SLOAN, Nev.--The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Las Vegas Resident Office is working on Phase II of the Army Reserve Center construction project here June 24.
When the District began Phase I of the project, all they had to work with was 45 acres of open desert, according to Ed Swedyk, the District’s construction representative for the project. Among the final products the District turned over in December 2013 were a two-story training and administrative facility, storage vaults, and a wastewater treatment plant with associated infrastructure.
“What we finally got finished and turned over was a very good product,” Swedyk said. “The users seem to be really happy with it. We had a few warranty issues, but you’d have that with any project. We’ve already corrected them.”
Phase II of the ARC began in September 2013, while Phase I was still underway. Teryl Stacey, project engineer for the LA District, said that was a trial for the team.
“One of the biggest challenges is that this project started out when Phase I was still finishing out,” Stacey explained. “Mostly, it was punch list items and they also had a major problem getting permits for their water system. And so, for a while there, we were juggling two contractors at the site.”
Phase II will consist of a single-story training building, a maintenance shop and an unheated storage building along with associated infrastructure. Swedyk said there are different issues associated with the new phase.
“Rock is a big challenge with Phase II,” he said. “When we do earth work and excavation, we knew there was a lot of caliche (hardpan or naturally cemented soil containing lime); but, we’ve run into a lot of hard rock that wasn’t planned for.”
Even with the challenges, Swedyk said the $16.6 million project is about 10 percent ahead of schedule. Both he and Stacey credit Macnak-Korte, the joint venture team serving as the District’s contractor on the project, for the speed at which the project is moving.
“They’ve been great to work with,” Stacey said. “They’re really easy to talk to. They’re really easy to negotiate with. With these guys, it’s felt like it’s just a bunch of guys getting together to get a job done.”
Josh Turley, the quality control coordinator for the Macnak-Korte team, said the partnership has been going well throughout the project.
“The systems that they (the Corps of Engineers) have in place for partnering are working very well,” Turley said. “I think we’re able to have very easy lines of communication with the guys, especially out here on site with Teryl and Ed. They’ve been a great help to us. Anything that we need, we’re able to get answers in a real timely manner.”
The project is scheduled for a completion date in May 2015. But, the whole team is hoping to finish sooner than that.