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GarverUSA.com has a new look, and with that comes a new home for the latest news, highlights, and happenings at Garver.

Be sure to bookmark GarverUSA.com/News for all the latest updates regarding Garver projects, employee accomplishments, and more.

Rogers Executive Airport runway recognized for pavement quality

A Garver-led project that provided Rogers Executive Airport with a rehabilitated runway ahead of an already aggressive timetable has won a national award recognizing the project for its pavement quality.

Garver provided planning, environmental, design, and construction phase services for the project that completely rehabilitated Runway 2-20, highlighted by a construction phase that covered eight days and finished 24 hours ahead of schedule. The project was recently awarded the Ray Brown Airport Pavement Award from the National Asphalt Pavement Association for the highest-rated airport pavement in the nation.

“This project has provided a growing airport with a new runway surface that meets a need for its growing client base,” said Garver Project Manager Adam White. “Because of these changes, the airport can now handle a more diverse mix of aircraft, and thanks to a combined effort between Garver’s Aviation and Construction Services teams, the contractor, and airport staff, operations were affected for only a week.”

Rehabilitation of the airport’s lone runway consisted of full reconstruction of the runway keel section and a mill and overlay of the remaining runway surface. With these improvements, Runway 2-20 can now support aircraft up to 100,000 pounds. Construction included 76,000 square yards of milled surface, 14,000 tons of asphalt, 19,000 linear feet of pavement edge drains, and full rehabilitating of the runway lighting circuit, including new four-box LED PAPI systems.

To make sure the airport’s operations were affected as little as possible, Garver’s Construction Services Team worked with personnel from Emory Sapp & Sons around the clock on 12-hour shifts, with daily meetings to address project progress.

To learn more about what Garver’s Aviation Team can do for you, visit www.GarverUSA.com.

Garver congratulates Bert Parker on 40 years

Bert Parker has always been an integral part of Garver’s continued growth, and today we would like to congratulate Bert on his 40^th anniversary with the company!

Currently serving as chief administrative officer, Parker, who joined Garver in 1978, has also served as director of transportation and spent his earliest years on the Bridge and Aviation teams. Over four decades, Parker has helped Garver take on new services, expand into new markets, and in 2017 became just the fifth engineer from Arkansas to be accepted into the ACEC College of Fellows, a distinguished class of engineers selected by their peers for their contributions to the profession.

He has provided oversight and improvements to the expansion of the federal interstate system along with state and local highway projects and, perhaps his largest contribution, served as project manager for the I-540 and Bobby Hopper Tunnel project, the state’s first highway tunnel.

“We’ve been able to thrive as a company because we’ve always had employees with the utmost dedication to us and the profession,” said Garver President and CEO Dan Williams. “I’ve learned a lot from Bert over the years, and I know a lot of others at Garver have, too. Congratulations on 40 years!”

Helena WWTP improvements earn Grand Award

A Garver-led project that helped a wastewater treatment plant adhere to reduced permit limits has earned the Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Alabama. The Helena Wastewater Treatment Plant Design Improvements project earned the award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Alabama’s Engineering Excellence Awards contest. 

The project consisted of multiple improvements that helped the Helena WWTP meet strict effluent discharge limits for total phosphorus. Because it discharges into Buck Creek, reliable performance and operation of the Helena WWTP is essential to maintain the quality of this body of water frequently used by the citizens of Helena and surrounding communities for swimming, wading, canoeing, and fishing.

“The frequent-use of Buck Creek as a recreational destination requires the effluent coming out of this plant to meet stringent, near-reuse requirements,” said Garver Water Team Leader Brian Shannon. “The improvements being made to this plant will uphold the health and diversity of the natural species that inhabit Alabama’s most ecologically diverse river system.”

To help the plant meet the current and future total phosphorous requirements (0.20 mg/L and 0.043 mg/L), Garver first developed a facilities plan that included a plant-wide evaluation of existing treatment processes to identify shortcomings that hinder plant performance. That plan led to phased improvements designed to meet current and future requirements.

Phase 1 of the project, which was completed in September 2017,  included rehabilitation of the existing secondary clarifiers, new tertiary filtration equipment, new chemical storage and feed facilities, and a new UV disinfection process. Because the existing plant hydraulics were limited, the design team had to develop a unique disinfection and post-aeration strategy consisting of closed-vessel, low-pressure UV disinfection followed by a low-profile, cascade aeration system to provide treatment regardless of downstream water level conditions in Buck Creek.

This is the second Grand Award earned by a Garver-led project in the ACEC-Alabama contest. The Tuscumbia Water Treatment Plant and Supply Improvements project earned the Grand Conceptor Award in 2013. That project was the first in the state to use a blended series membrane process after Garver provided project design, funding assistance, bond issue assistance, construction management, and operation support in replacing a 60-year-old plant. The ACEC-Alabama Grand Conceptor Award for 2018 will be announced at the awards presentation in April.

To learn more about what Garver’s Water Team can do for you, visit GarverUSA.com/Water.

Garver, North Arkansas College to team up in providing airport upgrades

Garver, the Boone County Regional Airport, and North Arkansas College have had a working relationships for years, having combined on previous projects that have provided airport upgrades along with valuable experience for the college’s students.

Now, all three are teaming up again, in a project that will create an expanded parking lot near a terminal facility to be completed at no cost to the airport located in Harrison, Arkansas. Thanks to a grant from the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics that will cover engineering and construction costs, Garver will design the expanded parking lot and students at North Arkansas College will provide labor, which will take place during the spring 2018 semester.

The students, who have a history of providing the airport with in-kind services, will construct the earthwork and aggregate base course for the parking lot that will relocate the airport’s growing rental car parking spaces to the newly constructed lot. The expansion will create 43 new spaces for the airport.

 “We’re always looking for new and innovative ways for our clients to fund their projects,” said Project Manager Adam White. “This gives us the best of both worlds: The airport will receive a cost-effective upgrade that relieves stress on its terminal parking areas, and the students at the college get valuable experience working in the field.”

It’s not the first time the three entities teamed up for this type of project delivery. In 2012, a grant from the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics funded a Garver-designed project that delivered a 315-foot-long taxiway and apron that provided access to a new hangar area.

To learn more about what Garver’s Aviation Team can do for you, visit www.GarverUSA.com/Aviation.