The team will support navigation, flood risk management, water resources management, sediment management, and military engineering projects.
The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has tasked the joint venture of Taylor Engineering and Woolpert with providing research and development services for its Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL). The $49 million, single-award task order contract will support CHL projects that advance navigation, flood risk management, water resources management, sediment management, and military engineering.
ERDC is the primary scientific research and development organization for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and oversees seven research laboratories across the U.S. Located in Vicksburg, CHL is responsible for the discovery, development, and delivery of coastal, estuarine, and hydraulic water resources research in both the Civil Works Program and military domains.
Woolpert Vice President Eric Dillinger said that the JV leadership team has extensive experience managing projects for CHL, ERDC, and USACE. This team includes Woolpert Director of Advisory Services Jeff Lillycrop, a former ERDC technical director with 33 years of experience serving CHL, and Taylor Engineering President Jim Marino, a former USACE officer with over 20 years of USACE experience, including three and a half years leading the military research program at the Coastal Engineering Research Center before it was consolidated into CHL. Marino is the managing partner for the JV.
“The Taylor-Woolpert joint venture represents decades of focused and complementary expertise coming together,” Dillinger said. “This contract will be led by a team intimately familiar with and fully capable of meeting the complex research needs of the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory.”
Taylor Engineering Vice President Christopher Bender said this is the first contract executed under Taylor and Woolpert’s new Mentor-Protégé Program agreement, which was approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration last year.
“Taylor and Woolpert are currently working as professional partners on multiple projects across a variety of service lines,” Bender said. “We look forward to this next chapter working alongside Woolpert and providing a truly world-class team of engineers and researchers for ERDC and its missions.”
Global research and infrastructure advisory firms are serving as subconsultants for this contract, which is now underway. Those firms include Applied Research Associates and Moffatt & Nichol, as well as Alden Labs, Desert Research Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Jackson State University.
Since 1983, Taylor Engineering Inc. has provided leading-edge solutions to challenges in the water environment. The company focuses its attention on water-related engineering, planning, management, and environmental challenges with emphasis on coastal regions for public, private, and government clients. A Federal Small Business and a Jacksonville Business Journal’s 2022 and 2023 Best Places to Work, Taylor Engineering has over 50 employees with three offices. Taylor Engineering’s six service groups, Coastal Engineering, Coastal Planning, Dredging and Navigation, Environmental, Water Resources, and Waterfront Engineering, along with our Coastal and Marine Geosciences Laboratory, deliver leading-edge solutions in the water environment. For more information, visit www.taylorengineering.com.
Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG), and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. We innovate within and across markets to effectively serve public, private, and government clients worldwide. Woolpert is a Global Top 100 Geospatial Company, a Top 100 ENR Global Design firm, has earned seven Great Place to Work certifications, and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity, and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been America’s fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. Woolpert has over 2,000 employees and more than 60 offices on five continents. For more information, visit woolpert.com.
In the heart of Bethesda, Maryland sits the campus of the 243-acre Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), a bastion of hope and healing for countless veterans and active-duty service members. Its gleaming white walls and towering oak trees conceal a world of dedication and tireless effort required to keep the vast institution running smoothly.
The Operation and Maintenance Engineering Enhancement (OMEE) Program at the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, is providing a simplified process to respond to the growing operation and maintenance needs of WRNMMC using streamlined processes that delivers low-cost, quick- response contracts for the operation, preventive maintenance, and repair and replacement of equipment for the sprawling campus.
The OMEE program uses a suite of Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) operation and maintenance (O&M) service contracts to execute maintenance requirements across the portfolio of Medical Treatment Facilities (MTF), said Chris Moore, OMEE program manager. WRNMMC is one such customer.
“Our contractor was selected on their ability to perform in medical facilities and are very knowledgeable in The Joint Commission (TJC) facility accreditation requirements,” Moore said.
The Base Realignment and Closure recommendations of 2005, the Office of Integration (OI) was formed in November 2005 to oversee the merger of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC).
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is the flagship of military medicine, also known as the President’s Hospital and the Nation’s Medical Center and is the world's largest joint military medical center with more than 2.4 million square feet of clinical space, more than 7,000 staff members providing care and services to more than 1 million beneficiaries every year.
