Maintaining Singular Focus Contributes to Mid-Coast Corridor Project Securing the 2023 Build America Grand Award
BY NICOLE NEEDLES
The Mid-Coast Corridor Project was actually eight projects in one. Not only did it involve facets completely different from one another – an interstate expansion, light rail construction, bridge improvement, parking garages and more – this project took place during a global pandemic.
Despite these extraordinary conditions, it was completed on time and within budget, securing the 2023 Construction Risk Partners Build America Grand Award for the joint venture team of Mid-Coast Transit Constructors.
Multiple projects rolled into one created a unique challenge for Project Manager Eric Meisgeier. Coordination between all parties – including Stacy and Witbeck, Herzog, Skanska, San Diego Association of Governments, University of California San Diego, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, North County Transit District, City of San Diego and California Department of Transportation – throughout the multi-year project was key.
“There was a project-first mentality,” Meisgeier said. “Everybody was focused on solving the problems and getting the job done.”
The total construction cost was $1.49 billion and included an 11-mile extension of the Metropolitan Transit Systems (MTS) light rail, two commuter and freight railroad double-tracking projects, a new bikeway, an arched roadway bridge over Interstate 5 and an improvement to the UCSD campus. This bandwidth traditionally would have been spread across multiple different contractors. However, Meisgeier noted this was not the case because jurisdictions would have overlapped, and in some cases, work on either side might have been undone by the other team out of necessity. Although it was a huge undertaking, it made the most sense to bestow this upon one group.
Challenges Presented. Solutions Created
One glaring challenge was working against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each morning, the team of nearly 500 gathered for a briefing. Disseminating information to such a large group and maintaining check-in stations that kept workers 6 feet apart required some effort.
“We made it like an assembly line. It ended up taking longer than pre-COVID. But we were able to get through it and keep everybody safe,” Meisgeier said.
In addition to these slowdowns, they utilized 56-hour rail shutdowns, called AWWs, to construct “shoo flys” five to seven times a year. Since these AWWs are scheduled years in advance, it was critical that the schedule not slip because a one-week slippage of activity could impact the overall schedule for six months. Although the leadership team was already on top of prioritizing given the looming budget and turnaround time, this was all the more reason to take a look at priorities and create hard deadlines for small milestones to make sure everything stayed on track, despite the pandemic and additional shutdowns.
Another issue involved primary power drops. The team had to work mainly in areas where there wasn’t sufficient power.
It took coordination with the local utility provider and an alternating system to get the needed power without disrupting other power in the area. In the same realm of technical difficulties, on the railways, all construction and manpower had to stop when trains were coming through. As a highly trafficked area with approximately 55 trains coming in throughout the day, it was difficult to do any continuous work. The solution involved establishing a barrier between the workers and the tracks. This fix allowed them to do most of the work needed without stopping, even when trains were coming through. This idea was so well-received it is now a regularly integrated part of construction on the railways in the area.
Preventative planning is critical with such a monstrosity of a task, similar to a game of chess, where players need to think several steps ahead and solve problems before they even arise. However, not everything can be predicted. So it was vital to have unmatched problem-solving skills when needed. One instance where Meisgeier’s team solved an unexpected problem and even saved money was when they switched wall types from a soldier pile wall to a counterfort wall system. The original design included drilling into the soil and putting in beams. From previous excavations, the team was aware of cobbles in the ground. Installing the counterfort wall system reduced risk greatly, maintained the wall’s integrity and saved $6 million. An out-of-the-box project brings unexpected problems requiring unique solutions, which the Mid-Coast Corridor team delivered.
Another challenge came with Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals. Although they were all under one umbrella, this was, in theory, eight separate projects. Therefore, each one had separate DBE goals.
“Tracking and ensuring we met those DBE goals by supplement was a challenge. At the end of the day, we had over $240 million of DBE participation. So we well exceeded the goals, and there were lots of success stories,” Meisgeier said. “It ended up being a huge success for the project, but it definitely was a daunting challenge.” With each limb of the overall project being treated like different projects, there were separate outlets for funding, administrative work and contracts. Meisgeier said that to accomplish this, they had to create tracking software that didn’t exist previously and work with all the different wants and needs of the many team members on the project. This meant extreme organization, communication and innovation for the leaders involved.
Culture-wise, it took small shifts in day- to-day behavior and monitoring to make a big difference in the long run. Even on normal project sites and jobs, people are people and emotions come into play. Meisgeier noted the importance of keeping tabs on negative emotions and tensions in favor of a team-centered attitude. Small changes, such as discouraging unproductive conversations on jobsites, were also made. This attention to detail made a larger difference in the grand scheme of the project. The main focus was on preventing problems rather than waiting until they arose.
“At the senior leadership level, we would meet with SANDAG in-depth twice a week for almost eight years, and we got to know each other well. Then when there were problems, we felt comfortable being honest and transparent,” Meisgeier said. “Really good people on the job and lots of communication is how we conquered it.” Overall, it was a combination of hard work each day on-site, ingenuity, creativity, solutions to unconventional issues, communication and an unwavering sense of teamwork. The singular goal was not lost on any team member, and this should set a precedent for future commercial project success.
“Staying flexible and having a project-first mentality was the key. The entire team – owners, project managers – put their egos aside and focused on getting the job done on time and on budget. That’s really the cornerstone of the project’s success,” Meisgeier said. “There were many challenges, but everybody rolled up their sleeves and figured it out together regardless of whose responsibility it was. We didn’t let who was responsible drive the solutions. We had a singular focus on getting the job done.”