Seven Miles of New Orleans Levee

Here is a short video that shows our work on LVP 109 for Archer Western Contractors.  The project cost over $140 million to rework a 7.2 mile stretch of levee starting on the south bank of Lake Pontchartrain and running South along the bayou.  Work includes moving over 3.1 million tons of soil to enlarge the existing levee, demolish existing gates and construct new gates that cross US Highway 90 & US Highway 11.  Also, they will remove and replace four (4) drainage structures, remove and replace pump station discharge pipes, and upgrade two (2) pump stations. Additionally, they installed over 9 million feet of wick drains as well as constructed T-wall/I-wall transitions at CSX Railroad, US Highway 90, and US Highway 11.  “Working with Martin Pospisil and all his staff has been very rewarding,” stated SSE owner Stan Schultz.  “There are a lot of moving pieces to this project, but so far technicians like Thomas Hudson, January 2011 employee of the month Cory Brown, and James Badkoubei have been able to keep things on schedule and within budget.”

For Stan and all the SSE employees this was a particularly challenging job.  They also were responsible for drilling 126 well holes and installing the geotechnical instrumentation for monitoring the levee.  This required ordering all the necessary equipment and personal to drill these holes, and properly install the magnetic extensometers, inclinometers and plelmeters all while the work on the levy continued.  SSE technician Cory Brown said, “It was a challenge to keep the drill rig going and ahead of the dirt moving crews.  The whole project schedule depended on us to meet our goal each day and the bad weather was always a worry.  I am proud to say we finished our part ahead of the schedule!”    

SSE Helps Keep Archer Western Contractors on Schedule

AWC is a member of the Walsh group and was ranked as the 2nd largest domestic heavy

Contractor in the United States by Engineering News-Records Top Contractor Rankings and they

were ranked as the 125^th largest privately owned company in America by Forbs magazine. 

The old LVP 109 levee before construction

NEW ORLEANS- Since June 20, 2010 Archer Western Contractors (AWC) has had Schultz and Summers Engineering (SSE) helping them to finish LPV 109.02a levee project.   AWC Project Manager Martin Pospisil said, “Having SSE on the project has been very beneficial to our progress.  Their technicians show up every day on time and ready to work and Stan has been available to handle any questions or problems that arise.”

A drill rig on one of the 126 wells

The Contract Award was for $112,247,806 to rework a 7.2 mile stretch of levee starting on the south bank of Lake Pontchartrain and running South along the bayou.  Work includes moving over 3.1 million tons of soil to enlarge the existing levee, demolish existing gates and construct new gates that cross US Highway 90 & US Highway 11.  Also, they will remove and replace four (4) drainage structures, remove and replace pump station discharge pipes, and upgrade two (2) pump stations. Additionally, they installed over 9 million feet of wick drains as well as constructed T-wall/I-wall transitions at CSX Railroad, US Highway 90, and US Highway 11.  “Working with Martin and all his staff has been very rewarding,” stated SSE owner Stan Schultz.  “There are a lot of moving pieces to this project, but so far technicians like Thomas Hudson, January employee of the month Cory Brown, and James Badkoubei have been able to keep things on schedule and within budget.”

Despite all the wet weather they met their goal of completing this project by August of 2011.  Quality Control manager Raphael Campos added, “With the hurricane season in New Orleans we have to maximize our progress on sunny days.  Around here we put in some long hours and all the SSE folks have been willing to do whatever it takes to keep us moving.”

For Stan and all the SSE employees this was a particularly challenging job.  They also were responsible for drilling 126 well holes and installing the geotechnical instrumentation for monitoring the levee.  This required ordering all the necessary equipment and personal to drill these holes, and properly installing the magnetic extensometers, inclinometers and piezometers all while the work on the levy continued.  SSE technician Cory Brown said, “It was a challenge to keep the drill rig going and ahead of the dirt moving crews.  The whole project schedule depended on us to meet our goal each day and the bad weather was always a worry.  I am proud to say we finished our part ahead of the schedule!”   

