ST. PAUL ISLAND, ALASKA’S SEAL OBSERVATION FACILITIES PROJECT NAMED ONE OF 2010’S BEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

“These projects require tremendous skill, extraordinary craftsmanship and dogged determination from their contractors,” said Ted Aadland, the association’s president and the CEO of Portland, Oregon-based Aadland Evans Constructors, Inc.  “Frankly, they are the kind of projects many of us dread starting and all of us dream of completing.”

WPC, which won for best renovation of a federal and heavy construction project, repaired a series of towers and walkways the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses to observe and count the seal population on St. Paul Island, Alaska. This project required replacing seven towers and 1,000 feet of walkways in the small window of time the seals migrate from the island. Despite average daily temperatures below zero, strong winds and frequent whiteout conditions, the WPC team completed the project with zero accidents and no loss time injuries.

The Aon Build America Awards recognize the nation’s most significant construction projects.  A panel of judges, representing all areas of construction, evaluated over 115 projects this year, assessing each project’s complexity, use of innovative construction techniques and coordination with partners, among other criteria.  The awards, which were announced during the association’s annual convention in Las Vegas, are considered by many to be the most prestigious recognition of construction accomplishments in the U.S.