SKANSKA SHARPENS FOCUS ON SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PROGRAM

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Skanska Sharpens Focus On Supplier Diversity Program

Skanska USA, a global construction and development firm, has appointed Joycelyn Yue as national director of supplier diversity for its building operations, revitalizing and sharpening focus on the company’s leadership in this space.

In this role, Yue will lead the U.S. building operation’s national supplier diversity team of professionals located in 23 offices and will partner with regional and national leadership to further develop and elevate the company’s Supplier Diversity Compliance program. Yue is based Los Angeles, Calif.

“Skanska’s mission to build for a better society includes maximizing opportunities for small and diverse suppliers and connecting with the communities where we build. Joy brings to Skanska a wealth of experience in supplier diversity and community engagement, along with a passion for diversity and inclusion,” said Jeff Cruz, Skanska ethics and compliance officer. “We are thrilled to have Joy join and lead our supplier diversity team.”

In addition to the hiring of Yue, Rita Ohaya, Johnny Ortiz and Marcus Thompson have been promoted to the role of regional director of supplier diversity, joining current regional director, Donna Licciardi. Each will have overall responsibility for a region within the supplier diversity program while focusing greater emphasis on subcontractor development, community engagement, and outreach.

Emily Madero and Enzo Mungu also have joined the supplier diversity team in the newly created role of supplier diversity compliance manager.

Yue joined Skanska from Southern California Edison where she served as supplier diversity senior program manager responsible for developing, managing and executing supplier diversity programs in compliance with California Public Utilities Commissions’ General Order 156, designed to facilitate the inclusion, development, and outreach of small and diverse businesses. Previously she was director of programs for the Southern California Supplier Development Council. 

WATAUGA from page 28

Bridge Site’s Terrain Presents Challenges

Before Wright Brothers started its work on the Watauga River Bridge project, Ball said she and the other engineers in the company at once realized the worksite’s terrain, so close to N.C. 105, would be the project’s biggest challenge.

“The existing topography had 60-ft.- to more than 80-ft.tall cut slopes hanging over the existing shoulders of the highway,” Ball said. “This requires us to flag the traffic as a stop-and-go operation while we excavate the upper sections of each cut. This has extended the timeline of the excavation but is the only way to keep the traveling public safe during construction.”

Another problem arose when Wright Brothers began to remove the hillside rock on the east side of the highway.

“The project was designed to have pre-split rock slopes at all the mountain cuts,” she said. “When our crews pioneered into the cut slopes, we realized the rock did not go to the top of the mountains. The dirt and soft rock above the pre-split caused design issues. The rock can be presplit at a steeper slope than the dirt or soft rock. This has resulted in additional design and right-ofway purchasing by NCDOT.”

The transportation agency is mitigating the future slide potential by installing soil nail walls with rock mesh or shotcrete facing in the areas of incompetent rock or dirt, she added.

“We also are proposing a boulder scape finish to the wall on Broadstone Road,” said Ball. “This finish blends well into the natural landscape of the surrounding mountains.”

So far, Wright Brothers has excavated the northern cut to an elevation that gives access to the slope stabilization crew and began excavation on the southern cut.

“Our subcontractor will install the slope protection from the top down to the excavated bench, then we will excavate that area more with the slope protection following each phase,” she said. “We intend to move the crews around to the three main cuts so this work will be continuous until we reach road grade. This work likely will take up to a year to complete.”

The cuts must be fully excavated, she added, before work can start on building the new Watauga River Bridge.

Two-Phased Bridge Replacement

Just feet from the junction of Broadstone Road and N.C. 105, Wright Brothers will not only perform the bridge replacement — both its demolition and reconstruction — but the roadway grading at the site as well.

The contractor will take down the bridge, built in 1955, based upon the structure’s original blueprints given to them by NCDOT.

“We are fortunate to be supplied with these plans for our demo planning,” Ball noted. “It is remarkable to see the hand drafted plans and the skill that was involved. The demo will occur at the beginning of the third year of the project in 2024.”

NCDOT designed the curved bridge to be erected with one interior bent.

The first phase will build the larger structure east of the current bridge and be wide enough to move the existing traffic onto it, Ball explained. Next, Wright Brothers will tear down the old bridge and extend the width of the new structure in Phase Two. This approach keeps drivers moving across the Watauga River throughout the timeframe of the project.