Schultz concluded, “I’m thankful to be working on one of the bigger projects in the New Orleans region but being able to help solve problems and keep LPV 109.02a on schedule has been very rewarding professionally.  Martin made us feel like we were a key part of his team and working with AWC has been one of the highlights of our work here in Louisiana.”

Schultz and Summers Engineering Calls For Repeal Of Prevailing Wage

SSE gave ideas to the House Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery on how to speed up levee repairs.

Committee members listen to testimony.

SIKESTON, MO – Emotions were high as citizens and local government leaders shared details about how the recent flooding effected Southeast Missouri with the House Committee on Disaster Recovery.  Sikeston Police Chief Juden and Mississippi County Sheriff Moore talked about the problems first responders faced.  Dr. Stephens from the Delta Center provided information about the soil quality in the Birds Point- New Madrid Floodway.  Cheryl White of SEMO Health Network explained how her organization set up health camps that provided free shots and prescriptions to stranded victims.  Mayor Leija of Morehouse, a community that was hit hard by the flooding, told how the fast rising waters put his citizens in harm’s way.  

Bob Summers addresses the committee.

 Owners Stan Schultz and Bob Summers provided details to the House Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery about the damage caused to Southern Missouri levees by the April spring flooding.   Bob Summers said, “We have helped the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) repair the levees around New Orleans and along the Mississippi River as well as the emergency spillway on Table Rock Lake. Our funding ideas and streamlining suggestions will speed up the process and eliminating prevailing wages will lower the costs.”

Representative Richardson

The mission of the committee was to assess whether a special legislative session will be necessary to address the needs of Joplin and the communities in Southeast Missouri. The committee will report its findings to Speaker Tilley on July 31. In addition, the committee will provide a report to the General Assembly by December 31 detailing long-term recovery strategies and how the state can be better prepare for future natural disasters. Representative Richardson R-Poplar Bluff mentioned, “Schultz and Summers clearly has some invaluable knowledge and expertise with levee repairs.  It was good to have Stan and Bob highlight some of the damage in our region and share their ideas about how we can find funding and quickly repair the levees in Southeast Missouri.”

There were three main funding sources covered in the SSE presentation.  Mr. Schultz provided information about Public Law 84-99 which is run through the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).  Once asked by the local levee district the USACE will send a project manager and assessment team out to the damaged levee to assess the situation and estimate costs.  If approved the USACE will provide 75% of the funding and the local district has to come up with the final 25%.  This program was put in place to repair damaged levees after flooding.  More information on this program can be found at http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/9524_3b.shtm

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the Emergency Watershed Protection program, which provides funding to counties, cities and local levee and drainage districts for repairs after a natural disaster. This program is a 25%-75% match but it allows the local sponsor to in-kind all or some of the 25%.  It can only be used in an area that has been declared a disaster by the president.  More information on this program can be found at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ewp 

Congresswoman Emerson

Schultz also briefed the committee members on the Congressional appropriations process in Washington.  He said, “The House committee has passed a bill providing $589 million for levee repairs in the Mississippi River watershed.  Congresswoman Emerson has been our biggest champion on this issue and Senators McCaskill and Blunt are also working to pass this funding in the Senate.”

Other suggestions offered by Schultz and Summers included, waving  easement recording fees, streamlining condemnation proceedings, eliminating environmental road blocks, and reducing liabilities on emergency work after natural disasters.  “The damaged levees in Southeast Missouri expose all our citizens to a huge risk from another flood.  These suggestions would speed up the repair process and get life back to normal for all our communities, stated Schultz.  

