Corrado American

Civil construction and industrial maintenance support serving the Mid-Atlantic region

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2000 Pennsylvania Avenue

Project:2000 PA Avenue
Client:GGA Construction
Design Professional:CDA Engineering
Location:Wilmington, DE
Classification:Mixed Use
Job Size:$3 – $5 Million

Project Overview

This project consisted of constructing a 6-story mixed use building encompassing +/- 2.5 acres in the City of Wilmington. The gross square footage of the building was 240,658 square feet and had several below grade levels of parking. Temporary excavation support consisting of soldier beams and lagging. Excavations of 25 to 30 feet below existing grades were made to achieve the design’s basement floor elevations. Approximately 60,000 cubic yards of soil were removed and exported from the site.

In addition to the basement excavation, Corrado American installed the water and sewer utilities to the building and the onsite storm drain improvements. Our scope also included DelDOT improvements along Pennsylvania Avenue – installing an entrance to the parking garage, additional drainage improvements, and patch paving of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Key Challenges

  • The site was bordered by an active train line and bridge, commercial and retail space, and two highly-traveled roadways. Access to and from the site was extremely limited.
  • The excavation support design had to ensure the adjacent properties were also supported and any ground movement, limited.
  • The site had once been occupied by a gas and fueling station. Corrado American worked closely with the design team and environmental consultants during basement excavation for separation and disposal of contaminated soils and groundwater.
  • Due to limited information regarding the existing conditions, offsite utility work had to be redesigned. Corrado worked closely with DelDOT, the City of Wilmington, and the design engineer to re-route and re-design the offsite utility plans.
  • Scheduling and coordinating road improvements along Pennsylvania Avenue proved to be a challenge. However, Corrado kept the inconvenience to drivers at a minimum.

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Rodney Regional Stormwater Park

Project:Rodney Regional Stormwater Park
Client:City of Newark
Design Professional:Johnson, Mirmiran, and Thompson (JMT)
Location:Newark, DE
Job Size:$1 – $3 Million
Duration:2 Months
Date of Completion:April 2020

Project Overview

Corrado American was retained to perform sitework for Phase II improvements to the Rodney Regional Stormwater Park project for the City of Newark. The scope of our services included installing erosion and sediment controls, mass grading of the existing 8-acre pond, and hauling and disposing of approximately 30,000 cubic yards of onsite soils. The schedule for the project was 70 days and Corrado American completed the project on time.

Key Challenges

  • Project site was located within the City of Newark limits in a residential area, which meant the streets needed to be kept clear of traffic and cleaned regularly. Corrado American coordinated trucking logistics to minimize traffic on the roadways and implemented additional erosion and sediment control measures outside of project requirements to maintain clean and clear streets.
  • Several rain events limited access to the site. Corrado American utilized several subgrade stabilization methods to continue excavation and hauling operations during wet conditions in order to maintain the project schedule.
  • Since the site was formerly used as a dormitory for the University of Delaware, the actual site grading and balancing of the site was a moving target. Corrado American worked closely with the design engineer to balance the site and adjust grading where necessary.

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Wilmington Sports Complex

Project:Wilmington Sports Complex
Client:Riverfront Development Corporation
Design Professional:RK&K
Location:Wilmington, DE
Classification:Commercial
Job Size:$1 – $3 Million

Project Overview

Corrado American provided construction services for the approximately 31,000 linear feet of new roadway for the Wilmington Sports Complex. The work was part of a Brownfields redevelopment project in the City of Wilmington, Delaware. Our scope of work included:

  • Demolition of existing utilities and roadways
  • Traffic control
  • Mass grading
  • Storm drain, water and sanitary sewer utility installation
  • Paving, concrete curb and sidewalks

As part of the cleanup program, Corrado American was required to muck and remove contaminated sediments from a nearby ditch and dispose of the sediments in accordance with the DNREC requirements. After removal of the sediments an environmental core mat was installed to help treat future water in the ditch and a load transfer platform was constructed for pile support of the proposed roadway and culvert.

Key Challenges

The existing grades across the site were near sea level and required raising grades to elevate the site above flood levels. The majority of our site cleanup and pipe work was performed below sea level in a tidal setting, requiring multiple dewatering activities in accordance with local environmental regulations.

The means and methods that Corrado American developed during the project improved coordination efforts and benefited multiple contractors as well as adjacent sites concurrently under construction.

To overcome the many unforeseen conditions and changes to the design throughout the project, we worked closely with multiple entities including:

  • Local overseeing jurisdictions
  • Environmental regulators and consultants
  • Developers and contractors
  • Design team

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Whitehall Elementary School

Project:Whitehall Elementary School
Client:EDiS Company
Design Professional:VanDemark & Lynch
Location:Middletown, DE
Job Size:$1 – 3 Million
Duration:1 Year
Date of Completion:September 2019

Project Overview

Corrado American handled the civil site package for the construction of the Whitehall Elementary School, which is the first school in the newly formed town of Whitehall located in New Castle County, Delaware. Our scope of services included traditional earth moving operations, utility installation, sidewalk and curb construction and asphalt paving for the 96,000 square foot facility, associated parking, turf fields, and stormwater management areas. In addition Corrado American contracted, coordinated, managed, and assisted with the onsite irrigation system installation, landscaping, hardscaping, decorative concrete finishes, and playgrounds.

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Claymont Rail Yard & Environmental Capping

Project:Claymont Rail Yard & Environmental Capping
Client:Drawbridge Claymont, LLC
Location:Claymont, DE
Classification:Industrial
Job Size:$3 – $5 Million
Duration:1 Year
Date of Completion:April 2019

Project Overview

This rail yard and capping project was a Brownfield re-development of approximately 14 acres at the former General Chemical plant in Claymont.

Prior to capping the site, all existing concrete debris was removed to 2′ below subgrade. Several thousand cubic yards of concrete footings and other debris was removed and stockpiled at the site. In addition, the existing sluiceway needed to be buried for the length of the rail yard, which required installing a 72″ concrete drain pipe in place of the old sluiceway. Site lighting consisted of three new high-mast lights, each approximately 120′ high.

Once the subgrade was cleaned up, the site was fine graded and nearly 14 acres of environmental liner was installed. After lining the site, a drainage system was installed and a 45,000 CY cushion layer of soil was placed. Following that, sub-ballast stone and ballast stone were placed for the new rail yard.

Key Challenges

Installing 72″ RCP in the existing, active sluiceway required diligent controlling of water during pipe installation.

Prepping the subgrade by removing existing concrete was challenging due to the large size of buried debris that was frequently encountered. The debris removal was especially difficult because the old foundations were quite solid.

Screening the 45,000 CY of material from the existing pile before it could be used for the cushion layer of soils. At this point in the project, space was limited, but by careful sequencing, the material was successfully maneuvered so work wouldn’t be delayed.

Meeting regulatory and end-user requirements demanded careful coordination with the ownership group, the design team, the QA/QC team and the consulting engineers.