Brubacher Named 2010 Excellence Winner
December 17, 2010
Brubacher Excavating, Inc. (BEI) was recognized by the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. (ABC) for excellence in construction at the chapter’s 20th Annual Merit Construction Awards of Excellence event held in November.

Brubacher Excavating, Inc. was named a top Excellence winner in the “Heavy Construction – Sitework Over $5 Million” category for their work on the Pope John Paul II High School in Montgomery County.

A total of 55 entries from the Greater Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas competed in this year’s Merit Awards of Excellence program. ABC arranged for on-site judging by a team of 44 industry professionals representing a cross-section of architects, engineers, commercial real-estate owners, developers and industry leaders.

The BEI winning entry, Pope John Paul II High School, is located in Royersford, Upper Providence Township. The project consisted of modifying a 78-acre sod farm into a two-story high school building, an eight-lane track, a football field, three soccer fields and three baseball fields.

Work began in June 2008 and was completed September 2010. BEI was responsible for erosion and sedimentation (E&S) control and grading on the 78-acre site. BEI constructed five sedimentation basins and erected a 14-foot retaining wall spanning the length of the school (approximately 800 feet). Additionally, BEI was tasked with utility installation, and designing and constructing roadway, parking facilities and curbing.

“The project called for fast-paced coordination between the general contractor and BEI and the rest of the subcontractors, and was filled with some unique challenges,” said Keith Brubacher, president of BEI.

The first challenge faced was a change to the outdoor track. The original plans called for a six-lane track; however, after survey and grading were complete, the decision was made to increase the track size to eight lanes. BEI’s team reacted quickly to the request, re-surveying and grading the expanded area and still meeting the milestone deadline as outlined by the general contractor.

Another interesting challenge BEI faced was completing the school’s interior courtyard after the school was built. This consisted of constructing storm sewer and grading, concrete work and re-spreading of the topsoil within the courtyard. “Strategic coordination was needed to ensure the interior of the school was not damaged since we needed to drive equipment through the school,” explained Brubacher. BEI’s thorough team used smaller-than-customary equipment to achieve this.

In the photo, from left to right: Josh Seaman (project engineer), Steve Allen (estimator), Jeff Moyer (site laborer), Pete Kitsch (site superintendent), Steve Ozga (project manager), and John David Bowlby (take-off technician).