When the topic turned to repealing prevailing wages on emergency work, there was an unspoken tension in the room.  Schultz presented a table showing the labor costs of building one mile of levee 15 feet high with a 4 to1 slope on the water side and a 3 to 1 slope on the land side.  This would require 189,000 cubic yards of soil being moved and properly put in place.  He used 30 miles as the distance to haul the soil.  His table estimated it would take 30 truck drives, 4 general labors and 5 heavy equipment operators.  When paying hourly prevailing wages of $35.69, $33.85 and $46.22 for drives, labors and operators the labor costs to build 1 mile of levee would be $906,394.13.  He then showed a table using market labor rates in Butler County of $17, $15 and $25 an hour for the same jobs.  The labor costs to build 1 mile of levee without prevailing wages $438,313.33.  The table can be found at www.schultzandsummers.com

Stan Schultz talks about prevailing wages

Schultz stated, “Folks there are going to be a limited number of dollars available for levee repairs and I believe we need to consider that the same contractor with the same workers can build two miles of levee right across the state line in Arkansas for what it costs Missouri to build 1 mile.”  He also added, “That contractor can also build the Arkansas levee faster without prevailing wage laws because of the overtime and show up rules.  I was raised in a union home and have nothing against unions, but in my opinion we can pay workers a fair and living wage and rebuild twice as many levees in much less time if we would consider repealing the prevailing wage laws for emergency work after natural disasters.”

Representative Taylor

Schultz’s call to repeal prevailing wages during emergency work after natural disasters generated the most heated discussion of the hearing.  Representative Taylor D-Black Jack asked, “How the prevailing wage in Butler County could be as high as St. Louis?” He continued, “I’m a union electrician and have to take a $6 dollar an hour pay cut to work in this area and it seems odd to me that the Butler County prevailing wage would be higher than that.”  Schultz looked through the labor department numbers for Butler County and confirmed that the prevailing wage for an electrician in Butler County was just under $50 an hour.  Everyone laughed when Representative Taylor said, “I need to move here.” 

Representative Brandom R-Sikeston commented, “I used to wonder why prevailing wage rates are so much higher than the real rates we pay in our area.  After talking with several contractors in our area they said they didn’t have the time, staff or software necessary to keep up with and report the wages they are paying so the labor department just uses the St. Louis data. The reporting process is too hard and we need to look into simplifying it” Summers added, “Some projects are now requiring the engineer to certify that the contractor is paying the prevailing wage, which is an extra liability on us.” Taylor explained, “They have to report this properly, because when a contractor has to pay a worker the higher prevailing wages, but normally pays the lower $13 or $14 an hour, somebody has to make sure he is not pressuring the employee to give part of his wages back to the contractor.” 

Chairman Schoeller

Over 100 residents attended the hearing with about 30 of those providing testimony.  Chairman Schoeller kept the agenda open so that everyone had a chance to provide testimony to the committee.  “Ellen did a great job of organizing our tour of the damage and the local leaders and citizens have given our committee a much better understanding of how the flooding affected this region.  I believe we are walking away with some excellent ideas on what we can do.  Schultz and Summers explained several federal programs that could help us fund our projects and their thoughts about prevailing wages and emergency work law changes, are something we need to explore further,” concluded Schoeller.    

Bob and Stan concluding their testimony

Schultz and Summers Engineering Calls For Repeal Of Prevailing Wage

SSE gave ideas to the House Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery on how to speed up levee repairs

SIKESTON, MO – Emotions were high as citizens and local government leaders shared details about how the recent flooding effected Southeast Missouri with the House Committee on Disaster Recovery. Sikeston Police Chief Juden and Mississippi County Sheriff Moore talked about the problems first responders faced. Dr. Stephens from the Delta Center provided information about the soil quality in the Birds Point Levee- New Madrid Floodway. Cheryl White of SEMO Health Network explained how her organization set up health camps that provided free shots and prescriptions to stranded victims. Mayor Leija of Morehouse, a community that was hit hard by the flooding, told how the fast rising waters put his citizens in harm’s way.

