Contents:
- A Building to Challenge and Inspire
- Cyber Park Underscores Regional Cooperation
- Route 110 Bypass Nearing Completion
- Design-Build Delivers
- Disaster Relief Efforts Continue Following Major Storms
- Louisiana Plans for Major Hurricane Disasters
- Project Briefs
- Dewberry, PSA Join Forces
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research Bridges Educational, Economic Goals
A multi-faceted public-private partnership in Southside Virginia sought to offset a declining economy with a bold move toward leadership in education, research, and technology. The results? The new Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and its Cyber Park setting are now standard-bearers for an evolving era of rural economic growth.
In their largest joint city-county project to date, the city of Danville and Pittsylvania County recently completed a state-of-the-art educational, research, and conference facility in Southside Virginia. The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, known as IALR, opened its doors in June with a grand reception attended by a host of business, education, and political leaders from throughout the state.
For area residents, the building meant much more than new classrooms, labs, and meeting space. The brainchild of a group of local business leaders called "The Future of the Piedmont Foundation," who worked closely with local government officials, the IALR was conceived as a vital, strategic step to help the region rebound from the impact of the declining tobacco and textile industries. The facility received significant funding from the state's Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.
"We needed to transition the economy in the Southside region, and we decided to take the bull by the horns," says Danville City Manager Jerry Gwaltney. "We wanted to be a player in the global economy. The institute has proven to be everything that we expected it to be in terms of helping to enhance economic development in the community."
Gwaltney and Pittsylvania County Administrator Dan Sleeper, with the support of their boards, collaborated with a broad-based coalition of business and industry leaders, academic representatives, and design team members to create a cutting-edge facility that would clearly signal the region's commitment to technology, 21st-century education, and innovative partnerships in research and development. "It's much more than an educational facility," says Sleeper, "it's also a multi-functional conference center and research facility. It's unique, and it has become a drawing card. There's no question that it will make for a better quality of life in Virginia."
Both Gwaltney and Sleeper credit the IALR's success to the many participants committed to its development, and a desire to redefine both the process and the outcome. "It's a large project, so we needed a lot of players," says Sleeper. "The partnership between the city and the county built it, but there were many others involved in its planning. Everyone had specialized expertise–everyone brought something to it."
"It takes a tremendous collaboration to create a building like this," says Gwaltney. "It requires tremendous determination. You've got to get the wheels of government churning, and let nothing deter you. With the institute, it wasn't always easy to reach consensus on every issue, but we've built very strong relationships as a result of this process."
Dr. Timothy Franklin, executive director of the IALR, now sees the benefits of those relationships in the day-to-day activities of the institute. He also praises the commitment to make the building itself a strong statement about its ambitious goals: "The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research inspires hope and confidence. For the entrepreneurs, researchers, and graduate students who will spend time at the IALR, the architecture provides surroundings that challenge and inspire."
Dewberry provided comprehensive architecture and engineering services for the IALR and the Cyber Park. Both projects have earned Dewberry Awards for Excellence, in the building design and site design categories. For more information, visit www.dewberry.com.
Cyber Park Underscores Regional Cooperation
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research is set in the heart of the 330-acre Cyber Park, another recent joint venture of the city of Danville and Pittsylvania County. One of several critical steps the region has pursued in order to diversify its economic base, the Cyber Park features an advanced communications and power infrastructure designed to provide businesses with system flexibility and reliability.
A ductbank system enables businesses to install, upgrade, and expand fiber optic lines without excavation. Using air-blown fiber optic lines, companies can create a customized fiber network. The Cyber Park's High-Reliability Distribution System (HRDS) provides an uninterrupted power supply to businesses in the park, with a switchgear system that automatically reroutes power from an alternate source in the case of a line disruption.
While the IALR and the Cyber Park clearly reflect the region's commitment to the R&D and technology industries, the city and county have yet a third project underway–a traditional manufacturing park. For more information, visit www.discoverdanville.com and www.pittced.com. For more information on the IALR, visit www.ialr.org.
Route 110 Bypass Nearing Completion
Design-Build Project Constructed in Less Than Two Years
Construction is nearly complete on the new Route 110 Bypass, a $30.4 million design-build project that realigns a 3,500-foot section of Virginia Route 110 to improve traffic flow adjacent to the Pentagon. The team of Facchina Construction Company of La Plata, Maryland, and Dewberry completed the project well within the expected 22-month construction schedule, achieving the primary goal of having the relocated roadway open to traffic in June 2004. The project also included two new pedestrian overpasses and a vehicular bridge to span the new six-lane highway; as well as parking lot upgrades, and other site improvements.
Design-build proved instrumental in helping the project team meet the demanding schedule and budget constraints. Within ten weeks of contract award, officials approved Facchina/Dewberry's conceptual plan and gave the go-ahead to begin construction. Close coordination among the design-build team and other stakeholders facilitated the smooth implementation of staged construction packages despite the inclement weather that plagued construction projects across the mid-Atlantic region during the past two years.
