| OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program |
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| Web Brief (Nov 06) |
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Use of epoxy injection saved money on bridge projects.
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Salem firm harvests opportunity from bridge program
The economic seeds planted by the Oregon Department of Transportation’s OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program are bearing fruit in Salem and other cities across the state.
The $1.3 billion bridge program, part of the third Oregon Transportation Investment Act, is repairing or replacing hundreds of aging bridges across the state while meeting the legislative mandate to spur economic development for businesses and individual workers.
The story of HW Lochner Inc. is a classic example of the Legislature’s intent in action. Not only is the firm expanding opportunity for Oregonians, it is doing exemplary work.
HW Lochner opened a Salem office in July 2003 to work on the bridge program and hired 13 full-time employees by August 2004. One year later, its workforce blossomed to 26 full-time employees.
“At least half of our current employees have jobs because of the bridge work,” said Karen Reynolds, vice president and office manager of the firm’s Salem office. “Our Salem office doubled in size in just one year because of the program.”
Lochner provides project management and bridge design services for the bridge program and further stimulates the vitality and diversity of Oregon’s economy by subcontracting with Oregon’s minority- and women-owned firms such as Cascade Design Pacific and Zetlin Strategic Communications Inc.
Already, Lochner’s design work on 12 bridges on Interstate 5 and Interstate 84 reduced construction costs by $3 million based on the original cost estimates. The efficiencies were derived through the use of innovative materials and construction techniques.
Lochner also designed bridges that met an immediate need to increase the load capacity and longevity of several bridges. Lochner’s repairs strengthened and significantly extended the useful life of structures by up to 25 years.
To date, Lochner has served as the prime contractor on four bridge program bundles, which include the repair of 13 bridges and the replacement of four others. The firm’s designs were among the first to be completed on the bridge program and have set the standard for all other design projects on the program.
Designing bridges, of course, isn’t anything like farming. But if it were, Lochner would have just produced a bumper crop.
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