for the New Mexico Department of Transportation

The I-25 and I-40 Interchange project was a high profile regional/local project that raised some interest in the industry. At the center of the attention to this project was the question… Could it be done? Could the largest interstate highway interchange in New Mexico be completely rebuilt in two years in the middle of the state's largest metropolitan area while keeping traffic flowing smoothly? The answer to this question is yes. It can be done and it has been done, on schedule, within budget and with spectacular results.

AUI's work on this project included installation of utility pipe, inlet and manhole construction, two concrete channels, headwalls, box culvert extensions, cast-in-place concrete wall barrier, and work on large-scale water transmission lines. AUI supplied the first pipe bursting technology to be utilized on a New Mexico Department of Transportation Project.

for Sandia National Laboratories, Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM

This project consisted of the installation of underground utilities as the first phase of construction of the Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Applications (MESA) Complex at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Work included removing existing utilities, gas and water line installation and relocations; electrical duct bank and 6-way and 9-way communication duck banks; steam, reclamation water and fire protection work; and storm drain and sanitary sewer installations.

This was a notable project for AUI for several reasons. First, it included a variety of utility installations with multiple specifications for each utility including DOD specs, DOE specs, City of Albuquerque, and NM Department of Transportation standards. Second, AUI constructed this project in conjunction with two other unrelated projects for Sandia National Labs. Thirdly, this project started just a few months after the tragic events of September 11th. Security requirements are stringent at all times surrounding the SNL but at that post-9/11 time of heightened threat level, construction projects within the laboratory complex presented unique challenges for Project Managers, Superintendents and Foremen. This project was particularly rewarding for AUI because of the surge in feelings and expressions of patriotism at that time; it felt good to be working surrounded by those in the business of defending our nation and to be contributing in some way to that defense.

for the US Army Corps of Engineers at Holloman AFB

The Bonito Pipeline, located in southern New Mexico, provides raw water from Bonito Lake outside the Town of Ruidoso to the City of Alamogordo and other small communities along the way. Once treated, the water supplements the water supply for the City of Alamogordo and Holloman Air Force Base. The project entailed replacing a 55-mile plus portion of deteriorated 16-inch and 20-inch diameter concrete cylinder pipeline with new 14-inch through 20-inch SDR-18 and SDR-25 PVC pipe. The construction flanked State Highway and Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) right-of-way, ran through residential neighborhoods, under several arroyos and crisscrossed the highway and railroad.

The more challenging aspects of the project included, working in close proximity to the active pipeline, working next to the railroad, and through the arroyo crossings. Working adjacent to the railroad required constant coordination between AUI and UPRR to ensure that all construction personnel and equipment were moved beyond the clear zone each time a train passed through the work zone. The arroyo crossing at Temporal Creek required an excavation 35-feet deep and roughly 200-feet in length in order to protect the pipeline from scour. The volume of soil excavated created spoil piles stretching sometimes two-hundred feet behind the active work zone and requiring constant monitoring to control dust during periods of elevated winds.

In February of 2004, the United States Air Force Air Combat Command honored AUI Inc. with a Construction Excellence Award for this project stating that the project exceeded ACC's expectation for excellence in cost, schedule and quality control.

for the City of Las Vegas, NM

The scope of work was to replace 45,652 LF of the City of Las Vegas' outdated sanitary sewer infrastructure, which consisted of various pipe diameters and depths of bury throughout residential and commercial areas. This project included 9 miles of interceptor sewer line, 2 miles of road reconstruction, and construction of a sewer lift station. More than three miles of pipe were replaced or rehabilitated using trenchless technology (pipe bursting or cured in-place liner).

Simultaneous with AUI's project, under a separate contract, another contractor, Condore Construction Co., was working to upsize an existing 6" potable waterline to new 12" HDPE pipe. This 6" waterline was located through a 150-year-old Masonic cemetery; open cut excavation through this cemetery was not acceptable. The City of Las Vegas chose pipe bursting as the least disruptive method to replace this segment of waterline and a subcontract was issued to AUI to complete this pipe burst for Condore Construction. This project was featured in Underground Construction Magazine (April, 2004) and received an Honorable Mention for Trenchless Rehabilitation Project of the Year, 2004 in the October issue of Trenchless Technology Magazine (October, 2004).

for the US Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Albuquerque

The Double Eagle II Airport Water Supply and Transmission Line/Wastewater Collection and Transmission Line runs from Double Eagle Airport to Volcano Cliffs Reservoir and supplies the airport and other businesses in the area with water service and wastewater disposal. The basics of the work included construction of a new lower pump station and improvements to the existing Volcano Cliffs Reservoir site; modifications to the existing upper pump station and lower reservoirs; modifications to the existing Soil Amendment Facility water pump station; and new north and south wastewater lift stations.

for the City of Albuquerque

This project is part of a series of contracts that will bring Rio Grande river water to a purifying station where it will become a much-needed supplemental source of drinking water for the City of Albuquerque. It consists of furnishing and installing over 1,285 LF of 60" and 3,723 LF of 54" high pressure welded steel pipe with 54" butterfly valves in two reinforced concrete vault structures. This project begins on Sequoia Road west of Alamogordo Drive, continues east on Sequoia Road down the west bluff, and crosses the Rio Grande at the west end of Campbell Road. The pipe installation beneath the river will included a temporary diversion of the Rio Grande, dewatering of the trench through the bosque and the river, asphalt and concrete removal and replacement on Sequoia Road and relocation of an existing 8" waterline.