Tim Mackin, Kiewit’s Construction Project Manager

1. What are the most remarkable aspects of construction of the DUS Transit Improvements?

This project brings many challenges as there are many elements of the project -- a 1,100-foot long, 150-foot wide and 23-foot tall bus facility structure that will be underground, light rail and commuter rail tracks and platforms and a structurally unique commuter rail train hall – to name a few.  There are over 57,000 cubic yards of concrete that will be poured, 5,000 tons of rebar to be placed and a 50,000 square foot CRT train hall canopy with 800 tons of structural steel.

 2. Why is safety so important to Kiewit?

“Nobody Gets Hurt” is our corporate safety motto and each Kiewit team members takes that to heart.  We all want to go home to our families each night and make sure the person working next to us does as well. The construction industry is inherently dangerous and every day we review our “Hazard Analysis” for each operation, plan our work to reduce risks and train our people on how to work safe.

 3. What is your favorite piece of equipment being used on this job?

We have on site a Manitowoc 777 Crawler Crane that we refer to as the “triple 7.”  Kiewit owns only 17 of these cranes nationwide so it is not often you have one on your job.  It is always important to have the right equipment for the right job and this crane lets us “fly” in rebar, wall panels and equipment from the staging area into the underground bus facility structure.  Look for the crane to move from the “crane road” down under the structure base slab in the next month or so.

4. Of all of the jobs you have worked on – what makes the DUS project unique?

There are many different construction disciplines involved in the DUS Project, grading, structures, electrical/mechanical, drainage, utilities, track, as well as design/architectural since it is a design-build project.  It is an honor to work with so many smart professionals who bring their special expertise to each of these elements and I have learned a lot from them.  We have a great team, seasoned employees, young interns, subcontractors/suppliers, owner representatives, City and County of Denver staff and RTD staff, all working together to make this project successful and completed on time and on budget.

5. When the project is complete what do you want the community to remember about construction?

I hope the community will remember this project as having a perfect safety record with zero accidents and for the high quality of construction on all of the elements.