ECS Mid Atlantic LLC

General Contractor:

HNTB / Fluor-Lane

Client:

HNTB

Scope Of Work

This five-phase $1.4B design-build project involved widening the I-495 Capital Beltway and constructing the High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes. This project included installation of 300 drilled shafts and the construction of approximately 50 bridges, many of which are multi-span structures with piers supported on drilled shafts (caissons).

ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC was asked to join the I-495 HOT Lanes team after the project was well into the design phase, replacing a previously-hired geotechnical engineer. Construction was scheduled to begin, but the project team lacked the geotechnical information required to design and construct the foundation elements. To get the project’s critical path back on track, the prime engineering firm had made the commitment that they would produce 100 plans sets in 100 days. In order to meet the demands of this extremely compressed schedule, they needed reliable information about the site’s subsurface conditions, as well as geotechnical engineering design recommendations that would enable them to complete final design of the foundation elements and begin construction.

ECS rapidly mobilized staffing resources from several Mid-Atlantic locations and created multiple teams to help meet the critical deadlines. ECS managed multiple concurrent subsurface field investigations and geotechnical analysis, and developed the required design reports. ECS met with prime team members onsite almost daily: The Virginia Department of Transportation, the general engineering consultant, and Federal Highway Administration personnel. This intensive, collaborative process helped bring the construction project’s schedule back up-to-speed, enabling our teaming partner to meet their goal, and allowing construction to begin.

The ECS team also provided post-design services and helped the team implement design changes as needed. ECS provided 24-hour reports throughout the drilled shaft installation process.