Each year at the Denver International Airport (DEN), a series of rehabilitation projects take place as an ongoing effort to keep the bustling grounds of the airport safe and in proper operating condition. IHC Scott, a heavy civil contractor, has performed extensive work at DEN over the years, providing preventative maintenance and turnkey construction services to the surrounding facility. When they needed an experienced, technologically advanced Utility Engineering partner, they chose SAM.
About the Project
As a part of the 2022 Annual Pavement Rehabilitation Project at DEN, quality Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) services were needed for utility locating before additional work could proceed. IHC Scott needed a reliable team to assist in their due diligence with the groundbreaking utility avoidance policy at the third-busiest airport in the world.
With high expectations for quality and compliance, IHC Scott selected SAM as a partner to bring in our state-of-the-art ImpulseRadar Raptor 3-D ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology, and deliver a fast, accurate solution. SAM teamed up with IHC Scott to provide the advanced SUE solutions ahead of their excavation work at the airport.
Benefits of Raptor GPR Technology
SAM used high-speed GPR on this project to collect data at traffic speed in landside areas of construction to identify the existing utilities in the area and mitigate safety concerns to the public. This technology allowed us to clarify the horizontal and vertical position of the utilities while modeling other features identified during the scan. From the 3-D models, IHC Scott was able to clearly visualize utility locations as well as additional features including voids, trench sizes, backfill identification, abandoned underground structures, and other irregularities not identifiable by other means.
The ability to leverage our in-house Raptor system for IHC Scott allowed them to begin excavations quickly and confidently, contributing to cost and time savings.
Looking Ahead
“The SAM team was extremely valuable and helpful in offering the latest SUE techniques and solutions on this project. Their extensive knowledge and understanding of what was required made it evident that SAM is a competent technical partner. This is the quality of relationships we look to develop here at IHC Scott. Our team is excited about more landside opportunities with SAM in the future and highly recommend them as a partner to other firms,” said Anthony Wiarda, Senior Project Manager at IHC Scott.
As the first team on most job sites, having efficient and effective solutions is critical to keeping the entire project on track. With project time schedules and budget constraints in mind, the SAM team leveraged the latest in SUE techniques to provide multi-channel Raptor GPR services capable of collecting large amounts of data while reducing costs and eliminating public interference. Our solution allowed our partners at IHC Scott to confidently complete a zero-damage project with several high-profile utilities within the project limits at DEN.
“As a trusted geospatial partner in the Denver region, we anticipate further involvement at DEN in the future and are excited to grow our relationship with IHC Scott on these critical projects,” said Stacy Bockorny, Senior Project Manager at SAM.
Visit our SUE webpage or check out another case story to learn more about how our state-of-the-art Raptor technology can solve your most challenging utility locating needs.