Key LLC, WGK awarded Scott County project

Key LLC and Williford, Gearhart and Knight Inc. Engineers and Surveyors have been awarded a design-build project for the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the replacement of two bridges in Scott County along State Road 21.

Key and Williford, Gearhart and Knight were awarded the $3 million MDOT project based on a "best value proposal" - the team was not the lowest bidder, but scored 81.36, the highest score based on technical accuracy, cost and schedule combined.

"This is MDOT's pilot project into the design-build method of delivery," said Jeff Knight, WGK principal.

Two design-build MDOT projects involving bridge rebuilding are underway on the Mississippi Gulf Coast along US Highway 90, but it is anticipated that the Scott County project will be the first design-build project to actually be completed in Mississippi.

This type of project delivery is fairly common in the private sector, but is relatively new to both the state and federal governments, Knight said.

"In the design-build method, a single source has absolute accountability for both the design and construction of a project," Knight said. "It is truly a team effort and we are excited to partner with Key."

The partnership between Key and Williford, Gearhart and Knight began more than two years ago when the Mississippi Department of Transportation announced its intent to initiate the design-build method of project delivery.

"It's rewarding to see expertise combined to bring added efficiencies to the process," said David Trevathan, Key president. "So far it has been a very successful partnership."

The project involves replacing two bridges over Hontokalo Creek along State Road 21, a two-lane, rural highway north of Interstate 20 between Steele and Sebastopol. The project began May 19 and is scheduled to be complete by December. An estimated 3,000 vehicles pass the bridges daily.

This is not the first MDOT project for Williford, Gearhart and Knight. The firm is also working on a 6-mi. stretch of Mississippi Highway 49 near Florence, Miss., and Highway 51/43 near the Nissan Plant in Canton, Miss.

SSOE to design, build Mississippi fuel plant

SSOE an international architectural and engineering firm announced that it has been commissioned to build a new biodiesel plant in Mississippi.

The biodiesel plant, located in Burnsville, Miss., in addition to another out-of-state plant, will produce some 30 million gallons of bio-diesel per year - all from soybean oil.

Tony Damon, SSOE CEO said, "SSOE's experience in designing refineries dates back to the 1970s, and the firm has worked with major oil and gas clients including Shell, Sunoco and Marathon."

Biodiesel is to diesel fuel what ethanol is to gas - an additive that lowers sulfur emissions. Total annual production of biodiesel will top out at 200 million gallons this year. It is projected to hit 1 billion gallons by 2010. The predominant use for biodiesel in the U.S. is the trucking/transportation industry - as 79% of the diesel use in the U.S. is trucks, and some states now mandate a 2% biodiesel mixture to lower these sulfur emissions (Iowa and Minnesota).

By comparison, Europe demands a 5% biodiesel mixture, and there are more diesel automobiles there than in the US.