Owners Stan Schultz and Bob Summers provided details to the House Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery about the damage caused to Southern Missouri levees by the April spring flooding. Bob Summers said, “We have helped the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) repair the levees around New Orleans and along the Mississippi River as well as the emergency spillway on Table Rock Lake. Our funding ideas and streamlining suggestions will speed up the process and eliminating prevailing wages will lower the costs.”

The mission of the committee was to assess whether a special legislative session will be necessary to address the needs of Joplin and the communities in Southeast Missouri. The committee will report its findings to Speaker Tilley on July 31. In addition, the committee will provide a report to the General Assembly by December 31st detailing long-term recovery strategies and how the state can better prepare for future natural disasters. Representative Richardson R-Poplar Bluff mentioned, “Schultz and Summers clearly has some invaluable knowledge and expertise with levee repairs. It was good to have Stan and Bob highlight some of the damage in our region and share their ideas about how we can find funding and quickly repair the levees in Southeast Missouri.”

There were three main funding sources covered in the SSE presentation. Mr. Schultz provided information about Public Law 84-99 which is run through the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Once asked by the local levee district the USACE will send a project manager and assessment team out to the damaged levee to assess the situation and estimate costs. If approved the USACE will provide 75% of the funding and the local district has to come up with the final 25%. This program was put in place to repair damaged levees after flooding. More information on this program can be found at http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/9524_3b.shtm

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the Emergency Watershed Protection program, which provides funding to counties, cities and local levee and drainage districts for repairs after a natural disaster. This program is a 25%-75% match but it allows the local sponsor to in-kind all or some of the 25%. It can only be used in an area that has been declared a disaster by the president. More information on this program can be found at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/ewp

Schultz also briefed the committee members on the Congressional appropriations process in Washington. He said, “The House committee has passed a bill providing $589 million for levee repairs in the Mississippi River watershed. Congresswoman Emerson has been our biggest champion on this issue and Senators McCaskill and Blunt are also working to pass this funding in the Senate.” Other suggestions offered by Schultz and Summers included, waving easement recording fees, streamlining condemnation proceedings, eliminating environmental road blocks, and reducing liabilities on emergency work after natural disasters. “The damaged levees in Southeast Missouri expose all our citizens to a huge risk from another flood. These suggestions would speed up the repair process and get life back to normal for all our communities, stated Schultz.

When the topic turned to repealing prevailing wages on emergency work, there was an unspoken tension in the room. Schultz presented a table showing the labor costs of building one mile of levee 15 feet high with a 4 to1 slope on the water side and a 3 to 1 slope on the land side. This would require 189,000 cubic yards of soil being moved and properly put in place. He used 30 miles as the distance to haul the soil. His table estimated it would take 30 truck drives, 4 general laborers and 5 heavy equipment operators. When paying hourly prevailing wages of $35.69, $33.85 and $46.22 for drives, laborers and operators the labor costs to build 1 mile of levee would be $906,394.13. He then showed a table using market labor rates in Butler County of $17, $15 and $25 an hour for the same jobs. The labor costs to build 1 mile of levee without prevailing wages $438,313.33. The table can be found at www.schultzandsummers.com

Schultz stated, “Folks there are going to be a limited number of dollars available for levee repairs and I believe we need to consider that the same contractor with the same workers can build two miles of levee right across the state line in Arkansas for what it costs Missouri to build 1 mile.” He also added, “That contractor can also build the Arkansas levee faster without prevailing wage laws because of the overtime and show up rules. I was raised in a union home and have nothing against unions, but in my opinion we can pay workers a fair and living wage and rebuild twice as many levees in much less time if we would consider repealing the prevailing wage laws for emergency work after natural disasters.”

