Our team adapts to nature’s curveballs to clean up complex site on time and on budget

Client challenge

Our client’s desire to clean up a former manufactured gas plant came with its share of challenges — literally from all sides. The site was nestled next to a recreational bike path and had a 6,000-gallon per minute creek running through an underground culvert beneath it. Removing the coal tar impacted soil and demolishing the old plant infrastructure while not disturbing the community’s use of the path was further complicated by having to divert the underground culvert during construction.

With a goal of having this project on its books by the end of the year, our client turned to its longstanding partner, Haley & Aldrich, to deliver a holistic design/build approach on time and on budget.

Our approach

With just three months to complete the project, Haley & Aldrich’s engineering and construction services staff formed a collaborative project team with our client. Our combined team solved problems in real-time and adapted design and construction plans to address obstacles as they arose.

Unforeseen site circumstances included a substantial rise in groundwater as a result of considerable precipitation, making the original design of the creek’s diversion obsolete. And then nature threw another curveball — Michigan’s Upper Peninsula received 80 inches of snow over the course of the project. But the project didn’t grind to a halt for change orders or rescheduling. On the contrary, because we were already working as an integrated team, we redesigned, proactively adjusted, and found efficiencies to deliver our promised value.

Value delivered

• Completed cleanup on time, thanks to the one-team design/build approach, and the team’s perseverance in working through the extremely adverse weather conditions
• Maintained the community’s health and safety despite the technical challenges
• Allowed our client to meet its financial goals before its fiscal year closed

Additional Details

• Properly obtained permits and third-party access
• Expedited design/build project
• Safely completed the self-performed remedial construction
• Used a dermal contact barrier to expedite future reuse of the site
• Installed a 72-inch diameter reinforced concrete pipe
• Conducted perimeter air monitoring