Overview

 

• Location: I-295 & Malcolm X Avenue SE, Washington, DC

• Client: District Department of Transportation

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Project Description

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Fort Myer Construction Corporation (FMCC) served as the prime contractor for this mega project in the District of Columbia to provide I-295 / Malcolm X Interchange improvements and adjacent infrastructure. This project is meant to provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with direct access to their St. Elizabeth’s campus from both sides of I-295, which carries an ADT of 70,000 vehicles per day. FMCC’s work includes constructing 3.45 miles of roadway construction, new ramps, and access road, 7 bridges, over 200,000 square foot MSE retaining wall systems, post and panel walls with tiebacks, site lighting infrastructure, landscaping, and extensive utility infrastructure for Pepco and DC Water.  

I-295/Malcolm-X Interchange project is one of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken by DDOT and it had to serve and satisfy many important stakeholders. High profiles stakeholders including National Park Services (NPS), Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters were heavily involved in the project and FMCC coordinated its construction activities and MOT plans with each stakeholder to ensure adherence to the project schedule and satisfaction to the client. All the major deliveries for retaining walls and bridge girders were staged strategically to ensure quality was maintained while the traffic movement through the corridor was not hindered. All the erection activities for the seven bridges were flawless and quality was never compromised. 

This project has many complex tasks including over 500,000 SF of temporary support of excavation. Having the enhanced knowledge and experience with local geotechnical conditions, FMCC was able to use innovative methods for support of excavation for existing retaining walls, jack and bore shafts, bridge foundation work, and other scope of work elements. Given the soft ground conditions and project design, FMCC was able to use lightweight aggregate material backfill, which was railed in from upstate New York, and was used as an alternate material for backfill of reinforced MSE walls. These MSE walls were built near 600 stability piles nearing 100 LF in length each, which provided global stability to the whole area of I-295, within the project corridor. 

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Project Significance

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On average, FMCC worked with over 20 FMCC crews and subcontractor crews daily, including quality control staff. The wide scope of the project required constant communication between FMCC and all stakeholders, which FMCC facilitated using the SharePoint System. FMCC is proud of the continuous collaboration, effective communication, and fast work pace. This allowed us to complete our work ahead of schedule and minimize disruptions to the community. FMCC has also implemented a rigorous training program into this project that allows us to offer job opportunities and career training for DC residents in the construction industry through the District’s Trainee and Workforce Development Program. Through the training program, FMCC has provided 25,530 hours of training to 29 trainees. In addition, FMCC exceeded the project DBE commitment, from 12% to nearly 15%.