Highway - Award of Merit

Pentagon-Remote Delivery Facility - Secure Access Lane
Alexandria, Va.

Sensitive and fluctuating security requirements required flexibility by the project team that had the task of improving safety at the grounds of the Pentagon Reservation.

Despite numerous job-scope changes, design-build partners Shirley Contracting Co. of Lorton, Va., and Earth Tech of Alexandria, Va., still brought the Remote Delivery Facility-Secure Access Lane to completion on time and $1.4 million under budget.

The RDF-SAL was a fast-track, design-build project completed in 14 months as part of the Pentagon Renovation Program. Its purpose was to enhance existing security at the Pentagon by means of roadway access configuration - to increase standoff distance from the Pentagon - and the installation of security and access control devices.

To minimize disruption to existing traffic, pedestrian access and Pentagon functions, construction of the project was divided into three phases. First, crews reconfigured the Washington Boulevard/Columbia Pike interchange, demolishing three existing ramps and building three new ramps in a different configuration.

Phase two involved construction of new truck queue/security stations as well as a new secure access lane to tie the truck queue to the RDF. This phase included installation of vehicle barriers with 15,000-lbs.-at-50-miles-per-hour rating, bullet resistant-rated guard booths, CCTV cameras, full communication and computer capabilities, and a public address system.

Construction of a blast-wall system defined the third phase. The system - built alongside the Secure Access Lane - included a 20-ft.-high wall with a 50-ft.-wide earth embankment.

The design-build team was faced with ever-changing security requirements, along with designs passed down from the Department of Defense and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. On several occasions, new requirements were presented after the final design was reviewed and approved.

Contractors and designers had to quickly and efficiently revise the plans to incorporate the new requests without disrupting any of the completed or future construction elements. A major change came when two new security stations were added in the truck queue area to house inspection guards and the K-9 units.

The original plans housed both of these units inside the RDF, but new requirements placed them in the truck queue so all vehicles could be inspected by guards and specially trained dogs before entering the facility.

All new requirements were met without creating any major construction, schedule or budget problems.

The locations of existing utilities also posed a problem. Initial plans did not indicate several of the utilities, and the location of many conflicted with construction plans for the SAL and blast wall. Utility relocation and protection plans were quickly devised, implementing new and innovative ideas to protect and reinforce underground systems.

The project required the team's close coordination with numerous agencies, including the Virginia Department of Transportation, Arlington County, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the Defense Facilities Directorate, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts.

"This was an outstanding effort by the team," said one of the judges. "The project was intensely partnered and involved intense security issues."

Owner: Pentagon Renovation & Construction Program
General Contractor: Shirley Contracting Co.
Design Team: Earth Tech
Weidlinger Associates
CTI Consultants
Concrete Contractor: Tavares Concrete
Electrical & Lighting Contractor: "R.E. Lee Electric Co., Inc"
Landscaping: Chapel Valley Landscaping

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