The City of Petersburg and the Commonwealth of Virginia have big plans for economic development. To fulfill their vision, they need plenty of water and the right pressure to deliver quality to their customers. Federal funding restrictions required construction be completed under a very tight design and construction schedule.  With this tight timeline, the City called upon American Engineering.

A water model for a new Southeast High-Pressure Zone was developed that included both a new 2.0 MG tank, water booster pumping station, and a 16” transmission main.  The mile-long transmission main was connected to the City’s existing distribution system and pressures were evaluated on existing service nodes to ensure that the new infrastructure would not create pressures that were too high.  PRV were designed to keep pressures within acceptable ranges.

The new 2.0 MG composite water storage tank was designed on an undeveloped site.  Design included site plan approval for stormwater discharge into a Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) drainage ditch along Interstate 95.  Site access was from a VDOT-owned frontage road along Interstate 95 and required VDOT approval.

The compressed time schedule required the American Engineering team to deliver the design, permitting approval, and award recommendation in only 9 months instead of a typical 12-to-15-month schedule. Regular collaboration with the City of Petersburg and Virginia Department of Health (VDH) ensured the design features would meet permitting requirements and avoid delays. VDH approved construction plans on the first submittal with no comments.

Because project funding was fixed, an accurate cost estimate was critical. American Engineering’s cost estimate was within 1% of the winning bid of $7.5 million, due to our thorough understanding of the costs for materials, labor, and this project’s creative design features.