Cardno TBE Wins AASHTO Value Engineering Award for FDOT SR710 Warfield Boulevard

September 30, 2011, Florida—Clearwater-based Cardno TBE along with its subconsultant AECOM, and project owner the Florida Department of Transportation District 4 were awarded the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) 2011 Value Engineering Award for the State Route 710/Warfield Boulevard project. The award in the Pre-construction engineering category for projects valued at greater than $75 million was presented at the AASHTO National Value Engineering Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 19. Value engineering is defined by FDOT as "the systematic application of recognized techniques by a multi-disciplined team which identifies the function of a project or service; establishes a worth for that function; generates alternatives through the use of creative thinking; and provides the needed functions to accomplish the original intent of the project, reliably and at the lowest lifecycle cost without sacrificing project requirements for safety, quality, operations, maintenance and the environment."

Cardno TBE provides district wide Value Engineering services for District Four and was the Value Engineering prime consultant, with AECOM as a subconsultant on this project. This value engineering study was also selected as the 2010 FDOT Value Engineering Study of the Year.

The project, which was in the Project Development and Environment (PD&E) phase, will convert a 15+ mile segment of an existing 2-lane, rural section roadway in Martin County to a 4-lane, divided, rural principal arterial roadway flanked by the CSX Railroad tracks on the southwest side, multiple large diameter (30 inch) gas transmission pipelines and an overhead electric transmission line on the northeast side, and an FEC railroad crossing connecting the parallel CSX railroad track.

According to Jim Hunt, PE, Cardno TBE senior project manager, "Six of the 12 value engineering proposals submitted to FDOT by the VE Team were accepted with an approximate total estimated savings of $90 million, or 36 percent of the total estimated project costs (construction and right-of-way acquisition)." Hunt continued, "FDOT, District 4, District Utility and Value Engineer, Tim Brock, should be commended for his outstanding management and oversight of the project team. Brian Ruck, P. Eng., CVS, with our subconsultant, AECOM, brought tremendous insight, experience and technical knowledge into the process as the VE Team Leader." The VE Team members, provided by FDOT, represented design, construction, maintenance, right-of-way estimates, traffic operations, drainage and environmental disciplines also contributed their expertise to the success of this VE Study. The VE Team also received valuable assistance and support from the FDOT PD&E Project Manager, Pat Glass, PE and the PD&E consultant for this project, Metric Engineering.

Cardno TBE, (www.CardnoTBE.com), a member of the Cardno family of companies, offers a full range of consulting, design, engineering and construction services, including civil, environmental, transportation planning and design, right-of-way acquisition/relocation, subsurface utility engineering, surveying and mapping, 3-D underground imaging, and utility coordination. Currently ranked #9 on Trenchless Technology's Top 50 Design Firms, and headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, Cardno TBE has more than 40 offices serving clients in the United States, Canada, Australia, and United Kingdom.

Cardno (www.cardno.com) is an integrated professional services provider, locally delivering the specialist advice necessary to create or improve the physical and social infrastructure that underpins communities around the world. Our team comprises leading advisers who plan, design and deliver sustainable projects or community programs. Cardno has over 4,000 employees in more than 150 permanent offices worldwide. Key areas of expertise include environmental services, international development assistance, civil engineering, structural engineering, geotechnical services, subsurface utility engineering, survey and mapping services, and project management. Cardno ranks #34 on Engineering News-Record's (ENR) List of Top 500 Design Firms List, #17 on Engineering News-Record's (ENR) List of Top 100 Pure Design Firms List and #35 on ENR's Top 200 International Design Firms List.