GSA Border Station Complex
Highgate, Vermont
Professional Services Provided
- Civil Engineering & Site Planning
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Structural Engineering
Description of Professional Services
The 3,795-SM complex included five separate buildings, a USCS firing range, eight vehicular inspection lanes, one truck lane, and twelve secondary inspection lanes. The DuBois & King engineering design team provided all services related to:
- Boundary and topographic site surveys
- Site investigation and conceptual design
- Civil/site engineering, storm water drainage, and utilities
- Mechanical/electrical design
- Structural design
- Water and Wastewater system design
- Landscape architecture
- Highway and road design/modifications
- Hazardous materials storage area
- Project Management, cost estimating, value engineering and scheduling
- Construction administration and inspection
Limited site and high traffic volume dictated placing Main Building on existing interstate lanes and routing passenger and commercial traffic through new primary, secondary, cargo and APHIS inspection facilities on the site of demolished existing facilities. Modifications to I-89 included 915 meters on both lanes/barrels and tapered deceleration/acceleration lanes for passenger and commercial inspection facilities. Bus traffic was directed to a separate facility on the other side of the Main Building to smooth traffic flows and facilitate different inspection protocols. Queuing lanes were also incorporated to better manage traffic flow through facility. Additionally, new parking areas for the staff and loading docks to accommodate detailed inspection of cargo loads were designed in conjunction with transportation upgrades.
A unique and innovative concrete pavement system design, developed in partnership with Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratories (CRREL), resulted in budgetary savings of approximately $450,000. Design allowed major reduction in site ledge excavation; recycling, remanufacturing, and reuse of on-site rock as pavement subbase material; major reductions in imported granular materials and removal of waste materials to off-site locations; reduction in drainage system requirements for paved areas, and significant reduction in construction time.
Performed on-site investigations to identify, locate, and map existing overhead and underground public and private utilities at the border station in preparation for the design of the replacement building. Overhead utilities included primary and secondary power distribution and telephone/communications systems. Underground utilities included water and sewer mains, electrical and telephone/communications duct banks, and buried fuel oil piping. The utility identification process involved meeting with utility company representatives and GSA maintenance personnel as well as reviewing available drawings of the existing facility.
Structural engineering assistance was also provided for the relocation and upgrade of various buildings within the complex.
Provided electrical design, in metric, for all building systems including service entrance, power distribution, lighting, general branch circuits, conditioned power for computer services, fire alarm, building security and alarm systems, and special design for selected areas, including detention cells. Also provided was outdoor, underground 15kv electrical distribution and underground duct banks for alarm and communication systems for multi-bonding this facility.
A unique perimeter air wash system circulates air across the glass in order to eliminate condensation on surface caused by Vermont's varying weather conditions. Mechanical design also included rooftop self-contained heating/cooling units utilizing variable air volume for delivery. Additionally, fan powered mixing boxes with hydronic heating coils provided for comfort and had the ability to recapture heat from lights.
Environmental engineers evaluated and completed design modifications to existing well supply and the 28,390 liter-per-day wastewater treatment facility. Encompassed design of animal inspection facility; washdown systems using treated and recycled wastewater; a sand filter subsurface disposal system reusing most of the existing facility; improvements to the existing extended aeration wastewater treatment facility and new building, as well as testing and improvements to the 170 liter-per-minute primary well in order to obtain approval for its continued use for the upgraded border station complex. The existing well had inadequate capacity for the new facilities including the APHIS washdown function and hydrogeologic investigation results and the project budget would not support increasing the yield. The innovative resolution was two fold. The APHIS washdown water was re-used through a custom designed recycle system employing ultraviolet disinfection, dying recycled water for public safety, and water conserving devices. The domestic water system was designed with a multi-pump 22,712-liter hydropneumatic tank system to meet peak water demands without developing a new water source.
DuBois & King conducted a self-directed, three-day value-engineering workshop to evaluate design plans and programs. Workshop participants included the GSA Project Manager and in-house engineers; the design team; and representatives from U.S. Customs; Immigration and Natural Services; US Department of Agriculture; Federal Highway Administration; and the Vermont Agency of Transportation. The goal of the workshop was to optimize the use of space, materials, and equipment with minimum maintenance and repair for the least cost, without sacrificing tenant requirements, traffic safety, or the aesthetics of the project. The value engineering process provided a systematic procedure that addressed each of the participants' concerns. The design review resulted in recommendations (some detailed above) which were incorporated into the final design, including site and interstate re-design, innovative concrete pavement design, and re-use of ledge blasted from site as roadway subbase material after onsite processing. In the buildings, recommendations were made to improve the value of the heating systems, lighting, emergency power and glazing. Total estimated savings in construction costs as a result of the recommendations implemented was approximately $1.1 million.
In order to allow for continued operations and maintenance of traffic flow at the border crossing, plans were developed for partial/staged demolition. Once the new border station was operational, the final demolition of existing structures occurred. Back to Top
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