Crossland Heavy Contractors specializes in wastewater treatment plants, dam retrofits and other civil construction projects.

If predictions from the nation’s top civil engineering and environmental organizations are any indicator of the demand civil contractors will face in coming years, business will be booming well into the future. Associations including the American Water Works Association, the EPA and the American Society of Civil Engineers report that within the next 20 years, between $250 and $500 billion will be required to maintain the nation’s drinking water and wastewater systems.

As overwhelming as these predictions may seem, such demand is being met by some of the most experienced civil contractors operating today. One example is Columbus, Kan.-based Crossland Heavy Contractors. The firm specializes in wastewater treatment plants, dam retrofits and other civil construction projects, President Mark Sell says.

Crossland Heavy Contractors operates as the civil construction arm of Crossland Construction. After 16 years in business, the parent company saw opportunity in the heavy construction segment and launched Crossland Heavy Contractors in 1993. Initial projects consisted mainly of bridge, concrete and small civil construction.  

As competition increased among bridge builders, Sell says Crossland discovered it could “use the same equipment to build a sewer plant” that it could in bridge building, and used the opportunity to enter other segments.  

Buoyed by the amount of work from water treatment facilities, in addition to other civil construction projects, Crossland’s labor force grew quickly and the company spawned two other divisions, opening offices in Tulsa, Okla., and Rogers, Ark., in 2003. This strategic decision was also the result of the company monitoring the rapid growth in the four-state area surrounding its corporate headquarters, Sell notes.

Roughly 70 percent of Crossland’s projects are retrofits and the remaining 30 percent is new construction. The firm has experienced 35 percent growth year-over-year for the past five years, Sell adds.

Protecting Natural Resources
Today, wastewater treatment construction represents more than 70 percent of Crossland’s total revenue, and is expected to increase in 2008 with demand for new construction and renovation.

Nationwide, construction in the water supply, sewage and wastewater treatment market is expected to increase by 7 percent to more than $34 billion in 2007, says FMI Corp. construction economist Heather Jones.

In January, Crossland bid the final phase of the renovation of water treatment facilities at the Beaver Water District in Lowell, Ark. The oldest regional water district in the state of Arkansas, it was formed in 1957 and today serves more than 9 percent of the state’s population. The district serves Benton and Washington counties in northwest Arkansas. Its main source of water is drawn from Beaver Lake. Approximately 42 million gallons of water is drawn from the lake per day and is pumped through the facility’s water treatment plant.

As part of a broader study funded by the Beaver Water District, University of Arkansas Professor Jeff Collins directed a population study that confirmed there could be up to 1.2 million people residing in northwest Arkansas by 2055. Benton and Washington represent the two fastest-growing counties in the state, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

In response, the district is undergoing a $98 million-plus expansion and renovation project that began in 2002 as part of its master plan, says COO Larry Lloyd. The facility currently serves more than 250,000 customers.

Driving the expansion and renovation are an aging infrastructure, rapid population growth and stricter regulations set forth by the EPA, such as amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, Lloyd notes.

Final Phases
In April, Crossland began work on one of the final phases of improving the Joe M. Steele water treatment plant. This plant was originally completed in 1966 with capacity to produce 10 million gallons of conventional drinking water per day.         

“We certainly felt like they were qualified to do the work,” Lloyd says, adding that this is the first time the district has worked with the contractor.

Crossland is responsible for several major elements of the $26.1 million renovation, which include replacing the coagulation and sedimentation basins, installing a chemical feed area and replacing the filter valves. As Sell explains, three cranes – one 165-ton crane and two rough-drain cranes – were purchased specifically for the projects.

“We were renting those types of cranes and finally got a job where we could put money towards owning that equipment,” he says. “The district built a complete new water treatment plant and had several expansions to that facility  and are renovating and expanding the old facility to add the capacity required for the future,” Sell explains.

The treatment plant is expected to be back on line in April 2009, bringing the total capacity of the Beaver Water District to a maximum of 140 million gallons of water a day. It is expected to cover the water needs of the district’s customers through 2020.

Although the project is still in the early stages of renovation, Lloyd says Crossland’s “planning and management have been most impressive at this point. “Everyone associated with the project team is very impressed with the planning stage and how they got started,” he notes, “even simple things like the way they [prepared] the area for construction. They constructed a metal building for a fabrication shop on site. They literally hit the ground running and they are ahead of schedule, even this early in the project.”

With several crews hitting four major areas of the job at once, Lloyd is confident that Crossland will meet the 24-month deadline. About 10 salaried and 50 hourly Crossland employees are working on the project, with an additional 20 expected to join at its peak.

Managing Costs
In his experience working with municipalities, Sell says funding is always a concern; therefore, the company works hard to provide cost-effective solutions.

“From a city standpoint, getting funding seems to be the biggest obstacle,” he says, adding, “coming up with $3 or $4 million in funding for a 3,000-person community” can be struggle.

Although the Beaver Water District did not have problems securing funding for its project – over the years, it had built up significant cash reserves and sold roughly $60 million in revenue bonds in 2003 to cover costs – the increasing cost of construction raised the preliminary budget.

Initial planning for the final phase was estimated at $10 million, but additional improvements were identified and construction costs increased, pushing the cost to over $26 million, Lloyd says. The utility raised its customers’ water rates 15 percent that same year. “We still have a very competitive water rate, but the only way for us to have an income is through the sale of water,” Lloyd adds.

Volatile construction costs have also been noticeable in civil construction, Sell says. “Rebar and concrete have really escalated in the past five years,” he says. “The engineers lag on their estimates; there have been a few jobs that we bid low, but by the time we get to the work, a lot of the budgets are five years old.”

Sell mitigates cost concerns through early integration. “If we can get in the door and work with the owner early, we can try to get as much of the budget that we can,” he says.  

A Job Done Right
Managing complicated retrofit projects takes close supervision, which Sell says Crossland handles through daily communication with the on-site engineer and construction team.

“We have a good relationship [with municipalities] and they generally work with us to resolve any problem,” Sell comments. “They’re trying to get the job done right, and we’re trying to have it end up a quality project.”

The right mix of employees can be the difference between a project’s success and failure. Crossland grooms its work force through mentoring and by promoting from within. With a tight labor pool, the company also attracts new employees through its internship program.

Between Crossland and its parent company, the firm employs 100 interns, 12 of which are working in heavy contracting. Interns are recruited from construction schools in northern Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Now 200 employees strong, the company intends to hire an additional 50 people this year to supplement its growth. “We’re not the biggest, but we’re known as a quality contractor that’s good to work with,” he says. “We want owners to want us to come back. We do a good job for them because we have the experience.”