Schultz’s call to repeal prevailing wages during emergency work after natural disasters generated the most heated discussion of the hearing. Representative Taylor D-Black Jack asked, “How the prevailing wage in Butler County could be as high as St. Louis?” He continued, “I’m a union electrician and have to take a $6 dollar an hour pay cut to work in this area and it seems odd to me that the Butler County prevailing wage would be higher than that.” Schultz looked through the labor department numbers for Butler County and confirmed that the prevailing wage for an electrician in Butler County was just under $50 an hour. Everyone laughed when Representative Taylor said, “I need to move here.”

Representative Brandom R-Sikeston commented, “I used to wonder why prevailing wage rates are so much higher than the real rates we pay in our area. After talking with several contractors in our area they said they didn’t have the time, staff or software necessary to keep up with and report the wages they are paying so the labor department just uses the St. Louis data. The reporting process is too hard and we need to look into simplifying it” Summers added, “Some projects are now requiring the engineer to certify that the contractor is paying the prevailing wage, which is an extra liability on us.” Taylor explained, “They have to report this properly, because when a contractor has to pay a worker the higher prevailing wages, but normally pays the lower $13 or $14 an hour, somebody has to make sure he is not pressuring the employee to give part of his wages back to the contractor.”

Over 100 residents attended the hearing with about 30 of those providing testimony. Chairman Schoeller kept the agenda open so that everyone had a chance to provide testimony to the committee. “Ellen did a great job of organizing our tour of the damage and the local leaders and citizens have given our committee a much better understanding of how the flooding affected this region. I believe we are walking away with some excellent ideas on what we can do. Schultz and Summers explained several federal programs that could help us fund our projects and their thoughts about prevailing wages and emergency work law changes, are something we need to explore further,” concluded Schoeller.

Table: Prevailing Wage Rates vs Local Wage Rates for Butler County

IHNC Hurricane Surge Protection Wall Video

Here is a short video about the largest design build project ever built by the USACE in America. We were proud to have been apart of building the Surge protection wall that will help keep the people of New Orleans safe for years to come.

SSE Picked For Testing By Archer Western Contractors

NEW ORLEANS- On May 20th Archer Western Contractors (AWC) announced they have chosen Schultz and Summers Engineering to provide geotechnical instrumentation and construction materials testing for the LVP 109 levee project. Project Manager Martin Pospisil said, “SSE is the kind of company that we like having on the AWC team. They have a proven track record for dependable service, accurate test results and competitive pricing.”

This is a 7.2 mile stretch of levee on the northeast back of Lake Pontchartrain surrounding New Orleans. It will involve over 3 million tons of soil and over 9 million feet of wick drain will be involved. When completed it will be one of the largest levee projects in the United States.
“We are proud to be on the AWC team,” stated Stan Schultz. “AWC is one of the best construction companies in America and we are excited to be working with them on a project of this size and importance.”

The USACE has asked AWC to begin work on levee project LVP 109 as soon as possible with completion being scheduled by 2012. Martin added, “With the typical wet weather in New Orleans we have to stay with our schedule in order to finish the project on time. SSE has earned a reputation as a testing company that never slows a project down. This is one of the main reasons we wanted them working with us on this project”

Schultz concluded, “We have worked hard to provide all our clients with a dependable service they could count on. Our good reputation is growing and being chosen to work on LVP 109 was a dream come true for our company. I studied this job for months and the engineer in me desperately wanted to be involved in a levee project of this magnitude. Long after it is completed we can look back with pride and know we helped keep the people of New Orleans safe.”

Schultz and Summers Engineering is a Missouri based Civil Engineering Company. They opened a branch office in New Orleans almost two years ago in order to focus on providing surveying and materials testing service on the USACE flood control projects. They have a large state of the art USACE validated testing lab and are one of the select companies that have been approved for Blanket Purchase Agreement with the USACE. To date SSE has provided QC testing services on 18 different projects for companies such as Tetra tech, WR Compass, Southern Services and LS CKY to name just a few. They are also providing QA testing services to the USACE on 11 projects. SSE is a HubZone certified company and can be found at www.schultzandsummers.com