She noted that each phase of the bridge construction will take one year to complete.

So far in 2022, Wright Brothers has employed about 20 people at the bridge site, in addition to the various subcontractor crews. During the bridge building and paving work in 2023 and 2024, Ball expects a total crew size of 35 folks.

She added that her company “is blessed” to have a team of North Carolina-based major scope subcontractors on hand, including Statesville’s Maymead for the asphalt paving; Ameritech Slope Constructors in Asheville for the wall and slope stabilization; Hamptonville’s Foothills Construction Services for the erosion and grassing; and MB Haynes, an Asheville electrical company, handling the signal work.

The beautiful Watauga River, from its headwaters only a few miles south of the bridge at Sugar Mountain, is an environmentally sensitive waterway throughout its 78-mi. path into eastern Tennessee. As such, Ball explained that Wright Brothers “is dedicated to conducting our construction activities in a non-invasive” manner.

“This project has plans and procedures set in place to minimize the impact and protect endangered species such as the Eastern Hellbender [the largest salamander species in North America],” she said. “The NCDOT also designed a biofiltration conveyance system that we are looking forward to building at the bridge site.” Moving Tons of Material Requires Top Equipment

As might be imagined, Wright Construction’s crews have

focused their attention on moving tons of earth and rock in 2022. Later, when the bridge construction begins, the company’s subcontractors will tackle other specialized tasks to get the job done. “The project has approximately 150,000 cubic yards of unclassified excavation,” according to Ball. “We estimated nearly all of that would have to be mass blasted, [requiring] around 8,000 bore holes.” When the bridge replacement gets going next year, she added, plans call for more than 1,200 ft. of storm drainage pipe; 8,700 tons of asphalt; 2,000 ft. of curb and gutter; 1.4 million lbs. of structural steel girders; 300,000 lbs. of reinforcing rebar; 815 ft. of 14-in. steel piles; and 1,400 cu. yds. of concrete. Of course, all those materials and their use at the Watauga River Bridge crossing will mean Wright Brothers needs to bring in a variety of equipment and tools of all sizes, among them cranes, excavators and rock-drilling machines. Ball said her company has utilized several Caterpillar machines on the project so far in 2022, including a D5N dozer, a D6T dozer, a 905H wheel loader and a 323F medium-sized excavator. In addition, it has a Link-Belt TCC-750 crane on site, as well as a Broce RC350 Broom and a Terex Reedrill model 345 drill. Stowers Machinery, an eastern Tennessee equipment dealer with locations in Chattanooga, Crossville, East Knoxville, Sevierville, the TriCities and West Knoxville, is the provider for most of Wright Brothers’ fleet. “Our structural steel girder erection also will require renting cranes of a large scale,” Ball explained. When that time comes, Wright Brothers will turn to Crane & Rigging Corp., headquartered in Yadkinville, N.C., she said. The company also has High Country branches nearby in Blowing Rock and Asheville. “We also rent various short-term equipment for the day-to-day operations, such as a water truck, pump or trailer,” Ball added. Experienced Contractor Wright Brothers has been performing largescale, heavy civil construction projects since Wright Brothers photo Stowers Machinery, an eastern Tennessee equipment dealer with locations 1961, when two brothers, James and Robert in Chattanooga, Crossville, East Knoxville, Sevierville, the Tri-Cities and Wright, decided to borrow their father’s bulldozWest Knoxville, is the provider for most of Wright Brothers’ fleet. er and work together helping their neighbors dig out ponds. Today, Wright Brothers is a regional full-service civil and industrial building firm with annual revenues of approximately $200 million. It has completed over $1.3 billion in heavy civil, highway, concrete structures and paving contracts in just the last 10 years, including more than 150 bridges. The company also employs more than 600 people at full production and owns more than 400 pieces of construction equipment. Among Wright Brothers’ services are asphalt paving, rock and earth excavation, rock drilling, blasting, crushing, and screening, in addition to graded stone placement, storm drainage installation, leachate collection installation, foundation work, steel erection, utility installation, miscellaneous concrete construction and erosion control installation. Its service area includes Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia and the two Carolinas.  CEG