Construction activities including the bridges, two post-tensioned box girders and the elevated station were performed within secured and unsecured areas.

The project is on time, under budget and "on track to meet our goal of serving passengers in time for the Phoenix area to host the Super Bowl in 2015," says Kyle Kotchou, deputy aviation director for design and construction with the Phoenix Aviation Department.

The Sky Train project is one of a number of projects that have re-energized the firm in Arizona—the Banner Estrella Tower in West Phoenix is another example—but McCarthy was also one of the first firms to get re-engaged in Las Vegas after the downturn.

Early last year, the firm completed work on the Hakkasan, an approximately $170-million, 5-story, 80,000-sq-ft restaurant, lounge and nightclub at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip.

"It was one of the most challenging projects we've been involved with," Sedey says. "Even some of the subcontractors that have worked on most of the projects on the strip say the same thing."

One of the biggest hurdles on the Hakkasan was that there was no back access to the project site. Tropicana Boulevard had to be closed for an extended period and the southwest corner of the MGM Grand casino was demolished. Eventually, the exterior wall was moved out 30 ft and a new dual marquee was created.

But Sedey said the unforeseen circumstances—including finding more than 15 ft of sub-surface concrete and a "closet" that ended up being a power room—made the job especially memorable and demonstrated the adaptability and talent level of the construction team.

Solar Plants and People Shine

While McCarthy has been diversifying for several decades, the firm has recently capitalized on the solar construction renaissance throughout the Southwest to expand into this market sector. McCarthy has served as the general contractor on major solar utility projects, including Cotton Center, Chino Valley and Hyder II for Arizona Public Service.

Piotrowski says McCarthy progressed from a learning phase on large-scale solar projects to a state of high proficiency within the span of a couple of projects.

The 21-MW Chino Valley Solar Project has more than 77,000 photovoltaic modules outfitted with a single-axis tracking system. Work on the 200-acre site required more than 126,000 man-hours and included more than 18,000 driven piles and the equivalent of 440 miles of linear welds.

The work on this project and others resulted in McCarthy being named one of Arizona Public Service's suppliers of the year for 2013.