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Headquartered in Libertyville, IL since 1952 (and in existence since 1932), Aldridge Electric, Inc. is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading electrical contractors, especially when it comes to addressing some of the most complex and challenging projects in the transportation, power, utility, and industrial sectors. So it came as no surprise when the 1,500-employee, family-owned company was recently contracted to install new foundations for an existing transmission line for a major southeastern utility in one of the country’s harshest and most demanding environments – the Florida Everglades. Thanks to their extensive foundation experience, meticulous strategic and operational planning expertise, innovative amphibious and marine equipment, and unwavering can-do attitude, the Aldridge team completed the project safely, on time and on budget, and with a high level of quality.
As specialists in heavy infrastructure, electrical construction, foundation solutions, and emerging technologies, and more, Aldridge was tapped to work on Phase C of the utility’s “500kV Foundations Program,” which required the completion of drilled shafts for new transmission line structures in Florida that stretched along US-27 in Palm Beach & Broward County. The structures’ difficult-to-access location along the canals in the Everglades required the Aldridge team to develop alternate ways of accessing these sites using amphibious drilling equipment, barges, and boats and to find ways of navigating a broad range of hazards during the months-long project.
“Phase C was just one of 15 phases within an overall hardening program being undertaken for the utilities 500 kV system throughout the state of Florida,” shared Aldridge Division Manager Brian Schlemm.
According to Schlemm, the utility’s objective was to strengthen their system to better withstand the hurricanes and major storm events that are hitting the southern states with greater frequency and severity than ever before. “They need to bring the lines up to new standards because the storms and their winds have been getting stronger and the lines need to withstand tougher conditions than they were originally designed and installed,” he explained, Overall, “the program included the replacement of over 4,500 structures and 9,000 foundations across their service territory,” Schlemm said. “Phase C was the smallest phase of the program, but in many ways the most complex portion because of the conditions and this section of line only being accessible by water.”
A Difficult Undertaking
Kicked off in July 2021, Phase C of the 500kv Rebuild Program represented the fifth major project Aldridge had done with the utility, but by no means the easiest.
Working within a 10-mile span, “everything was only accessible via a canal that ran perpendicular to Alligator Alley, with poles sitting on little fingers off the canal,” Schlemm said. “We brought concrete, rebar cages, and other equipment out with us on boats and barges daily to pour the foundations The crews utilized four boat launches along the project to offload stage material and launch material and equipment.”
Following 3-4 months of intense planning, “the heavy equipment we used were on pontoon tracks, including a floating drill rig that allowed us to drill out the foundations while sitting on the swamp side of the structure,” shared Vice President Zach Kane of the Foundation Group. “The pontoons measured 44’ long X 7 tall X 7’ wide feet. The pontoons were installed on conventional machines that enabled us to navigate through the marsh and swamp, where water levels were 2-5’ feet high.” Kane noted that while the main canal had been dredged in the 1960s to allow the original structures to be installed off barges on the water, their current approach was decidedly more difficult due to the existing structures being in the way, lines being energized overhead, and years of sediment settling in the canals. “This time we had to work on the swamp side of the old structures, which didn’t allow the use of typical barges and conventional equipment. Low water levels also prevented the crews from being able to move larger barges down the finger canals to the structure locations,” he said. Other challenges also confronted the team of 25-30 Aldridge crew members, “One of our biggest hurdles was the heat – on average days, the temperature was over 90 degrees with 100% humidity – so safety was always a top priority,” shared Matt Rouillard, Senior Project Manager for the project. “Acclimating the crews to the heat and conditions became key for us, so we rewrote our safety protocols and limited our team’s work hours per day until they got adjusted to the weather, gradually working them up to putting in full days. We also required mandatory water breaks for hydration and installed pop-up tents to enable crew members to get out of the sun for periods of time because there are no trees or shady areas on the canals, only sawgrass, and the existing structures.”
The local wildlife presented yet another concern. “There are alligators, water moccasins, pygmy rattlesnakes, and spiders in the Everglades that we needed to watch out for – so much so that there’s an old saying in the area warning people to ‘kick it before you pick it’ to avoid getting bit,” Rouillard said.
“The weather was also an issue,” Schlemm added, “especially pop-up thunder and lightning storm cells that could impair our crews’ ability to get off the canals and safely back to the shore and cover, so monitoring those was important.”
Given the challenging nature of their environment, Rouillard confirmed that Aldridge had safety personnel and general management on site to help their teamwork through all of these issues.
Lessons Learned
Nearly seven months and 12,000 yards of concrete later, “our contract involved installing 126 structures consisting of two foundations each (for a total of 252 foundations in all), Rouillard said of the project, which the Aldridge team completed in February 2022.
While the project took more than half a year on the ground, the team credits part of its successful completion to the several months of preconstruction planning they put in beforehand.
“Our up front ordering of long lead time material like steel casing, reinforcing steel and securing equipment allowed us to avoid any supply chain delays or impacts. Kane said. “In addition, we brought in our own concrete trucks and drivers to ensure that we’d have what we needed on our schedule every day. Since we were bringing in concrete from 20 miles away and then transporting it up the canal for an hour, it was a long process and there was no time for delays.”
“This project was incredibly unique, and while there are many drilling companies out there, not all of them can go out in the water and do this type of work successfully,” Rouillard said. “We engaged in a lot of planning and trial and error to determine the best way of doing this. For example, one adaptation we made was to build and utilized a large airboat to move our rebar casing and other materials along the canal when the water levels got too low. It was all about logistics, planning, and the guys being in the right place at the right time and doing all the right things,” he said.
Schlemm reiterates that the project would not have been successful without the passionate people that make up the workforce. “Thanks to our team, everything has been readied and the foundations are set for line contractors to come in and complete the structure change outs,” Schlemm said. “We would like to thank our hardworking crews for using their innovative thinking and preconstruction planning tools to allow for a safe, well-planned project that exceeded our customer’s expectations.”
“This was a very successful project because our team stuck together and stuck to our plan,” Kane agreed. “Working together safely as a unit towards a common goal was the biggest success of the project for us and we’re thrilled with the outcome, “We currently have two other crews installing new foundations on typical transmission line right of ways in the Fort Pierce/Vero Beach area as part of Phase F of this program,” said Rouillard.
“The utility was extremely supportive and they worked closely with us to develop environmental protocols and permitting of the project to ensure that we were protecting the wetland,” Rouillard said. “In addition, we were a subcontractor for Irby Construction Company in Jackson, MS and it was a pleasure to work with their outstanding team on a project of this magnitude.”
“This project was a culmination of Aldridge’s appetite for risk coupled with our expertise, experience, and ability to take on the infrastructure industry’s most challenging work,” Kane concluded. “We leveraged the knowledge of our most seasoned employees to provide a plan, develop specialty equipment, and execute a job safely and efficiently to support our utility clients, and we pride ourselves on our innovative spirit and ability to handle what others describe as inaccessible structures.”
