Verve Columbia: Minimizing disruption when working in a busy city intersection.

Breaking ground on a new construction project is always exciting. It is the culmination of many hours of planning and hard work to bring a vision to life. Much of a job’s preconstruction process focuses on what people see above ground; however, one of the keys to a successful project is a strong foundation. Site work, utility connections, and working with existing infrastructure are all crucial elements that must be accounted for before construction can begin.

Preparation for construction at W. M. Jordan’s Verve Columbia project, a four-story residential-style student housing building in Columbia, South Carolina, involved extensive cooperation and planning between our team, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), and the City of Columbia.

To begin building the Verve Columbia, our team first needed to reroute the storm system for the downtown block where the project is located due to an existing 48-inch storm line that cut across the project’s base. To accomplish this, a detour of one of the busiest intersections in Columbia (Blossom Street and Huger Street) was required.

Our team worked with SCDOT and the City of Columbia to craft a detailed traffic plan that included a detour, a sequenced traffic signal pattern, and new temporary traffic lights. W. M. Jordan’s Virtual Design & Construction Team (VDC) used virtual models to help simulate lane closures, allowing our team to create the least disruptive traffic plan possible.

The city gave our team six days to complete the work at the intersection. W. M. Jordan worked with United Rentals and OF Construction to design and install a slip panel shoring system (a trench support system using vertical metal sheeting to secure the trench walls and prevent backfill) to safely complete the reroute in five days. The excavation on this part of the project was approximately 28 feet deep and 25 feet wide by 70 feet long!

This is another example of our teams working with city and state officials to minimize the disruption our jobsites may have on the surrounding community.  By creating a well-thought-out and safe work plan, we continue to foster meaningful relationships while building the places we call home.