2024 Pinnacle Award Winners

Build with the Best Pinnacle Award

Senator Ross Turner, South Carolina District 8 in Greenville County

Senator Turner is a staunch supporter of the Construction industry, as well as the entire business community in South Carolina. Most recently, at Carolinas AGC’s request, he was the lead sponsor of legislation that requires construction work zone training for all new drivers in the state. Upon Governor McMaster’s signature, South Carolina became the third state in the country to enact such legislation – mostly thanks to Senator Turner’s sponsorship and help in shepherding the bill through the legislative process.

Senator Turner is also a huge proponent of changing the South Carolina Joint and Several laws so that this state is no longer considered a legal nightmare. Not only has he been a primary sponsor of all the CAGC-filed tort reform bills over the past few years, but he has also spoken on the Senate floor and at various meetings and press conferences about the need to improve the state’s legal climate. 

Recently, Turner was appointed to the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank, which assists in financing major qualified projects to government units and private entities for constructing and improving highway and transportation facilities. 
  
As the president of The Turner Agency, Inc., an independent insurance agency, Senator Turner truly understands the importance of streamlining laws that help businesses, not hinder them.

Best Building Projects

71 Wentworth: Charleston, SC - Trident Construction

71 Wentworth, designed by 19th-century architect John Henry Devereux and built in 1872 by The Freemasons of South Carolina, was a Charleston centerpiece for 100 years before falling into near disrepair.

In 2017, East West Partners began a nearly seven-year effort to restore 71 Wentworth to its former splendor, bringing along Kevan Hoertdoerfer Architects and long-time construction partner Trident Construction.

The team’s successful partnership was characterized by effective collaboration and communication at every step of the project. Over the course of those seven years, they all participated in weekly meetings, addressing design changes, budget adjustments, and field modifications in real time. 

The project was not without its challenges. The building was positioned right up against the property line on all sides and sat on the corner of two of Charleston’s busiest streets. This resulted in no allowance whatsoever for a laydown yard. Additionally, the ground floor, which was under separate ownership, had to remain operational throughout construction. 

One of the project's most impressive feats was the restoration of the building's historical features. All of the interior brick was preserved and 100% repointed. The exterior window surrounds, designed to mimic the original stone, were crafted using a state-of-the-art computer numerical control machine. This technology enabled the creation of custom plugs for glass fiber reinforced concrete replicas, and then they were fitted to trim out each window.

Additionally, the building had also sustained structural damage from water, termites, and nonuse. Trident Construction worked continuously with the owner and architect to address unforeseen issues and adhere to the guidelines set by the City of Charleston’s Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation Society.

After seven years of hard work and zero safety incidents, this 150-year-old Masonic Lodge has successfully been brought back to its original splendor.

North Carolina State Capitol Renovation: Raleigh, NC - Muter Construction

Pinnacle Partners: Watco Corporation

North Carolina's 45,000-SF Capitol is the state's most iconic structure. In March 2023, the Muter Design-Build Team was selected to renovate the historic building, which included replacing the copper roof, updating the HVAC system, and repairing the exterior. 

Logistics in an occupied facility is incredibly challenging, and the Capitol’s downtown Raleigh location presented additional obstacles. Crews reshaped landscaping, relocated irrigation systems on the western lawn, and created a construction entrance. Erosion control was installed, and formidable bracing and weight-displacing mats were placed over an existing mechanical tunnel buried beneath the lawn. A separate staff entrance was installed, and a graphic fence screen with a QR code provided the public with real-time information on the project's history, current renovation, and expected timeline for completion. 

The roof marks the third replacement in the Capitol’s history. The original copper dome covering was installed using a European folding method. In 1970, the replacement roof was constructed in a more modern style which required soldering. For the 2023 renovation, Muter went back to the original European method because of its durability, better thermal expansion, aesthetic appeal, and because construction required no soldering, which avoided potential fire. 

Due to the historic roof's radius and flashing details, the coppersmith (Jorge Fiscal) molded the areas by hand with a hammer, mallet and shaping tools in order to return the beautiful iconic dome to the Capitol.

One of the most noticeable improvements to the Capitol is the relocation of the air handling units from the roof to the attic. Installing new fan coil units in the ground-level offices required in-depth coordination to replace outdated equipment, with crews crawling through tunnels that at times measured 2 feet or less to install copper lines and electrical wiring. Replacing tunnel HVAC equipment required gas monitoring and fresh air purification using air exchanges powered by air ventilation and intakes. During the hot water and chilled water installation from the tunnel to the attic, it was decided that the intricate interior structure was best left undisturbed, creating the need to run piping outside the building. That challenge was identified, and the alternative plan was quickly planned and executed.