Moore said since WRNMMC is a major hospital with aging infrastructure, there are challenges every day that the team OMEE team must overcome.
For example, Moore said, they recently had an air handler go down that rendered operating rooms unusable.
“The OMEE staff, contractor and WRNMMC site team responded in record time to add funding, scope, award, and executed the work,” Moore said.
“The hospital experienced the smallest possible service disruption and returned to full mission readiness very quickly. This work was handled as corrective maintenance (a service order), and it is just one example of many where the project development team serves our servicemembers and veterans with excellence.”
OMEE has provided some level of services to Walter Reed for over 10 years.
However, this iteration of the contract providing Operations and Maintenance (O&M) services for WRNMH was awarded in 2022 and as part of Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) OMEE VI with a total duration of three years and a value of $40 million.
Moore said the contract calls for preventative maintenance, such as maintaining the electrical and mechanical systems through regular service, and corrective maintenance, such as providing rapid response to unplanned facility related disruptions like generator failures.
Navy Cmdr. Russ Jarvis, WRNMMC chief of facilities, said ensuring the facilities are operational can be quite a challenge due to the magnitude of WRNMMC’s mission, but having the OMEEE contract gives him confidence that when something breaks down, the contractor is focused on resolving the issues quickly.
“The contract provides service for over 4,000,000 square feet throughout the hospital campus,” Jarvis said.
“We have a lot of equipment to keep running, and OMEE is an important part that keeps us functioning effectively and having this one contract to react to emergencies 24-7 is instrumental for the staff to provide care and services to the patients,” Jarvis said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $53.7 million base contract Nov. 3, to Pono Aina Management, LLC, an 8(a) Native Hawaiian Organization, based out of Waianae, Hawai'i, to construct a temporary elementary school campus in Lahaina. The temporary school will accommodate those students displaced from the King Kamehameha III Elementary School that was damaged and rendered unusable by the Aug. 8 wildfires in Maui County.
As part of the USACE Critical Public Facilities mission assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support Hawai'i and the state Department of Education, USACE was tasked to design and oversee the installation of modular buildings for the temporary elementary school campus for the Lahaina community. The Galveston District will be responsible for contract management and project oversite.
"The children of Lahaina have gone through a heartbreaking trauma, and the Corps of Engineers, the Department of Defense and our partners can now help the state bring back a bit of normalcy to these young lives," said Col. Jess Curry, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Recovery Field Office commander. "This school may be temporary but will stand as a reminder that despite the grief and loss, Lahaina’s children will have a space to continue to learn, to dream and to thrive. We are proud to be here for them in this moment.”
For information on the Hawaii Wildfire Response or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visit https://www.poh.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Response/Hawaii-Wildfires/.
The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center recently launched a large-scale soil washing effort to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, pollutants at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
The $27.6 million military construction-funded project is led by a joint team from the Air Force Civil Engineer Center and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, and supports the Department of the Air Force’s effort to address PFAS at the close air support training installation. AFCEC is a primary subordinate unit of AFIMSC.
Soil washing is a closed-loop, water-based process that separates soil fractions and captures PFAS substances in granular activated carbon and ion-exchange resin filters, said Guy Warren, Project Manager at USACE’s Alaska District who manages onsite project execution.
This remediation technology has been in the market for the past three decades, but the partners have expanded its applicability to treat highly challenging fluorinated chemicals.
“This is the first-time soil washing has been used to treat PFAS-impacted soil,” said Michael Boese AFCEC Lead Restoration Project Manager at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
AFCEC awarded the contract through USACE in November 2022 to treat and dispose of 130,000 cubic yards of PFAS-impacted soil that had been excavated during a MILCON project to build infrastructure to house F-35A fighter squadrons.
The cleanup effort began in August 2023 and is projected to be complete in summer 2025.
“Both AFCEC and USACE teams bring deep technical, engineering and environmental knowledge and have played a key role in determining a viable and cost-effective technology to treat Eielson’s soil piles,” said Roy Willis, AFCEC Restoration Project Manager at JBER.
