We’ d process that material and place it in another spot.” Key to the geotechnical design and construction decisions were staff from Brierley Associates and Lithos Engineering – geotechnical engineers of record on the project.
To complicate matters, once construction started, the team noticed groundwater levels coming up as a continuation of the catastrophic 2013 floods the state experienced, which slowed work down and pushed the schedule into winter – requiring crews to work with dirt and water in freezing conditions.
Through all the hiccups, the team functioned collaboratively and cohesively, said Kirsten Starman, project administrator for Pinnacle Consulting Group, which manages the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority.
“ There was a tremendous amount of mutual respect and trust that allowed us to get through some fairly difficult situations, and the project really turned out wonderfully,” Starman said.
She praised Pletcher, in particular, for the“ open dialogue” they shared as well as his on-site presence, which she said“ was critical to this job.”
“ That let us really work through issues as they happened to keep them from becoming larger issues,” she said.
When the team encountered site conditions that hadn’ t been planned – typical to most projects – Starman said Pletcher was responsive, fair, and fast-acting.
“ There was an instance in building the box culvert down on County Road 50 where initial borings were showing bedrock at 11 feet and they ended up hitting it at 4 feet in some places, so we were looking at a lot of unplanned rock excavation,” Starman said.“ What I really appreciated about Ayres was they vetted this and every single change order. I did not see a change order until it was thoroughly vetted and negotiated with the contractor. That was amazing because usually I get the change order, and I have to beg the engineer to validate it for me.”
Stan Myers, Authority manager, said he also appreciated Ayres’ forward-looking approach.
“ I can think of many times through the design and construction process where Andrea or Chris would think of an issue before it came up,” Myers said.“ They’ d
CUTTING COSTS
Throughout the course of the Boxelder Basin
Regional Stormwater Authority projects, Ayres Associates worked with contractor Dietzler Construction on value engineering processes designed to reduce costs. One success story involved the decision to be more selective in material choices for the embankment. Using the best material for the core and a lower quality material, which is available in more abundance, for the outside of the embankment provided a significant cost savings. It also allowed the team to take the embankment from 4:1 slopes on the outside to 3:1 – therefore using less materials. The more technical embankment allowed the contractor to move less material, which saved them time and ultimately saved the Boxelder Basin Regional Stormwater Authority several hundred thousand dollars.
Dietzler Construction continued to bring forth value engineering suggestions reaching a gross savings of just over $ 300,000, which was split equally between the Authority and the contractor to incentivize their participation in the value engineering process.
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