Page 14 - Mississippi 811 Magazine 2018 Issue 4

Th ' fB'| ' h f ' I
e Clty o I oxl pus es or more dla ogue
t to s stakeholde s a d 0'
among con rac r , r n lty
av E11 Sim Wmer
all node has liis- liands- full More lhan 10 years aller
,3 . — Hurncane l<alrina ripped lhrnugh lhe cnaslal cily oi
_ - L. ,, » W‘ Bll0X|, repairs lo iniraslruclure are slill nngrnng. As
, ‘ ~~ , ‘ ' . , V J“ ' lhe cily's program manager, wall is coordinaling a
> —~ ' - ’ ‘I - ‘ ,_ p ‘ ' s334—rnillinn eilorl lo rehuilrl much or lhe town's waler, s-anilary sewer
anrl rlraina e s- wtzms
Q 1“ _ , lrll ..a~ . 3 >
fig ,, .. Li L‘ we spoke wilh wall in April 2017 aliuul an inilialive he is- driving
l , ‘ al City oi Efloxl 7 mquirlng lhe engineers who design and s-pee lhe
' -‘ , -.;_ ' cilys new lacililies lo coorrlinale wilh ulilily owner-operalors pnor lo
‘ ‘ 1 ' “- compleling lheir design work.
l '7 The lhoughl is-, ii designers know ahead oi lime exaclly where lhe
.§_‘~a ,_ ., “ ulililies are localed, llicy can lake aclinns lo liinil rlisruplions al a
,. — * minimum, or even make small changes in the rouling llial cuuld
‘ _.g§' “ potentially eliminale canflicls all logelher.
:. ‘° -ff-’"’s V _ .‘ - ln lhe lasl couple of monlhs-, they've had riicelings lhal Included
'2. . Ti . —~: Mississippi 811 off|E|al.s, ulililies, engineers and municipal personnel
T‘ . r_ ’=\ ’ who have reviewed delailerl maps of prniecl areas and highlighled
* ‘‘ areas whcre they saw polenlial utilily cnnfllcts. Engineers, armed wilh
' ,' l ' ’,_» ~'if3.,‘ - ' grounrl-penelraling radar, wenl inln lhe iield lo idenliiy pulenlial
‘ « V r I underground lacililies and adrlcd lheir landings lo lhe proposed
., H g .: r;l._.. . " 3: :. zxcavatlon naps
/ " ' *" " " , ' '_.’s wall believes lhal gelling all of lhe slakelinlrlers lugelher al the lahle
._. , - -‘Tm anrl havlng an open rlialogue will ullimalely help keep workers anrl
_ - ‘5-. I . ‘‘ lhe public sale, and reduce cuslly change orders, which can slrelch lhe
,3, ‘ v 9 ‘W’ b“d3“
, -' 1 V ,- ;' I4 ‘l‘- ‘.r$g\“\s*.1 . Budding is ahuul lo go oul fur lhe nexl porlion of prniecls, which an:
i . . r A -, . r i . » - .
, I » 33 ~., « , in lhe sensiliire Back nay area — a vibrant enlcnainrnenl dislncl lhal
, I A .7 ~ 1%
' * inclurles some of the (|ty's largesl revenue sources hnlels, casinos and
reslauranls.
_ V ~ ”We are gelling lhe lasl of ulilily i‘ixm~ ln irlenliiy where lheir lines are
/ 3 far lhe nerl proiecl, and will senrl lliem inlu lhe design engineer," wall
-, . - 1-: _,.- « sairl. ”W£ wlll do locales lhrough Mississippi B11, and see il lliere are
in , , , , any conllirls wilh lhe design."
7‘; / ‘ ' _ . ,,‘.o!‘’ s where lhey see a poIsnIlr1lconflItl,Ihuy'llcalllhz ulilily owner/
.. ’ ‘"5 :. ,l?— . ' l 9' ' ' uperalor inr a hclrl meeling wilh lhe designer and cily oiiicials lu see it
3"‘ ‘ V’-,!l¢"" ' "‘ \_.§ -“Y lliey can address lhe issue before cunslruclion begins.
pug M‘ ll's likely lhal they will also employ lhe excavalinn lechnique called
77”‘ ' ' pulholing ln gel pusilive visual confirmalion of lhe hni-izonlal pusilion
V e r» . anrl rleplh of the line. Pnlhnllng involves using high pressure waler
" ., ' anrl a large vacuum lruck lo expose underground lacililies quickly
and wilh much less chance fur damage lhan when using hard lools
i like a backhoe or even a handheld s-huvel.
" 1 "’ . Having all of lhe slakeholders on lhe same page pi-ior ln cnnslruclion
1 - will hnpelully reduce some pnlenlial lnr cunflicts and damages, but
v"~, _ wall emphasized lhal lhis isn'l a one-siderl or accus-alory requesl
‘r’_ _ ' ”We wanl lu make sure il comes across Lhal we are nol againsl ulililies
- ‘ ’ nrcnnIra:lozs— il's- a parlncrs-liip," he sairl ”lfwa have a confllct
r - - _ , .~ ‘A in lhe design, let's sil dovm and lalk about il and iigure oul how lo
i,«7'-“‘ . -“ ~ ‘ "- . prevenl issues lieiore lhey happen. we lhink lhis is a better approach
s \ '- } I la lonk al lhese lliings now, ralherlhan relocale or repair."
, i .,r‘ _ . _ ’~, ‘ ‘ . l—le's curious ln see it Lhe s-avings ui lime and funds carries lhough
l An” ,.. ev . -
v r - design phase. A large porlion oi lhe proiecl has been cornpleierl
12. Mlsslsslflfllflll 2015, Issued