An innovative water treatment facility and an iconic bridge had something in common last week when they both won prestigious Alliant Build America Awards from the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) at the AGC’s 96th Annual Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sundt won the Environmental Enhancement category for its work on the Ocotillo Brine Reduction Facility renovation construction project in Chandler, Arizona, and the Highway and Transportation Renovation category for the West 7th Street Bridge in Fort Worth, Texas.
The $75 million Ocotillo Brine Reduction Facility project was completed in April of 2014. A global semiconductor manufacturer selected Sundt and Carollo Engineers, Inc. as the design-build team to reconstruct the water treatment plant, which supports the City of Chandler’s Reverse Osmosis Facility (CHRO) as it treats additional waste streams brought on by the manufacturer’s recently built Ocotillo Campus fabrication facility. The water treatment construction project included modifications to the existing CHRO influent pump station, a modified finished water pump station, a repurposed brine concentrator, sludge storage, a sludge dewatering facility with belt filter presses, repurposed brine evaporation ponds, chemical feed systems, electrical buildings and instrumentation, and supervisory control and data acquisition programming and upgrades.
The West 7th Street Bridge connects downtown Fort Worth with the city’s thriving cultural district, and is the first structure of its kind in Texas. Its 12 precast, post-tensioned arches were built offsite and moved into place on either side of the existing bridge before it was demolished and reconstructed – in just 150 calendar days. The bridge construction project was completed a month ahead of schedule.
Build America Awards honor the builders of the nation’s most impressive construction projects. They recognize excellence in state-of-the-art advancement, project management, innovation, sustainability, client services, community contributions, safety and meeting the challenges of a difficult job.