Prior to selecting soil washing for the Eielson project, AFCEC environmental restoration experts participated in two PFAS pilot studies at Eielson AFB funded by the Department of Defense’s Environmental Security Technology Certification Program. The pilot program provided a site-specific comparison of the cost and performance for two viable technologies – soil washing and thermal desorption.
Additionally, with the support of USACE, the Air Force conducted a similar soil washing study at Colorado’s Peterson AFB.
Data obtained from soil washing pilot studies showed high success rates achieving more than 99% PFAS reduction in the coarse soil fraction in Colorado and approximately 70% in fine-grained soils at the Alaska installation.
“We determined soil washing to be the most effective technology for the scale and scope of the Eielson project,” Willis said. “The team feels confident this technology will bring successful results.”
Since the project’s kick-off, Eielson’s treatment plant is fully operational and approximately 1,500 cubic yards of soil have been processed. Due to the weather, the field season will resume in May and run through September when the operation is expected to be in full swing and treating 30 cubic yards of soil per hour.
“Once the soil has been cleaned and deemed safe with no PFAS detection or levels below the Alaska state standards, it can then be repurposed for other projects,” Boese said. “However, if there is detection, we will dispose it within PFAS guidance.”
The restoration work follows the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation PFAS soil disposal standards.
Since 2017, AFCEC’s environmental team has been coordinating project requirements with the state and federal regulatory agents ensuring the selected remediation technology is fully approved.
Use of this technology at other Air Force sites will require a significant volume of impacted soil to make it cost-effective and similar soil type, Warren said. For example, PFAS soils with high clay content may not be suitable for this technology.
“We are excited to see the effort is already providing results,” Boese said. “The efficacy of soil washing technology will produce cost and performance data that will help DAF and our regulatory partners program and approve future remediation projects.”
On October 19, 2023, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to inaugurate the expansion of the Warehouses Service Agency (WSA) complex in Sanem, which is already the U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s (USAFE) largest depot on the continent. The Deployable Air Base System support and storage facilities project represents $100 million (€95 million) U.S. investment via the European Deterrence Initiative and will add more than 18,500 square meters or 200,000 square feet of additional facility space to the WSA. The project supports the readiness and responsiveness of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe, reinforcing NATO’s collective defense and deterrence.
The U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, Tom Barrett, underscored the importance of the expansion project: “This 100 million dollars in investment made here in Luxembourg is another demonstration of the U.S. commitment to European defense and to the NATO Alliance. This expansion project is part of our response to the rapidly evolving security context, which necessitates that all Allies continue to invest in modernizing our common defense and deterrence.”
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, François Bausch, emphasized: “Luxembourg and the U.S. share a long history of bilateral cooperation. With this new project, we keep the momentum alive. Authorities from the U.S., Luxembourg and the management of WSA have been working together over the last couple of years to make this extension project happen. This significant investment by the U.S. is proof and recognition that WSA is providing excellent services to USAFE. It echoes the continued commitment of the United States in Europe and in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.”
"This project will expand the already robust capabilities here at Sanem and bring increased capability and deterrence to protect our shared interests in Europe. As United States Air Forces in Europe evolves to meet current and future threats, this site represents the strong collaboration between the United States and the Government of Luxembourg, and I want to thank all the stakeholders from both governments that made today's groundbreaking event possible," commented Colonel Vinson, Logistics Readiness Division Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Headquarters.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District is managing the construction in coordination with the WSA and the Luxembourg Directorate of Defense. “This is the first project of this scale for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers here in Luxembourg and we’re excited to be working with our U.S. Air Force, U.S. Embassy and Luxembourg host nation partners on this impressive project,” said Europe District Deputy Chief of Engineering and Construction, Cheryl Fromme, while in Luxembourg for the ceremony. “Though it’s a newer location for us here, the mission is the same one that we’re proud to contribute to with our projects across Europe – supporting regional security by delivering facilities that enable U.S. forces and our allies and partners.”
The Warehouses Service Agency (WSA) was established and designated by the government of Luxembourg to perform the services set forth in a memorandum of understanding between Luxembourg and the United States dating back to December 1978. The WSA is mandated, by decision of the Government in Council of June 13, 1980 and November 6, 1981, to act in the name and on behalf of the State vis-à-vis NATO, the U.S. Army or any other military or civil authority. Since 1994, the Sanem site has been used for storing U.S. Air Force equipment.
