The Partnering Excellence Awards competition, which began in 2005, is designed to recognize partnership teams that demonstrate a high degree of achievement through their practice of partnering principles and their application of the partnering processes related to the transportation industry.
At the 2016 Arizona Transportation Partnering Excellence Awards, presented at the ACEC Arizona Conference in Tucson, Fann Contracting Inc. received more awards than any other company for three completed roadway projects.
As the prime contractor, Fann received partnering excellence awards for the Interstate 17 McGuireville Rock Fall Containment project, the Interstate 40 Silver Springs project and the State Route 64 Tusayan Shoulder Widening project, all in the under $5 million category.
“When we partner, we’re all striving for a common goal – to produce safe and quality projects that achieve a budget,” said Mike Fann, president and owner of Fann. “Receiving Partnering Excellence Awards for three projects is a nice pat on the back to acknowledge that we are accomplishing what we strive for every day.”
I-17 McGuireville Rock Fall Containment
The project was designed to scale unstable material from the sinkhole debris fill and eroding slopes located just south of the McGuireville exit in the northbound direction of I-17. Along with rock fall mitigation and protection work, a new concrete safety barrier was installed, and both northbound lanes were re-paved within the project limits. Fann proposed value engineering alternate scaling methods that saved the owner time and money on the project while increasing safety. In addition to Fann, project team partners included ADOT Northcentral District (Flagstaff) and ADOT Roadside Development as owner; ADOT Road and Bridge Group and Gannet Fleming as designer; The Ground Level Company as the owner and operator of the high reach excavator (value-engineering); Adams Contracting and Excavating, Inc., who performed the manual scaling; and RGG United Contractors, Inc. as the DBE subcontractor for building the concrete barrier.
I-40 Silver Springs
The project was a mill and fill highway pavement preservation effort, which included removing and replacing asphalt on I-40 for about 8 miles in the westbound traffic lanes and shoulders, and another 1.6 miles in the eastbound lanes. An insufficient asphalt replacement depth in the westbound lane led the team to propose a value-engineering design with a thickened pavement solution, while still allowing the project to be completed on time and under budget. In addition to Fann, project team partners included ADOT Northwest District (Kingman), ADOT sub-consultants, and various subcontractors.
SR64 Tusayan Shoulder Widening
Tusayan, Ariz. is a town located just south of Grand Canyon National Park which serves as the gateway to the Grand Canyon, a site that tourists from all over the world come to see annually. The shoulder widening was necessary for safety enhancements and pullover capacity, as SR64 is a heavily travelled two-lane corridor. The town’s rock conditions, extreme visitor traffic, inclement weather and limited working window created challenges for the team that were ultimately overcome. The partnering team consisted of ADOT North Central District (Flagstaff) and their consulting representatives, Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon Nation Park Service, several subcontractors, third party quality control consultants, the Town of Tusayan and the town’s manager, as well as Tusayan utility representatives.
