The design-build joint venture of Archer Western and Brown and Caldwell announced on July 30 the start of construction of a $300-million expansion of Atlanta’s Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility for the Fulton County Dept. of Public Works. The joint venture will utilize progressive design-build to expand the 50-year-old facility’s treatment capacity to 32 million gallons per day from the current 24 MGD. According to the contractors, the expansion will result in reduced light, noise and odor emissions, with the new treatment process producing cleaner water than the existing plant, along with reduced discharges to the river, even at the higher flow capacity. “This important, landmark project reflects our dedication to providing the highest quality services to our citizens in an environmentally sound way,” said Fulton County Public Works Director David Clark. The project is scheduled for completion in 2024.

On July 31, the joint-venture contractor team of NV2A and Haskell achieved substantial completion for the roughly $263-million Norwegian Cruise Line terminal at Port Miami. In May 2018, with just 5% of the project’s design work completed, Miami-based NV2A and Jacksonville, Fla.-based Haskell started its early work on the project and received notice to proceed in June 2018. The project—designed by Bermello Ajamil & Partners of Miami—includes a roughly 547,000-sq-ft terminal, an 806-space parking garage and a warehouse. Completing the project during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the project, says Gilberto Neves, president and CEO for NV2A. “Challenges getting to completion included special procedures to comply with CDC guidelines for COVID-19 to keep our workers and surrounding port operations staff safe while progressing the work.” The contractor expects to reach final completion by Sept. 21.