Fluor served as the design-build project manager on the State of South Carolina's first PPP project. The company was responsible for providing a fast-track approach to construct the highway while working closely with state and local officials, businesses, and residents of the area. The Conway By-Pass was comprised of more than 60 bridges and six interchanges constructed through more than 300 acres of wetlands.
Fluor coordinated the design effort and provided permitting, land acquisition, and construction management services. Fluor maintained the project schedule, managed multiple contractors, managed the quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) program, traffic control, utility relocation, community relations, safety, and worked with the disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) program.
Fluor implemented several innovative approaches during the project that saved money and reduced the overall schedule. The Fluor project team initiated a value-engineering program that over the course of the project resulted in a reduction of $50 million in total project cost.
Fluor worked closely with state and federal agencies to reclassify certain areas as minimally productive wetlands, thereby eliminating approximately five miles of bridges, which reduced the total project cost. Other innovations included use of partnering sessions with SCDOT, geo-grid materials to reduce excavations, Grade Positioning System (GPS) for grading control, use of precast, post-tensioned flat slap bridges, superpave asphalt, and a paperless project concept.
Fluor used innovative construction methods to ensure that the environmental sensitivities were addressed. The project team supported and worked closely with Clemson University's monitoring of black bear migrations through the region. Mindful of the regions delicate surroundings, Fluor used a “top down” construction approach for building more than 60 mainline bridges spanning wetlands, a railway, and the Waccamaw River. Here, the bridges were constructed using cranes supported by a temporary trestle positioned between the east and westbound bridges, minimizing the impact to the environment below.