling of the north tower and labeling each and every stone. Approximately 20 to 30 percent of the tower’s stone was replaced with granite from the same local quarry that supplied the original materials.
New Design-Build
• Caddell Construction Company Inc. for Combat Aviation Brigade Barracks & Operations Complex in Fort Bragg, NC.
The largest design-build project ever undertaken at Fort Bragg, the four-story barracks buildings, 12 company operations buildings, three battalion headquarters, one brigade headquarters, an aero-medical facility and a full-service dining facility came in at $65.6 million.
The 70-acre project site incorporated sensitive wetlands, which were carefully protected and preserved. The final project received outstanding owner evaluations, was completed early and had zero lost time accidents.
New Design-Build
• T. N. Ward Company for John M. Perzel Education and Technology Building in Philadelphia, PA.
T.N. Ward proposed a design-build solution helping the Holy Family University construct a 60,000-sq.-ft. building to serve the needs of the university.
T.N. Ward overcame many challenges including meeting neighborhood requirements that the building be constructed out of brick, a 20-month deadline and a project budget of $18.9 million. The project was completed under budget and on time.
Design-Build Renovation
•Kiewit Western Co. and JTL Group Inc. for Beartooth Highway Emergency Repairs in Red Lodge, MT.
June 9, 2005, marked the U.S. House of Representatives passing a resolution of the importance to open the famous Beartooth All-American Highway.
The task at had was to repair 13 sites damaged by several massive debris flows.
Kiewit finished the project 25 percent under budget and ahead of schedule.
Design-Build Renovation
• Hensel Phelps Construction Co. for Atlas V SLC 3E Activation on Vandenberg AFB, CA.
Requiring the adaptation and modification of an existing Atlas IIAS rocket launch facility at Vandenberg AFB, CA, to provide a significantly upgraded launch complex for the new and larger Atlas V launch vehicle for Lockheed Martin provided many challenges.
The launch facility was originally designed and constructed in the mid-20th century and modified in the early 90s, to become a facility capable of supporting cutting-edge rocket technology and retaining as much of the existing support facilities as possible, allowed Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force the capability to launch heavier military satellites from the West Coast to support national security missions.
New Environmental
• Alberici Constructors for 8800 Page — Alberici Corporate Headquarters in St. Louis, MO.
The transformation of a circa-1950s brick office building and large metal manufacturing warehouse into a “green” class-A office space and campus achieved Alberici a platinum-certification, the highest level LEED certification offered by the U.S. Green Building Council.
New Environmental
• FCI Constructors Inc. for the Benicia Wetlands Mitigation in Benicia, CA.
Due to the loss of the wetlands in the Suisun Bay during the construction of the I-680 Benicia-Martinez Bridge across the Carquinez Straights in northern California. Caltrans purchased a neighboring and presumably contaminated site where FCI Constructors was to create a new, healthy wetland habitat.
FCI Constructors successfully removed and relocated 160,000 cu. yds. of contaminated fill, excavated more than half a mile of new and improved channel from the wetlands to Suisun Bay and jacked 42-in. welded steel pipes under live railroad tracks.
2006 Merit Award Winners
New Building
• McCarthy Building Companies Inc. for Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Sue and Bill Gross Women’s Pavilion in Newport Beach, CA.
Construction Management
• Clark Construction Company for Mountain Grand Lodge and Spa and Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark in Boyne Falls, MI.
New Municipal and Utilities
• Independence Excavating Inc. for Abram Creek Improvement Project, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, OH.
For more information, visit www.agc.org.
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