With ‘32 years of excellence’ behind it, Shirley Contracting Co. LLC partners with parent company The Clark Construction Group to complete Route 28 freeway corridor improvement project in Virginia.

Shirley Contracting LLC has been constructing and reconstructing highways, bridges, paths, trails and railways for more than 30 years. With its core values of safety, integrity, pride, people and innovation, the company has completed many projects, one of its latest being the Route 28 freeway corridor improvement project in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, Va.

In the mid-1980s, Virginia, Fairfax and Loudoun counties teamed with Route 28 landowners to form the first transportation improvement district in the commonwealth. Route 28 tax revenues and VDOT allocations are used to fund the project, with a back-up guarantee by the counties. The improvements call for Route 28 to be a limited-access raod with the construction of 13 grade-separated interchanges and the widening of the original two-lane road to eight lanes.

Phase I of the improvements, completed in the early 1990s, widened Route 28 from two to six lanes and constructed three interchanges at Route 50, the Dulles toll road and Route 7. These improvements were all completed under a traditional design/bid/build method of delivery.

Jon Harman, vice president and project manager on the Route 28 project for Shirley Contracting Co., says the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) awarded Shirley Contracting Co. and The Clark Construction Group Inc. the first Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) design/build project in northern Virginia in September 2002.

The PPTA legislation allows private companies to submit unsolicited proposals to the commonwealth to design, construct and finance roadway improvements. The Shirley/Clark team submitted their proposal to complete the Route 28 improvements in 2000. After a competitive bid process, the state selected the Shirley/Clark team and moved forward with a comprehensive agreement that allowed the project to begin in 2002.

Currently, Shirley is finishing the last of the six initially funded interchanges. Harman adds that five interchanges are already open to traffic, and the sixth will be open to traffic by the end of the year. The completion of the sixth initially funded interchange is scheduled for summer of 2007.

Harman says Shirley Contracting won the bid because of the overall feasibility of its proposal, its solid reputation and the quality of its work.

“We had the right concept from the beginning, which was to implement the original design concepts, completed by Dewberry & Davis, explored in the 1980s, he says. With Dewberry on our team, we knew first hand that improving mobility and maintaining access, while at the same time transforming Route 28 to a limited access facility, would be the primary goal of the improvements. Our concept was the best concept, when it came down to it. The competing proposal was to create a toll facility. That concept wasn't feasible in the end, and the landowners agreed that ours was the better option.

“Also, we have an excellent reputation with VDOT,” he adds. “Our reputation for finishing projects ahead of schedule and in a safe, quality, manner helped us [win the bid], as well.”

Costly Challenges
Harman says a big challenge in working on a fixed price project like Route 28 is keeping costs under control. “In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in labor, material and equipment costs,” Harman says. “It is a challenge to keep under control. We negotiate prices and forecast as best as we can. If we have enough of a handle on a design early on, we can lock in material prices. Staying on or ahead of schedule also plays a big part in controlling our costs.”

Another ongoing challenge, he adds, is dealing with shortages in labor. Harman says Shirley recruits locally and in nearby states in an effort to hire and retain skilled employees.

Sticking with the Schedule
A challenge specific to Route 28, Harman says, is sticking to the schedule. “We have to be flexible with our schedule, and in case of a problem, we must always have a plan B,” Harman says. “For example, if something takes longer than expected, we have to be able to work around it [like in the case of the W&OD trail] without impacting our overall schedule.”

Harman says that one of the keys to staying on schedule is effective communication among the various disciplines.

Progress meetings are “religiously” conducted at least once a week, he says, to review the company's progress and integrate all of the project components.

Lessons Learned
Harman summarizes several of the reasons behind the success of the Route 28 corridor improvements project as being effective communication, integration among the project disciplines, focus on the schedule, and innovative and dedicated team members.

But he goes on to add that “having a partner such as VDOT on this project has greatly benefited the tax district and the public.

“They continually view the project with an open mind and have recognized the obvious value of completing the work design/build. The project is a great example of a true public-private partnership,” he says.