Located in the city of Sanem, Luxembourg, the facility provides warehousing, logistical support and maintenance services for military equipment, goods and merchandise and works in close partnership with the 86th Materiel Maintenance Squadron of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). The facility houses USAFE's War Reserve Materiel (WRM), which includes vehicles, aerospace ground equipment, aircraft support equipment and various airfield support equipment. However, no weapons nor munitions are stored at Sanem.
WSA maintains, reconstitutes, and stores WRM in a posture to rapidly deploy worldwide within 24 hours for any contingency. In 2020, responding to a request by the Government of Luxembourg, the U.S. Air Force provided power generators and refrigeration units from the WSA facility to the Luxembourg Army to support Luxembourg’s temporary field hospitals in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
The WSA facility provides over 200 jobs to the Sanem and Luxembourg community and contributes to local hospitality economy with large numbers of regular U.S. and NATO military visitors to the site.
The support and storage facilities project enhances the U.S. Air Force’s Deployable Air Base System, a concept which allows a collection of shelters, vehicles, construction equipment and other gear to be pre-positioned and moved to any place the Air Force needs to stand up air operations.
The Deployable Air Base System Support and Storage Facilities project will add more than 200,000 square feet of additional storage and maintenance facilities to the WSA. This includes:
This expansion project is funded through the European Deterrence Initiative. The United States established the European Deterrence Initiative in June 2014 after Russia invaded Ukraine and seized Crimea. The initiative was established to enhance the capability and readiness of U.S. Forces, NATO allies, and regional partners in Europe to deter Russian aggression.
(Courtesy of the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg)
Maj. Gen. Kimberly Colloton, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deputy commanding general for Military and International Operations – and a former LA District commander – was one of several distinguished visitors, who received an update on Corps’ projects at the VA Longbeach Healthcare System.
Colloton was joined by Col. Andrew Baker, Los Angeles District commander; Tambour Eller, Senior Executive Service chief for Interagency and International Services Division; David Hibner, SES, director, U.S. Army Geospatial Center; Col. Chad Caldwell, acting commander for the Corps’ South Pacific Division; and other senior Corps and Veterans Affairs’ leaders to review progress of the new 181,000-square-foot Community Living Center and two separate 80,000-plus-square-feet mental health in-patient and out-patient facilities. The VA Long Beach Healthcare System serves more than 50,000 veterans.
“Since the last time I was out here, so much has been done,” Colloton said. “It’s great to see it so far along and so close to the end. We are getting there. They’re in the final stages of closing things up and making the final finishes to be suitable to move patients and providers in, so it’s exciting to see.”
Colloton, who was at the project site for the groundbreaking ceremony on Veterans Day 2018, said it’s taken a while to reach completion, but once it’s done, it will serve veterans in the area for years to come.
Focusing on taking care of the nation’s veterans by constructing these facilities at the VA is a top priority, and SES Eller said the construction progress has been phenomenal.
“What we’re observing is the partnership continuing to mature – the lessons learned and best practices,” Eller said, noting there are three other VA Community Living Centers and parking structures under construction, using the latest technologies. “At the end of the day, we’re supporting winning by implementing those best practices and delivering for our veterans.”
Baker also noted the amount of progress since his first visit in April 2023, before assuming command of the LA District in July.
“There’s really been a lot of progress,” Baker said. “It’s starting to look like a finished facility. I’m looking forward to getting this great facility into operation, which is a huge improvement to what the veterans on site have now. It’s going to be fabulous.”
The single building that currently houses the VA Long Beach mental health services and the Community Living Center Healthcare System patients is scheduled for demolition after the replacement facilities are fully operational. The $350-million projects are expected to be completed in fiscal year 2024.
Three Soldiers saw firsthand how future service members at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys will live during a barracks tour, Oct. 10, with the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program.
Col. Heather Levy, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East District, hosted the three Soldiers at an under-construction barracks complex that will eventually be home to more than 900 service members.