Coordinated project delivery also helped the team contend with the numerous technical challenges such as the widespread presence of unstable soils. Excavation and replacement with stronger material provided a reliable base for the roadways, while a strategy of pre-consolidation using surcharge loadings and wick drains helped accelerate anticipated settlement of soils under the wall foundations. Lightweight aggregate backfill for mechanically stabilized earth walls helped minimize the overall magnitude of settlement at wall foundations.
Excavation work also revealed many unrecorded underground utilities. Rather than risk delaying the project with time-consuming ownership investigations and relocation, the team avoided the obstacles by redesigning affected elements. Expedited plan review by the Virginia Department of Transportation ensured that the project remained on schedule.
Although the project required taking a portion of the Pentagon's North Parking Lot, the reconfiguration of remaining areas and the addition of new lots have preserved the number of spaces. Decorative architectural treatments on cast-in-place concrete elements of the new bridge and pedestrian overpasses match the style and color of the Pentagon's Indiana limestone exterior, while ornamental fencing, lighting, and landscaping help soften the standoff area's appearance.
Dewberry's professional services for the project included roadway design and structural engineering, site/civil engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, surveying, electrical engineering, and construction administration. In addition, Facchina and Dewberry also upgraded a temporary helipad to meet Army Aviation standards.
Design-Build Delivers
Collaboration and Timely Reviews Prove Critical to the Success of the Route 110 Bypass
The Route 110 Bypass, nearly complete, is a "design-build-turnover" project with the Pentagon Renovation & Construction Program Office (PENREN/C) at the helm. Upon completion, the highway will be turned over to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
Dimensions recently explored the success of the Route 110 project delivery with the following participants:
- Ken Catlow, Acting Director, PENREN/C
- Paul Kraucunas, Manager, Northern Virginia District Land Development Section, VDOT
- David Anderson, Vice President, Facchina Construction Company
How has design-build affected the way your organization carries out projects, and how has it evolved over the past few years?
Ken Catlow: PENREN/C has fully embraced the design-build philosophy. We establish performance-based requirements, as opposed to prescriptive requirements. This allows the contractor maximum flexibility to solve the myriad challenges encountered during the design-build process in an effective and efficient manner.
David Anderson: The inherent value of true collaboration between designer and contractor early in the design process has become very clear to us. Now that we've seen design-build enter the heavy highway sector, we've bid several state highway projects, combining our long-standing heavy construction reputation with the equally impressive reputation of top-shelf designers. The Route 110 Bypass was the culmination of these skills through a very successful venture with Dewberry.
What advantages did design-build bring to the ROUTE 110 project in particular?
Ken Catlow: Time. Given that this was a security-driven project where the product would provide not only better security to the Pentagon but also eliminate the need for a $3.6-million annual cost for security personnel, time was most important. In just two and a half years, this design-build structure allowed the project to go from idea to completion.
David Anderson: There were several advantages. We eliminated constructability issues by utilizing the combined expertise of the contractor and designer. There were time savings in the overall construction schedule through this turnkey method, which allowed construction to begin before design was complete and enabled advance approval of long-lead delivery items by the designer. The direct communication between the contractor and the designer is more efficient than relayed communication through an owner; it was further enhanced by financial incentives for superior schedule, quality, and under-budget cost performance.
Paul Kraucunas: The design-build approach led to a heightened interest in everyone getting reviews back with a timely response. Part of the success of the design-build model is the partnering of all the players. Everyone needs to recognize the importance of the project and be willing to resolve issues right away. It requires a commitment and timely reviews so the construction process doesn't get bogged down. I designated a single source of contact here at VDOT for the plan processing. Overall, the approach brought quick resolution to design issues–we would review proposed solutions right away and get back to the designers. It saved a significant amount of time.
What issues come into play on a design-build-turnover project, with PENREN/C turning the project over to VDOT?
Ken Catlow: None actually. VDOT treated this project as if a county or developer was handing over a completed product to be integrated into the VDOT system. The main reason for the lack of issues with turnover to VDOT is that they were involved throughout the project. VDOT was there with us every step of the way from design review to final inspection.
Paul Kraucunas: Because of the "turnover" process, Dewberry needed to satisfy the Pentagon, but they also had to satisfy the requirements of VDOT because they were turning the road over to us. For VDOT, it was very intensive in terms of the number of submissions. There were 30 submissions, which is about a five-fold increase over the usual number. We reviewed plans as the team worked through each phase, for each piece of the project. It was demanding–it was an exceptional project. While the district has done other design-build projects, this is the first to come through the Land Development section. But we learned we could do it–we could be a responsive partner. I would say that we rose to the challenge, and were successful with this project.
Disaster Relief Efforts Continue Following Major Storms
FEMA Deploys Largest Relief Team in History
Dewberry has joined an unprecedented hurricane recovery effort in the southeastern US following four major storms over a period of six weeks. Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, the lead antagonists of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, will likely earn the notorious distinction of being the most destructive and expensive series of storms in US history.
