Past Performance - Heavy Civil

Project Description

The Federal Highways Administration contracted West Point Contractors (WPC) as a prime contractor to repair the roadways, parking lots, and drainage structures in the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The project area, located in the North Rim, only opens on a seasonal basis. The limited access due to the weather (snowfall) required that we work on an accelerated schedule.

Scope of Work

• Cleaning and repairing 155 linear feet of deteriorating culverts with 16 historic stone masonry headwalls for a 18 inch pipe culvert.
• Installing one stone masonry headwall for a 24 inch pipe culvert.
• Asphaltic concrete placement including replaceming of 3,440 linear feet of asphalt curb.
• Replacing 1,518 square yards of asphalt sidewalk including repaving car pullouts and vista points.
• Paving 526 square yards of parking lots.
• Cleaning and sealing ten miles of crack along Cape Royal Road.
• Installing 4,986 tons of 1 inch deep asphaltic ultra-thin bonded wearing course.
• Adding 146 signs and 150,949 linear feet of striping.
• Adding 120 linear feet of ADOT Type 2 guard rail and 132 steel delineators.

Project Challenges

WPC encountered challenges with regards to access, communications and product availability. For instance, there were no asphalt batch plants near the project. Due to the sensitivity of the location and the high profile of the park, WPC was restricted from setting up a batch plant near the project. The mating season of the protected Spotted Owl also restricted asphalt production from taking place during the more favorable summer months. Asphalt production was therefore scheduled for September. The batch plant was set up 100 miles away at an elevation of 9,000 feet with trucks navigating through mountainous terrain (about a 3-hour truck route). This made placing conventional asphalt nearly impossible. As a result, warm asphalt technology was used for the first time ever in a National Park. This allowed asphalt placement temperatures to be as low as 210 degrees, about 80 degrees below conventional asphalt and provided the client with a smooth uniform product that would not otherwise be achieved.