The Road to Training

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is home to the II Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF), comprising more than 47,000 U. S. Marines and Navy personnel. In 1992, the Federal Government invested $41 million to buy 44,000 acres of land adjacent to the base, known as the Greater Sandy Run Area (GSRA). Under a $35 million Master Development Plan, the site would be enhanced to accommodate II MEF’s large-scale tactical training operations, which formerly had been conducted at Army facilities in Fort Bragg, NC, and Fort Benning, GA.

GSRA, located just south of Jacksonville, NC, and west of U. S. 17, would be a challenge to occupy—even for the Marines. The site had been owned by private citizens and a large paper manufacturer, which harvested almost all of the land’s saleable timber, leaving only young forests, dense brush, and an extensive network of unmarked, dirt trails used for transporting timber. Nestled in the coastal lowlands, GSRA also features large wetland areas and is prone to flooding.

In 1995, KCI Technologies, Inc., began work with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic Division (LANTDIV), to transform GSRA into a premier training facility for Marine Air/Ground Task Forces. KCI completed surveying and engineering designs for perimeter, access, and tactical roads; tank trails; bridges; mock airfield buildings; helicopter landing zones; observation towers; power and telephone lines; and water and sanitary sewer systems.

The Partnership—The GSRA project involved a unique mix of engineering, GIS, and architectural disciplines. KCI’s geotechnical, structural, and transportation engineers and surveyors collaborated under rigid deadlines on transportation, electrical, and utility plans to create a roadway network for tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry training in GSRA. Early in the design phase, the KCI project team prepared parametric cost estimating and programming reports for LANTDIV and congressional review. These reports describe the proposed construction, scope, schedule, and budget for multi-year, federally funded projects, detailing material quantities and cost estimates.

Following the initial phases of design and range construction, Camp Lejeune officially opened GSRA on October 16, 1998. As the Master Plan evolved and the project team engineered plans under the next two phases, KCI worked closely with LANTDIV to sequence design and construction schedules around training needs, minimizing impacts to live-fire operations. The complexity of the project required the expertise of staff from two KCI regional offices, with KCI Vice President Steve Drumm, PE, and Tom Conklin leading design efforts in Hunt Valley, MD; and Jim Gellenthin, PLS, spearheading efforts in Raleigh, NC.

“Before the roadway improvements, we could spend all day crossing GSRA. We drove through holes where water would come into the vehicle,” Assistant Director of Camp Lejeune’s Training Resource Management Division Peggy Briley recalled. “On one occasion, I was driving around a bend and the road just disappeared. Now, we can move across the area quickly, and we’re keeping people from getting lost and straying into hot areas.”

To improve roadway stability and strength for heavy truck and tank traffic, KCI and LANTDIV incorporated a Geogrid layer under the crushed aggregate roadway. This innovative design approach, used in roadway construction throughout GSRA, eliminated the need to remove unstable soils and conduct expensive grading.

The task of balancing construction schedules with operational and safety requirements rested on the shoulders of KCI’s on-site inspector Bill Best. “He knows those 44,000 acres like the back of his hand, and drives hundreds of miles a week throughout GSRA to ensure quality construction from our contractors,” recalled Lieutenant Kirk Lagerquist, U. S. Navy, former resident officer in charge of construction. “Bill has been the cornerstone for this office when it comes to GSRA….I’ve never had to worry about GSRA….Bill Best is out there keeping track of it all.”

KCI also coordinated much of the environmental permitting for the project and submitted designs that avoided or minimized impacts to wetlands. Environmental mitigation proved to be an ongoing challenge, since the project area comprises 80 percent wetlands and is home to protected species.

KCI submitted design plans under the three contracts on schedule and within budget, with actual construction bids falling well under KCI cost estimates. A recent letter from Commander S. R. Scanlan, U. S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps, reflects the value of the project’s innovative partnership. “KCI’s engineers, surveyors, and construction managers have consistently responded with a ‘CAN DO’ attitude, applying experience and professionalism in resolving day-to-day issues to keep the project on schedule and within budget.”

 









 



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