OC405 Partners, the joint venture between OHL USA, Inc. (lead 60%) and Astaldi Construction Corp., joined the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), Caltrans, state and federal officials, local business leaders, and more than 500 members of the community, to celebrate the groundbreaking of the I-405 improvement project, the largest transportation project in OCTA’s history and OHL’s largest ever in North America. Click here to view photos from the event.
The ceremony, which was held in Costa Mesa, CA in an IKEA parking lot adjacent to I-405, featured ten speakers, including Darrel Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the OCTA, representatives from the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Department of Transportation, California State Assembly, and Federal Highway Administriation, and our very own Tony Bagheri, Regional Director-EVP, Western USA. There were food and drink trucks, an interactive map of the project, and life-size #405Improvement hashtag, all to commemorate the start of this monumental project.
On behalf of the OC405 Partners, Tony gave the speech highlighting the team’s commitment to safety and minimizing impacts during project construction, stating that “working in close partnership with the OCTA, we’ve developed a comprehensive strategy to maintain workers’ and drivers’ safety, and minimize work-related traffic delays and impact to local businesses and communities.” He also reaffirmed that after more than a year of extensive planning and coordination with the OCTA and Caltrans, the team is ready to kickoff construction.
The $1.2 billion project will ease traffic and improve mobility along 16 miles of the nation’s busiest interstate and will use the design-build delivery method. The NTP (notice to proceed) was issued to OC405 Partners in July 2017 and the project will take approximately five years from that date to complete. The team will add two new lanes of traffic in each direction (including one express lane), replace and modify more than 18 bridges, and make other major improvements to reduce congestion. The project will also have economic benefits, including nearly 800 new construction jobs as the project ramps up, with many direct and indirect jobs expected through the life of the project.
The biggest factor and #1 priority for the project is safety and ensuring a safe environment for the workers and traveling public. The project follows a proven safety standard that has been used by OHL USA and Astaldi on major construction projects and exceeds Cal OSHA standards. The project also features an extensive community outreach program to keep drivers informed on progress and construction-related activities and closures in real-time. This includes a robust media and social media program, community meetings, text and e-mail alerts, and utilization of Google maps and WAZE navigation tools.
The OHL USA and Astaldi joint venture has a proven track record of successfully constructing thousands of miles of highways across the globe, including design-build projects. OC405 Partners has the experience, knowledge, and local team of professionals to successfully deliver this project.