The Town of Waterbury is undertaking a $3.9 million intersection improvement project to address high traffic volumes and provide adequate pedestrian facilities at an intersection that serves as a gateway to the village center. DuBois & King is providing construction inspection services for the new roundabout being constructed at the intersection of US Route 2 and VT Route 100. Construction began in July 2014 and is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2015.

To help maintain traffic through the busy intersection, the roundabout is being constructed one half at a time and is scheduled for completion before winter shutdown in late November 2014. The newly constructed roundabout will be functional to motorist in early winter. In spring of 2015, construction efforts will focus on aesthetics and pedestrian accommodations, including landscaping, plantings, lighting, and sidewalks.

RANDOLPH, VT, October 1. Vermont’s Governor Peter Shumlin, United States Representative Peter Welch, a representative of Senator Bernie Sanders, the USDA Rural Development State Director Ted Brady, and Randolph Town Manager Mel Adams attended the ground breaking for the construction of the Town’s new wastewater treatment facility. The new facility and treatment process was designed by DuBois & King (D&K) and was funded by $9M of Federal grants and loans from USDA Rural Development. The project was recognized for its investment in the local economy, job creation, and improving the water quality of the White River.

The original facility, designed by DuBois & King, was state-of-the-art when built over 40 years ago, but “it has out lived its useful life and is beyond its design life,” said D&K’s Tom Doty, PE, Senior Process Engineer for the new facility. The new facility will retain the existing permitted 400,000 gallons per day capacity of the previous facility and will use Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) technology.

Expected to serve the Town for the next 20 years, the plant is specifically designed to remove nitrogen. “The focus of nitrogen removal is important not only for the State of Vermont, but as part of the larger Long Island Sound Initiative, which includes efforts to clean up headwaters of rivers flowing to Long Island Sound. Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts have been meeting stricter nutrient levels for a while and it has worked its way up the Connecticut River Basin, now to the state of Vermont.” Doty said. The new facility is one of the first in Vermont to comply with new state and federal requirements to reduce the amount of nitrogen discharged and is in compliance with recent nitrogen effluent limits for rivers flowing into the Connecticut River.

DuBois & King was recognized for outstanding examples of engineering excellence for three projects in the 2014 Engineering Excellence Awards sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies/Vermont Section. ACEC/VT annually sponsors an Engineering Excellence Awards Program to showcase exemplary engineering projects completed in Vermont. A panel of judges, comprised of distinguished planners, engineers and construction professionals, selects award winners from entries submitted. The winners of the competition were announced at the Annual Engineers Week Banquet on February 21.

DuBois & King received the highest ranking and a Grand Award in the Buildings and Structures Category for structural engineering services for the new Dion Family Student Center and Quad Commons Residential Hall at Saint Michaels College in Colchester. The $24M expansion included a four-level, 39,900-sf student center, a five-level, 43,700-sf residential hall, and a one-level structure connecting the student center and residential hall. The structural design facilitated the dramatic interior and exterior architectural design that emulates Gothic arches, evoking a tie to the historic roots of Saint Michael’s College. The structural engineers utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM) to concurrently integrate the structural design with the architectural design and other engineering disciplines.

The Quechee Covered Bridge, in the Village of Quechee was severely damaged and impassable as a result of Tropical Storm Irene. The bridge is a landmark for the community and a vital transportation link connecting the Village business district and US Route 4. DuBois & King received an ACEC Engineering Excellence Merit Award in the Transportation Category for designing a replacement structure on a fast track schedule that restored this vital piece of transportation infrastructure back into service. The design, from concept to contract documents, was developed in four months. The design of the new structure is a combination of a traditional timber-framed cover with a concrete deck, beams, and abutments. The combination of materials increased the bridge’s durability and strength and was more economical compared with an all timber structure. The new bridge was designed with an increased span length and an increased hydraulic opening allowing another storm equivalent to Irene to pass without damaging the bridge.

In the category of Special Projects, DuBois & King received an Engineering Excellence Merit Award for a $2.9M electrical upgrade project at the VA Medical Center in White River Junction. The Medical Center consists of 88 buildings on a 64-acre campus that serves 75,000 veterans in Vermont and New Hampshire. The electrical infrastructure of the White River Medical Center was outdated, inefficient, and non-compliant with current standards. The electrical upgrades addressed more than 300 electrical system deficiencies to achieve campus-wide improvements in reliability, serviceability, safety, energy efficiency, and emergency power. More than 1600 interior light fixtures and 145 exterior fixtures were replaced with high-efficiency LED lighting. Relative to energy and cost savings, the lighting upgrades alone resulted in an estimated annual cost savings of $49,500 and reduced electrical energy usage by 495,000 kilowatt hours. The electrical deficiency upgrade design had to comply with 23 separate codes and standards. Complex, detailed construction phasing was developed as part of the construction documents to assure that all active areas of the Medical Center would continue to function without interruption during construction.