ALABAMA STATE EDITION
231
65
72 Florence
2
Huntsville
20 Decatur
72
565 59
43
A Supplement to:
231
431
31
5
Gadsden
78 59 Anniston
20
Birmingham Bessemer
82 Tuscaloosa
65 280
20 82 Auburn
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80
85
Selma
Phenix City
Montgomery
82
August 17 2016
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43 84 431 331
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Vol. XXIX • No. 17
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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
Dothan
65 98
Mobile
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Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Jacksonville City Schools to See Modern Facilities By Cindy Riley CEG CorrEspondEnt
students attending Kitty stone Elementary in Jacksonville, Ala., are beginning the school year in a new, 94,000 sq. ft. (8,732 sq m) facility. the campus will serve youngsters from pre-K through 6th grade, and was designed to accommodate a future expansion for middle school students. Located on a 30-acre site, it will give Jacksonville City schools some of the most modern facilities in northeast Alabama. City and county officials, school board members, principals, students and community residents took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for Kitty stone, which is a replacement school on a site adjacent to Jacksonville High school. the total cost of the project is expected to cost more than $13 million, including design fees and furniture. Carrollton, Ga., based rA-LIn & Associates was hired as the construction manager to lead the building process. rA-LIn senior project manager derek smith said crews have been focused on a final cleaning, along with completing fencing, the playground, installation of low-voltage equipment and moving in owner-provided furniture. Enforcing compliance of project plans and specifications has been a chief concern, as well as maintaining the project schedule for owner move-in for the new school year. As for the most time-consuming part of the job, said smith, “Masonry is the critical path subcontractor, with electrical and mechanical running a close second.” First team Construction Company Inc. of Auburn, Ala., was selected to build the new school. First team Construction vice-president Chad Beasley said, “Currently, flooring finishes are going down, final MEp terminations are being made, casework is being installed and final paving of the parking areas is expected to begin. Canopies still have to be finished, as well. Classrooms floors will be waxed and the owner’s furniture is scheduled to arrive on site. It’s a major push in many areas, and we have been running a seven-day per week schedule, in order to get it done.” the project, which calls for multiple classroom wings, a gymnasium, cafeteria and a courtyard classroom area, has not been without its share of challenges. “Initially, the time line was more relaxed, but the site clearing and building pad prep took almost five months, when it should have taken just one,” said Beasley. “this was due to the weather conditions. We mobilized to the site in February, 2015. Afterward, we had multiple days of snow and ice. Even roads were closed at times, so crews couldn’t get to the job site and obviously couldn’t work it. After tem-
peratures got better, we had a very rainy spring in 2015. the wet weather continued to delay the grading schedule. “Grading was critical, in order to release other activities, but when such a critical trade is being delayed due to the weather conditions for the length of time it was in Jacksonville during that stage, it is difficult to overcome. our aerial pictures each month showed the wet conditions. Additionally, we had two wind damage occurrences during the building construction — one regarding slab prep where our wire mesh rolled up like a ball, and the second where a section of trusses dominoed over and had to be replaced. redoing this work also caused delays.” the existing property was approximately 34 acres of cut over timberland. “the biggest impact to us is the time it took to destump and grub the site,” Beasley said. “Burning was not allowed after day one, so all the debris had to be hauled off as disposed of off site.
“We had to clear and grub the entire site. then, the site was to be balanced to establish the building pads. Upwards of 80,000 cubic yards of dirt was moved. prior to construction, we value engineered the project, which included lowering the planned building elevation by six inches. It was a good thing, as a large bottom corner of the site unexpectedly had soils not suitable for the building pad and parking lot areas. the on site suitable soils almost ran out. But by cutting out and back filling borrow pits on site in the non-building areas, we were able to reach the needed sub-grade elevations. Beasley said the critical goal at this time is to get the user into the building, and have it pass a life safety inspection. “outside, we are now, for the most part, in a drought, and only a small amount of the area outside the building is irrigated. We have seeded/strawed the bulk areas of the site, but without needed moisture, this may have to be revisited. see KITTY page 6
First Team Construction photo
The project, which calls for multiple classroom wings, a gymnasium, cafeteria and a courtyard classroom area, has not been without its share of challenges.