MERCED CREW CHASING KILLER DEADLINES |
Underground is currently installing the power distribution backbone throughout the town of Merced. The owner, Merced Irrigation District, awarded Underground a major contract in April to install approximately 90,000 feet of backbone, 71 manholes, and 42 switch pads/ boxes/stands. The District set a completion date of November 15, 1999, which includes a series of six milestones, and subsequent due dates. With three railroads and three state highways to cross six times, the biggest challenge will be acquiring all of the permits from the respective agencies in a timely fashion so as not to hinder production. M.I.D. has been in the business of generating wholesale electrical power for over 70 years. It is their belief that to best suit the District, they must develop a distribution system to lower the cost of power. In order to get the system in place and generating revenue, the District is committed to providing power to its first Merced customers this summer. The schedule is critical due to the fact that many of the new customers have a small time frame in which the transfer of the power can occur. If this window is missed, M.I.D. misses out on providing power during the busiest time of the year, and in some cases, having to wait until the following year. With this in mind, Underground has stepped in and completed 25 percent of the trenching |
and set 70 percent of the manholes in the first five weeks. The Merced crew anticipates finishing the project ahead of schedule, thus meeting these crucial deadlines. Rich Swanson is the general superintendent managing a supporting crew of five foremen, while Ashley Carter is managing the engineering side of the project. The foremen are Rick Martin, Alan Lee, Cliff Witham, Jose "Pepe" Machuca, and Gustavo Elias-Cortes. Alan, Gustavo, and Rick's crews are responsible for the machine trenching, while Pepe and his crew have been excavating and installing manholes. Along with contributing to the main trench, Cliff has been doing a little of everything including converting an abandoned irrigation siphon and concrete structure into a casing housing H.D.P.E., subsequently eliminating a difficult and costly bore. Rounding out the Merced crew are nearly 25 laborers, six operators, and numerous truck drivers. The Merced crew has been thriving on providing the service Underground has been known to deliver. Some of the challenges they face are three directional bores under Highway 99, two jack and bores under Highway 59, and a 500' directional bore under Bear Creek. Manuel Bros., another of Quanta's specialty contractors, will complete the directional bores. |
Underground was fortunate in hiring a large group of capable workers from the Central Valley. They have quickly adjusted to their new employer and immediately made an impressive impact. The original portion of the project is on target to be completed a month ahead of schedule. There will most definitely be additional work for the crew installing service runs off the main trench as well as assisting M.I.D. at the time of switching power providers. Rich and Ashley anticipate much more work in the area and are currently pursuing the possibilities. By Ashley Carter
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