REGIONAL CONNECTOR PROJECT


and contractors combined with the team’s methodical, “no shortcut” approach contributed to the successful completion of that portion of the work in early 2019 according to Bragard. “Tis method had been used in


LA but without the constraint of the building settlement,” he said. “We were able to show that with proper modeling and careful controls we can use this method successfully.” In December of 2019, the Inter-


national Tunneling Association recognized the Project’s ground- breaking and innovative tunneling work, naming the Metro Regional Connector its “Project of the Year” in the association’s fifth annual Tunneling Awards competition.


Pictured here: the last form system installed on the plenum of the cavern to concrete the arch. Photo by Ken Karagozian


Regional Connector Project Continued from page 7


“From an engineering perspective,


that was one of the cooler aspects of the Project,” commented Schiraldi. Although it is slower than the


TBM process, SEM is an alternative excavation method that has proven cost effective in excavating larger,


more cavernous spaces. Te Metro Regional Connector Project represents one of the largest applications of this excavation method performed to date in Los Angeles. Extensive monitoring and sensi-


tivity analysis were required to avoid impact to nearby buildings and control any potential settlement. Daily meetings between the owner


Workforce and Safety Milestones


In addition to the congested


jobsite, complex logistics and technical excavation challenges, the Regional Connector Project has dealt with many of the same staffing hurdles that other largescale urban projects have faced in this era of skilled construction workforce shortages. At peak construction, there will be over 400 craft workers on site. More than 200 subcontractors


and suppliers, many of them local and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms, will have a hand in helping build the Project. Schiraldi is proud to point out


another major milestone the Project recently achieved: logging over 3 million worker hours (as of first quarter 2020) without a single lost time incident as of this writing. He attributed that to a safety culture that emphasizes a “care for life” approach that embraces continual training and management support. “We make it a point that all of


The team held a cavern excavation “hole through” celebration, marking a job safely done and a project milestone completed a month ahead of schedule. Photo by Ken Karagozian


8 May/June 2020


our management staff spend regular time in the field interacting with the foremen and craft and crews,” he said. “It’s just really a top-down approach to safety.”


California Constructor


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