Regarding budget, Muter identified activities that could occur at the same time, significantly impacting the project’s timeline, cost, and efficiency. Examples include requiring contractors to share equipment, and scheduling crane lifts once or twice a month instead of keeping the crane onsite. These savings, along with only four change orders, allowed the Muter team to return over $255,000 to the owner. After clocking 45,000 manhours with zero accidents, Muter delivered the project two weeks early, allowing the Capitol Foundation to host its July 4th Celebration four days before the Capitol’s reopening.

Best Highway Projects

Hurricane Florence MILCON Package 4 Bridges: Camp Lejeune, NC - Archer Western 

Pinnacle Partners: Coastal Precast Systems and Civil Works Contracting

Archer Western’s contract with NAVFAC included replacement of two railroad trestles over White Oak River and Queens Creek along the 34-mile rail line, which moves heavy military freight between Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point. The project included demolition of the 60-year-old existing rail trestles and rail line improvements to better assist rail traffic critical to national security. 

Craft staff shortages were a challenge given the remote jobsite location. Local recruits often had little to no experience working around cranes and rigging. In response, the management team placed a damaged rigging board in a high traffic area next to the daily crew meeting location and required each employee undergoing orientation to visit the board with their Superintendent. The board displayed several pieces of rigging that were no longer safe, providing all employees with images of what to look for when conducting a rigging inspection.

The concrete piling configuration posed a unique challenge since the five-pile and eight-pile bents consisted of single-battered and double-battered piles. The team partnered with KCI Technologies to design custom pile templates and specialty roller assemblies to guide the single and double-battered piles in at the correct angle. With over 30% of piles being installed in the river, the project team had to ensure the template design was optimal for both marsh and marine applications. Investing in custom-designed pile templates proved to be essential for pile handling, installation, and productivity. 

Large-scale, swing radius barriers were kept in place around all cranes to mitigate crush hazards. Though truck traffic was allowed on the work trestle, it was critical that trucks stay within the designated truck lane. Therefore, a series of curbing was placed along the entire length of the trestle as a physical barrier to prevent trucks from entering the unsupported edge of the trestle.

Successful placement of 71 concrete pier caps was essential to the overall success of the project. The precise embedment of anchor bolts in each cap placement was critical, as the precast superstructure beams that would bear on the caps and the anchor bolts would need to fit within a three-inch sleeve through the beams. Prior to each cap placement, the team reviewed a detailed checklist to verify that all forms, embeds, and rebar were secure and in strict conformance with plan dimensions.  The pier caps were completed four months ahead of the baseline schedule with zero quality incidents and zero instances of misaligned anchor bolts.

Archer Western completed the entire 217,000-manhour project five months ahead of schedule and maintained a perfect safety record.

Harkers Island Bridge Replacement: Harkers Island, NC - Balfour Beatty Infrastructure

Pinnacle Partners: Coastal Precast Systems, S&W Ready Mix Concrete, and New South Construction Supply - A Colony Division

This critical $60 million bridge replacement project included the construction of a new 3,200-foot fixed-span bridge to replace the existing Earl C. Memorial Bridge (Bridge No. 73) and Bridge No. 96, which previously connected Harkers Island to mainland North Carolina. 

The existing bridge provided the only access to and from Harkers Island. Due to its low clearance, the movable swing-span design had to be mechanically opened regularly to allow marine vessel passage. Periodically, the existing structure suffered breakdowns, which then prevented access for community members getting on or off the island. The new bridge allows both marine and vehicular traffic continuously.

The most unique aspect of the project was the use of non-ferrous reinforcing materials which increases the design life from 50 to 100 years and reduces future maintenance costs. The design was engineered by NCDOT’s Structures Management Unit and is the first of its kind in the state. Throughout the project, the team had to work in close coordination through numerous challenges with this new material.

Of the many other challenges, one in particular was the annual in-water work moratorium which ran from April to the end of September. The contract award was August, 8 2021, and with notice to proceed on August 30, the team had very little time to secure a laydown yard, execute agreements, and secure materials. 

Another challenge was the rural location. The closest concrete plant was 25 miles from the project and required traveling through Morehead City. Concrete timeout was a concern mitigated by constant communication with S & W Ready-mix and NCDOT. 

And regarding that previously mentioned in-water moratorium, the second season between October 2022 and April 2023 involved all the remainder of the foundation installations and temporary work bridge, including the complete removal of the temporary work bridge as well as the complete removal of the old bridge structure. 

Despite the many challenges, the bridge, which was designated as a “Building Star Site” by NC DOL, opened 308 days ahead of schedule with no lost time incidents or environmental infractions. 

Construction Excellence Awards

Previous Pinnacle Award Winners