Carefree Projects Win Two 2024 Build Arizona Awards

 Pavement Preservation

 Carefree Water Consolidation

Each year the Arizona Association of General Contractors sponsors Build Arizona Awards to recognize excellence in construction, including project management, innovation, environmental sensitivity, community service, and safety.

In 2023, seven Build Arizona Awards were awarded to projects of Arizona municipalities, with only Phoenix winning multiple awards.  The smallest municipality to receive an award was Glendale.  According to the City of Glendale website, they have more than 250,000 residents and nearly 2,000 city employees.

In 2024 Carefree, a town with less than 2% of the residents and town employees of any 2023 award winner, will win two awards.  This seems to be a truly remarkable feat of project management for a town of this size and reflects very positively on the efficiency and effectiveness of Carefree Town staff.  The two awards:

·  The Build America Award for Pavement Preservation, in the under $2,000,000 category, is being awarded to a street maintenance project in the northern section of Carefree.  Construction company VSS International was selected for this project and will participate in the team award.

·  The Build America Award for New Public Construction, in the $10,000,000 to $50,000,000 category, is being awarded to the Carefree Water Consolidation program.  The Carefree Water Company, Coe & Van Loo Consultants, and Achen-Gardner Construction are the principal team members receiving this award.

·  Pavement Preservation

Town Administrator Gary Neiss led the management of road maintenance projects for the Town and has stated that the Town’s 110 miles of streets are Carefree’s largest assets as well as its largest liability.  Because of their importance, he has used industry-best maintenance practices for maintaining public street surfaces.  Our dry, hot desert sun creates a demanding climate that demands continual reinvestment in our aging streets.  Mr. Neiss says that only specific, effective maintenance practices can be used to extend the life of the asphalt in this environment.  The process is initiated by a comprehensive street pavement evaluation, which details pavement distress.  Based upon the level of distress, a specific pavement maintenance treatment is planned, budgeted, bid and implemented for various sections of the community.  Last spring, VSS International was the successful bidder to conduct a cape seal of the public streets located in the northern portions of Carefree. This cape seal consists of a three step approach, the sealing of the cracks in the asphalt, a chip seal and then a slurry seal over top.  This is the specific street maintenance project that is receiving the award from the Arizona Association of General Contractors for street maintenance projects under $2 million for its specifications, quality and fiscal management.  Though the award applies to the work already completed, Mr. Neiss has shared that VSS International is beginning a new phase of this cape seal treatment on the public streets surrounding Black Mountain.  It is estimated that the new phase will cover approximately 25% of the Town’s public streets at an approximate cost of $3 million and will be finished later this spring.

·  Carefree Water Consolidation

Carefree Water General Manager Greg Crossman has managed this $21,000,000 project and reports that it is virtually complete.  This project incorporated all residential and commercial accounts in Carefree into the Carefree Water Company’s service area.  It includes nearly five miles of new water lines, several pressure reducing valves and the new water storage reservoir adjacent to Tom Darlington Road.

Coe and Van Loo Consultants did the design engineering for the project and Achen-Gardner received the construction contract.  Both will be recognized as part of the winning team.  “This project was incredibly challenging,” according to Carefree Water General Manager Greg Crossman, “Transitioning 550 existing water customers spread over the western boundaries of Carefree from one water provider to another was not an easy proposition.”  The project improved both the condition and the fault tolerance of water infrastructure for the acquired customers, and the transition was also managed for minimal customer service disruption, adding an additional layer of complexity.

According to Les Peterson, Carefree’s mayor when the funding structure was set, the project was funded without increasing future rates to the Carefree residents and businesses already on the system.

An award application from Achen-Gardner, which includes additional details about the Carefree Water Consolidation project, is available for review on the                  Carefree Unity Website

Carefree Unity 1/21/2024

Carefree receives a Build Arizona Award

The Carefree Water Consolidation project will be awarded a Build Arizona Award later this month by the Arizona Chapter, Associated General Contractors.  The award will be shared by team members Achen-Gardner Construction, Coe & Van Loo Consultants, and the Carefree Water company.  The award application, submitted by Achen-Gardner, is reproduced below.