Constructing Under a Time Constraint

Under most circumstances the job described here would be ordinary. Now take the same job, place it in the central business district of any major city, give the contractor two days to finish and suddenly the potential for something to go wrong is elevated.

The scope called for the replacement of a light pole with a stronger model that could take the weight of a radio and small cell package mounted near the top. 127’ of open cut trench was also required to get power and fiber optic cable to the site. Interconnects had to be made by coring into ComEd and AT&T manholes. A 30” handhole also had to be set to accommodate slack and interconnect points for power and fiber.

Crews were allotted 24 hours to do the job. This included extensive traffic control with a temporary signal, removal of the light pole, removal of the old foundation and installation of a new foundation and remounting and wiring the new pole.

The time to work was permitted on Saturday and Sunday. Tourist pedestrian traffic was heavy. The only advantage was the lack of business traffic. The potential for vehicles and pedestrians to enter the work zone was still high.

Electric Conduit Construction foremen and safety supervisors drafted a safe work plan to guide the crews with steps to protect the work zone, set up traffic control and perform the work in an orderly sequence that moved the work at a brisk pace without compromising safety.

The job was completed without incident. Construction is messy, breaking pavement, sawing concrete, loading, unloading trucks, back up alarms, messy and noisy. The public does not like it but it is necessary to install 5G and fiber optic back haul cable.

ECC crews do an exemplary job of organizing and carrying out their work while maintaining a courteous attitude with the public. They are safe and hardworking, and we are very proud of them.