Since 2018, Aldridge has been continually providing transmission drilling services to utility and line contractor partners in Florida. Some of the complexities our crews encounter in this hot and humid climate include difficult access, environmental protection, environmental restrictions, congested work areas, open-water work, challenging drilling conditions, extreme weather, and sinkholes. That is no challenge for the seasoned, hard-working crews in our Foundation group as they are innovative thinkers who manage our clients’ risk to successfully deliver.
By living and breathing The Aldridge Way, we turned a single project into an entire program with ten drill rigs and 80 Aldridge employees stationed in Florida, making our footprint in the Southeast.
ANDYTOWN, FL
The first drilling project awarded was the Corbett-Sugar-Quarry 500 kV transmission project in Andytown, Florida in February 2018. This new 500 kV line runs from North Miami, FL to West Palm Beach, FL, through the Everglades where we encountered environmentally sensitive areas, extreme heat, and dangerous wildlife. This was the first project that Aldridge completed with part of the Right-of-way (ROW) access being water canals. We developed an innovative solution by putting amphibious tracks on our drill rigs and excavators to make sure that we could safely access these locations and install foundations. Crews worked to utilize large concrete hoppers to self-propelled barges to transport concrete to these holes through the water canals. Our support equipment included several boats and material barges. Having worked on a people mover program for a local amusement park, Aldridge was no stranger to learning to work with the Florida weather.
BAY COUNTY, FL
When a transmission line was damaged beyond repair during Hurricane Michael, Aldridge was called in for an emergency rebuild of a collapsed 230kV line from Port St Joe to Calloway. Working long hours to quickly restore power within two months, crews installed 320 new structures with either aggregate or concrete backfill. Halfway through the project, Aldridge picked up additional scope, which included 167 helical anchors.
LAKE MARY, FL
Leveraging our established strong relationship with another utility, Aldridge was called to install two drilled shaft foundations in a gated community in Lake Mary. The work had to take place overnight and wildlife in the area included bears, snakes, and gators so our crews had to be mindful of the potential safety hazards.
JUPITER, FL
Building on a strong reputation of delivering quality work with a quick mobilization, crews helped install two drilled shaft foundations overnight during an outage in Jupiter, Florida. Aldridge had to deal with very tight access in close proximity to existing structures.
NAPLES, FL
In Naples, crews worked on drilled shaft foundations on the side of a very busy roadway. Navigating the limited work windows due to traffic control restrictions proved challenging. Additionally, there were low overhead communication lines at every structure location that required additional logistical planning and protocols.
FT. MYERS, FL
Our innovative solutions and impressive execution on the CSQ line landed us additional opportunities to partner with the utility and we were awarded another follow on project, this time rebuilding a 500 kV line in Fort Myers. As one of three drilling contractors installing foundations on this project, Aldridge was initially responsible for a base scope of 174 drilled shaft foundations (87 H-Frame structures) and 520 rebar cages. Crews installed the west portion of this line running from Fort Myers to Miami. Due to our superior execution, Aldridge’s scope increased to include an additional 80 drill shaft foundations (40 H-Frame structures) and we ended up taking on a portion of each of the other two drilling contractors foundations. The entire line presented difficult access and underground conditions. Hole stabilization in Florida is always a challenge, but field leadership came up with an effective build and slurry plan that helped produce more efficiency in their output.
IMMOKALEE, FL
In Immokalee, Aldridge and one other drilling contractor split eight foundations that will tie into a future substation. Aldridge drilling crews completed four structures, and rebar crews tied eight cages. This substation will tie into the 500kV transmission line that Aldridge completed in Ft Myers.
COCOA BEACH, FL
In Cocoa Beach, Aldridge provided a four-man drill-only crew to drill out 45 holes. To assist the general contractor on the project, Aldridge ended up drilling, setting poles, and helping with the aggregate backfill at each structure.
OLDSMAR, FL
Working for a new utility customer, Aldridge worked to complete bypass and structure installation for Bay Crossing in Oldsmar. Our Rebar Team tied two cages and crews installed 48 anchor bolt packages for helicopter installation. The crew also drilled and poured two concrete foundations and installed two direct embeds. Intensive survey work was required for this project and required a lot of time out on open water working off of barges in Tampa Bay.
ZEPHRYHILLS, FL
Working off of a growing relationship with the local utilities and general contractor, Aldridge was selected as a subcontractor for the rebuild of three different existing lines throughout Zephyrhills. The scope included the labor, material, and equipment to install 313 direct embed foundations. A majority of the work occurred under hot, energized lines and required temporary casing for hole stabilization, setting of steel pole butts, orientating, and backfilling with concrete or rock. After the poles were set, concrete compressive strength testing was completed and spoils removed. Project challenges included small production windows due to coordination with other contractors, work in extreme heat and storms typical during summer in South Florida, and dramatically different ground conditions from structure to structure.
DEBARY, FL
As our crews became more seasoned to working in Florida, we continued to pick up work with new customers. In DeBary, Aldridge was awarded a contract to drill four large concrete foundations in a cooling retention pond area that required seismic monitoring and special protocols due to the potential flooding hazards. Our scope required the use of vibratory drilling operations to install four rebar cages for new structures.
GREATER MIAMI / FT LAUDERDALE AREA, FL
With work on the new 500 kV line well underway, the utility released more phases, and Aldridge was awarded additional scopes of work. That Engineering - Procurement - Construction (EPC) project included 88 drilled shafts for 44 H-Frame structures. Another segment was under a 500 kV outage that took four years of planning. The original contractor was not going to meet the scheduling needs of the outage. Due to this, Aldridge was awarded this project and given two weeks to complete 34 foundations, including mob/demob. The last phase currently awarded is an amphibious project in the Greater Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. The drill rigs and excavators will be outfitted with amphibious tracks to float them out to the structure locations. Aldridge will be using approximately five self-propelled barges, and four boats for crews and other materials/equipment to drill and pour 174 foundations, build 342 rebar cages and prepare 342 pieces of permanent casing.
BUNNELL, FL
As part of Phase I of a new 500kV transmission line project, Aldridge installed 556 drill shafts and built 816 rebar cages. Crews worked straight through hurricane season, resulting in extreme weather conditions and inevitable access difficulties. Despite these challenges, the project wrapped two months early.
