As a result, Duke has had to deal with numerous schedule re-works, which has pushed the completion date back and required a significant amount of overtime and weekend work by contractors.

�It�s a daily challenge, one where we have to frequently adapt to a changing situation,� Womack says

To make up for some of the lost time, Duke pushed the original June 2012 deadline back five months, then shaved two months off of the startup and testing schedule. The current completion date is September 2012.

The evolving schedule has also made the procurement and delivery of equipment and materials more difficult, a situation compounded by a lack of transportation options.

�I�ve never worked on a job of this size where I didn�t have either rail or barge access close to the site,� Womack says. �You usually have one or both. In this case we have neither.� Duke is using 80 acres off site and 20 acres on site as laydown areas to store big equipment and materials until they�re needed.

On a project not lacking in challenges, Duke�s team had to deal with an abandoned coal mine during the early stages of construction. Existing mine tunnels and shafts were detected about 70 ft below the surface of the jobsite.

Construction crews had to fill the old shafts with about 100,000 cu yds of grout before the project could continue.

�Almost everything about this project is interesting or unusual,� Womack says.