“We were super excited when we got this opportunity because one of our biggest things that we deal with in BOSS is quality of life,” said Spc. George Walters, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USAG Humphreys, who is from Cooperstown, Pennsylvania. “We get to have input and impact on the Soldier’s life and give the Soldier-perspective to those who don’t live in the barracks.”
The full tour included a chance to speak with engineers as they walked through what will be future barracks rooms – currently just bare concrete walls and exposed pipes.
“I really liked being able to see behind the scenes of our housing and being able to ask all these questions about our housing and how it affects our lives,” said Spc. Jaleesa Lopez, HHC, USAG Humphreys, who is from North Carolina.
Jamie Hagio, USACE’s construction division chief, says he appreciates input from service members on projects like this.
“Stakeholders, and especially those who will end up using the facility, can give us keen insight into how it will be used,” said Hagio. “This can improve our designs based on changes in the operational environment.”
Some of the input from previous service members at USAG Humphreys – that was incorporated into this construction project – was a kitchenette available in each living space and improved laundry facilities.
“I like how we’re improving the quality of life for our Soldiers by listening to their concerns, such as the lack of dryers in the laundry rooms in older barracks,” said Pfc. Alex Torres, 17th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, who is from Lathrop, California.
Torres also added that having better living quarters will improve Soldier morale and “help them have a happier time in Korea.”
“Providing opportunities like these for Soldiers to visit our projects is one of the fundamental things we do to showcase the future,” said Levy. “Hearing feedback in real-time also helps us know how we can change future construction to better support their needs as the Army changes.”
The barracks complex when finished will be three, eight-story buildings capable of housing up to 302 service members each. Every living unit will contain two bedrooms and a shared living space with a kitchenette and bathroom. The exterior will have four gazebos, a barbecue shelter, and landscaping will include grass and trees. Project completion is anticipated in spring 2025.
The BOSS program represents the voice of single servicemembers and is based on three pillars – quality of life, community service, and recreation and leisure. Volunteers with BOSS coordinate and participate in community services projects, organize recreation and leisure activities, and actively support the quality-of-life needs of single Soldiers.
U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys is the “Army’s Home in Korea” and is located along the western coast of South Korea within the seaport city of Pyeongtaek, approximately 40 miles south of Seoul. Camp Humphreys is the headquarters for the Eighth U.S. Army, the Second Infantry Division, the Army's most active airfield in the Pacific, and the hub of U.S. Forces Korea.
For most construction projects, progress can be visually measured as structures start to come out of the ground and begin to take shape. This would not be possible without the foundations that transfers the loads of the vertical structures to the soil safely. Part of that foundation work can include the installation of drilled piers.
The Louisville VA Medical Center project recently achieved the completion of a major feature of work by reaching the milestone of “bottoming out” with the installation of the last of 1,057 drilled piers across the site. The drilled piers ranged from 24 to 72 inches in diameter and from five to 35 feet in depth.
All buildings have some type of foundation. Most residential buildings have what is called shallow foundations which generally include spread footings to prevent the building from settling. Drilled piers are a type of deep foundation, which is generally utilized for larger buildings, like the Louisville VA Medical Center, said David Garvin, geotechnical engineer.
“Drilled piers connect structures directly to the bedrock - keeping the building in place by minimizing settlement and lateral loads from outside forces such as wind loads, seismic loads, etc.,” he explained. “Since drilled piers are below the building, they are advanced from the top of the ground until bedrock is reached, with rebar and concrete placed, then the pier is tied into a column or grade beam.”
“Once the drilled pier is tied into the column or grade beam, the steel beams will be placed on top of it. After all steel beams are placed the loads from the entire building will transfer down to the drilled piers and disperse evenly throughout all drilled piers,” Garvin said. “The drilled piers are one of the main components that keep the building in place.”
With drilled piers playing such a key role, it’s important that they are placed with precision.
“There are many things to keep in mind when drilling piers. First, you need to drill through soil until bedrock is reached, this is usually easy to complete but the hardest part is ensuring the pier is drilled at the correct location,” he said. “Then, the drillers will reach bedrock. Once drilling through the rock is complete, the rock socket and bearing surface will be inspected. A professional experienced with inspecting drilled piers will perform a downhole inspection to ensure the rock socket and bearing surface is competent.”