Along with stressing the resources of state and local agencies, the spate of storms has resulted in the largest deployment of relief services by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The response and recovery effort was augmented by the Partnership for Response and Recovery (PaRR), a Dewberry-URS and SSI joint venture that provides post-disaster housing inspection services.
In the six weeks since Hurricane Charley came ashore in mid-August, more than 1,700 PaRR field personnel have conducted approximately 215,000 inspections across the southeastern US and Puerto Rico. FEMA has also called on PaRR to assist with other disaster-related services such as mobile home site inspections, pre-placement interviews with residents, and preliminary damage assessments in counties outside the declaration areas to determine their eligibility for federal assistance.
Nationwide Infrastructure Support Technical Assistance Consultants (NISTAC), a joint venture of Dewberry and URS, has also been actively involved in supporting FEMA's public assistance recovery programs in the Southeast and Caribbean, as well as areas in the mid-Atlantic hard-hit by the weakened, yet still powerful storm systems. More than 250 professionals assisted with helping to expedite emergency protective measures and restoration work for hundreds of roads, bridges, beaches, water and wastewater treatment plants, police and fire stations, schools, and hospitals.
NISTAC personnel also played key roles in debris management, environmental and historic preservation issues, cost estimating, data management, GIS support, feasibility inspections for temporary mobile home sites, staff training, and community relations.
In addition, Dewberry has assisted with a variety of post-disaster studies and evaluations following each storm under Hazard Mitigation Technical Assistance Program (HMTAP) and Technical Assistance and Research Contract (TARC) assignments with FEMA. The firm's building science and hazard mitigation specialists helped Florida officials conduct an initial building triage of damages after Hurricane Charley; evaluate the performance of critical facilities, including shelters, hospitals, schools, emergency operations centers, and police and fire stations, after Hurricane Frances; evaluate structural failures in coastal areas following Hurricane Ivan, and develop recommendations to help prevent future damage to a wide range of building types.
Other assignments included high-watermark surveys of riverine and coastal areas, inland wind studies to verify the true velocity and corresponding damage patterns to buildings, and data collection to help the National Flood Insurance Program address structures that repeatedly experience losses.
Louisiana Plans for Major Hurricane Disasters
Had one of the devastating hurricanes targeted New Orleans and southeast Louisiana, state and local officials would have been ready. In July, Dewberry teamed with IEM, Inc., of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to conduct a seven-day emergency planning exercise that gauged the region's readiness for a catastrophic hurricane. The FEMA-sponsored exercise enabled participating agencies to evaluate and fine-tune their preparation, response, and recovery plans for a wide range of emergency conditions.
Dewberry provided expertise in the areas of hurricane tracking and inundation modeling; debris management, including dealing with hazardous materials and leaking underground storage tanks; urban search and rescue operations; and temporary housing. The firm also provided guidance in utilizing GIS to identify critical state-owned infrastructure and facilities.
Project Briefs
Prince William County, Virginia, has selected Dewberry to provide on-call engineering services in support of the county's Innovation @ Prince William Technology Park. Located just outside Manassas, the 500-acre park is home to high-tech companies such as Eli Lilly, American Type Culture Collection, and Mediatech, as well as the Prince William campus of George Mason University. The three-year contract for planning, infrastructure design, permitting assistance, and other services will enable the county to attract additional businesses to Innovation. Dewberry's first assignments include the design of more than 14,000 LF of new roadway and a major stormwater management project.
Dewberry appears at #26 in the 2004 "Giants" list, published by Building Design & Construction magazine. The firm is listed in the Engineers/Architects category, and held the same ranking in 2003. PSA, recently acquired by Dewberry, appears at #47 in the Architects/Engineers category. The rankings are based on annual billings in commercial and institutional architecture.
Dewberry, PSA Join Forces
Dewberry and PSA, a leading national design consultant, have agreed to merge the architecture and building engineering practices of both firms to form a new Dewberry affiliate called PSA-Dewberry Inc. Dewberry's acquisition of PSA is the culmination of a 20-year consulting relationship between the two firms.
PSA, formerly known as Phillips Swager Associates, has 160 employees in five offices in Illinois, Texas, and Virginia. The firm is widely recognized for public- and private-sector work, including expertise in criminal justice and public safety facilities, schools, higher education facilities, libraries, and federal government buildings.
The combined PSA-Dewberry organization, with more than 260 architects, interior designers, mechanical/electrical engineers, and structural engineers, will be one of the largest building design operations in the nation. Both Dewberry and PSA appear on the Engineering News-Record "Top 500" and Building Design & Construction "Giants" lists.
The Peoria, Illinois, headquarters of PSA will remain the headquarters for PSA-Dewberry. Dewberry's other disciplines, including land planning and civil engineering, transportation and bridge engineering, environmental and geographic information services, and federal program services, are not involved in the merger.
For more information on PSA, which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, visit http://www.psadewberry.com/.