“The last step is cleaning out the pier and placing rebar and concrete. The piers are cleaned out via downhole entry and after the pier is cleaned the rebar will be placed in the pier,” he added.
Garvin said looking back that the work went well with only a few minor issues.
“It seems like the start of this feature of work had its challenges, but after identifying the problems and coming up with solutions, the process was smooth sailing,” he said.
The $900 million project includes the construction of a new 910,115 square-foot medical center, parking structures, a 42,205 square-foot central utility plant, roadways, sidewalks, and other site improvements.
The new 104-bed, full-service hospital will provide world-class healthcare for more than 45,000 Veterans in Kentucky and Southern Indiana by integrating modern patient-centered care concepts to provide the best possible care for Veterans. In addition, to specifically address the needs of women Veterans, the new hospital will include a Women’s Health Clinic with four Patient Aligned Care Teams.
The project designed by URS-Smith Group Joint Venture is being constructed by Walsh-Turner Joint Venture II, Chicago, Illinois.
Construction is anticipated to be complete in 2026.
To learn more about the project visit: www.va.gov/louisville-health-care/programs/new-robley-rex-va-medical-center.
Leadership from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 21 on the McNair Campus for the completed renovations of the Noncommissioned Officer housing. Five freshly-updated duplexes will house 10 NCOs and their families. The 13th Command Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard, John Raines, and his wife Karen were the first to accept their new home after nearly 18 months of waiting.
“From the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the joint base, and our very own Directorate of Public Works, who largely made these renovations possible, we’re thrilled to finally open the Noncommissioned Officer housing at the McNair Campus of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall,” said JBM-HH Commander Col. Tasha Lowery in her opening remarks.
Following the speech given to an audience of Directorate of Housing, Public Works, USACE and National Capital Region employees, Raines and other attendees toured the home alongside Maj. Gen. Trevor Bredenkamp, commanding general of Joint Task Force - National Capitol Region & U.S. Army Military District of Washington, Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica Knapp, the command sergeant major of JTF-NCR & U.S. Army MDW, and Lowery.
The buildings were originally constructed in 1905 and required a lot of care to maintain their historic nature, while bringing them up to today’s Army standard. The contract for the project was initially awarded in 2019, but progress slowed due to the pandemic and supply chain issues. The units are now equipped with modern finishes, fire suppression systems, central heat and A/C, and new third-floor bathrooms.
Conti Federal Services, a leading U.S. government construction and engineering firm specializing in military and secure construction, has been awarded a $43,924,087 contract for the construction of a B-21 Weapon Loader Training Facility at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
Awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District, the B-21 Weapon Loader Training Facility project is one of several major construction initiatives integral to the multi-year facilities beddown strategy for the B-21 program at Ellsworth Air Force Base.
The project entails renovating the base’s “Pride Hangar” ,which was originally built to house the B-36 aircraft, to allow for the creation of state-of-the-art weapons loader training (WLT) bays. This newly designed space will house mock-ups of an aircraft fuselage, facilitating advanced training activities related to weapons loading. Additionally, the project includes the renovation of administrative, training, and utility areas, enhancing the overall functionality and efficiency of the facility.
"This contract award win shows our commitment to supporting the national defense infrastructure of the B-21 beddown program at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and furthers our partnership with the local trade community,” said Ryan Kanzleiter, Conti Federal Regional Business Development Director. “We look forward to continuing our commitment and collaboration with the USACE Omaha District and other key stakeholders to ensure the successful completion of this vital training facility, further solidifying our role in shaping a safer and stronger future for our nation.”
With a track record of delivering high-quality construction projects, Conti Federal remains steadfast in its mission to support national security initiatives. This contract award represents further progress in the company expanding its regional presence and upholding its reputation for excellence within the industry.
Work is estimated to be completed on this project by September 2025.
Conti Federal is currently working on several mission-critical projects in the region in collaboration with the USACE Omaha District. These include the development of a B-21 RF Hangar Facility at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, a DRP Formal Training Unit building renovation at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, a helicopter operations facility at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and an F-35 Fighter Alert Shelter at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin.
