2010 KEA Group Year in Review

26th running of the Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens

The Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens is a non-profit organization and is known as the "event of the season". KEA Group proudly sponsored the 2010 event at the Bronze level. Started in 1985, the Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens has generated over $2.5 Million for arts related organizations in the Columbus and surrounding area.

Guests in the tent braved the cool temperatures and were treated to tailgating style gathering while cheering on horses in each of the five sanctioned races. The infield area provided entertainment for the whole family with pony rides, Jack Russell Terrier races, crafts, bag pipers, and blacksmiths. There was also a parade of Midland Foxhounds and the ever popular Southern Views Hat Contest.

Source: The Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens

 

A multi-disciplinary panel discussion on logical termini

On April 30, 2010 at the 35th Annual National Association of Environmental Professionals Conference in Atlanta, an interdisciplinary team comprised of representatives from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) -- Georgia Division, Atlanta Regional Commission, and Kennedy Engineering & Associates Group (KEA Group) presented a panel discussion on FHWA’s logical termini evaluation of road construction in Georgia. Read More >

 

The Ranch House in Georgia: Guidelines for Evaluation

In 2008 KEA Group’s staff Architectural Historian, Katheryn Ferrall, was invited to participate in the Ranch House Assessment Team, consisting of approximately 15 people in Georgia, including representatives from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division (HPD), the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC), and a small group of consultant cultural resource professionals. Read More >

 

2010 Project Wins

KEA Group is proud to announce award of the following projects that they will begin working on in 2011. Click below for more information about the projects.

Georgia

Florida

 

Project Completions and Milestones

KEA Group reached several milestones in 2010 with the completion of the following projects for Georgia DOT and certain municipalities throughout the state of Georgia. Click for more details of our accomplishments.

A multi-disciplinary panel discussion on logical termini

The FHWA logical termini regulations outline three general questions at 23 CFR 771.111(f) that are evaluated in transportation decision-making:

  • Is the project of sufficient length to address environmental matters on a broad scope?
  • Does the project have independent utility?
  • Does the project restrict the consideration of alternatives for other reasonably foreseeable transportation improvements outside of the project’s limits?

The issue of logical termini fits into the transportation decision-making process in several places - Need and Purpose, traffic analysis, and project scope, schedule, and budget. On a broader scale, logical termini evaluations can impact regional and/or statewide transportation planning, budget allocations, and regional air quality conformity modeling.

The initial concept of assembling this panel was conceived by KEA Group due to the number of projects that we have encountered that have extensive logical termini evaluations. KEA Group assembled the panelists, which consisted of Katy Allen, FHWA; Michael Murdoch, GDOT Office of Environmental Services; Matthew Fowler, GDOT Office of Planning; David Haynes, Atlanta Regional Commission; and Dale Youngkin, formerly with KEA Group, with Bruce Hart of KEA Group serving as moderator. Panelists presented their agency perspectives for 1.5 hours. One clear conclusion is that the logical termini issue is highly woven through the transportation decision-making process, from the initial identification of a project, to how the project is broken up for preliminary engineering, and the NEPA process. Without logical termini, projects can be delayed or stopped. Benefits of getting FHWA approval on Logical Termini early in the NEPA process include: performing special studies once instead of multiple times and the continuing the NEPA process uninterrupted. The forum was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and provide an opportunity for dialog among all the participants.

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The Ranch House in Georgia: Guidelines for Evaluation

In 2008 KEA Group’s staff Architectural Historian, Katheryn Ferrall, was invited to participate in the Ranch House Assessment Team, consisting of approximately 15 people in Georgia, including representatives from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division (HPD), the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC), and a small group of consultant cultural resource professionals.

As Ranch Houses throughout the state began to reach the 50-year threshold for evaluation for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) the need arose to identify the character defining features and period of significance of the Ranch House type.

For over a year, the Ranch House Assessment Team worked in a collaborative effort, through a series of work sessions to develop a draft list of guidelines for applying the NRHP Criteria for Evaluation to the Ranch House type in Georgia. As a consultant for GTC, Ms. Ferrall then put the draft guidelines developed by the team to work in the field by documenting and applying the NRHP Criteria for Evaluation to approximately 750 Ranch Houses throughout the state of Georgia. An independent consulting firm was later contracted to expand and refine the draft guidelines established by the Ranch House Assessment Team, and the resulting document, “The Ranch House in Georgia: Guidelines for Evaluation,” was released in Spring 2010.

According to the HPD, the guide provides step-by-step procedures for researching, recording, and evaluating Ranch Houses, and identifies sources for potential future research. This publication is one of the first in the nation to address the evaluation of post WWII housing and is anticipated to serve as reference for states across the nation. In April 2010, the document received the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s Award for Preservation Service for its contributions on compliance to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

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Georgia Project Wins

GDOT Value Engineering Studies
Over the next five (5) years, KEA Group will assist the Georgia DOT in completing a variety of VE studies for projects around the state of Georgia that are valued at $10M or more (to include right of way costs). KEA Group is a subconsultant to the three winning Prime Engineering firms: MACTEC, VMS, and US Cost. We are excited to assist each firm in these Value Engineering Studies.

GDOT IDIQ Consultant Engineering Services
KEA Group is pleased to announce that they are subconsultants to the two winning Prime Engineering firms, Moffatt & Nichol and Moreland Altobelli, for a variety of engineering services throughout the state of Georgia for Corridor Projects that will include: planning studies, environmental services, design and construction engineering & inspection.

GDOT Consultant Services for Utility Coordination
KEA Group will be assisting two of the winning Prime Engineering firms, So-Deep and Cardno TBE, for the first ever GDOT Utility Coordination contract statewide. KEA Group will be assisting these firms with construction engineering & inspection services.

Rockdale County Transportation Consulting Engineering Services
Rockdale County recently approved a five (5) year SPLOST program and Wolverton & Associates, Inc., was one of the Prime Engineering firms selected to assist Rockdale County for these engineering services. KEA Group is a subconsultant to Wolverton for this contract.

GDOT Interstate Noise Study
KEA Group will be assisting Bowlby & Associates, Inc., in this special noise study being conducted by GDOT in DeKalb, Fulton and Clayton Counties. In 2010, FHWA issued it’s Final Rule for Procedures for Abatement of Highway Traffic Noise and Construction Noise. This final rule amends the Federal regulations on the Procedures for Abatement of Highway Traffic Noise and Construction Noise. The final rule clarifies and adds definitions, the applicability of this regulation, certain analysis requirements, and the use of Federal Funds for noise abatement measures.

City of Roswell Hardscrabble Green Loop Phase I Project
KEA Group will be completing the NEPA services for RS&H for the design of this project. We look forward to working again with RS&H on these types of projects for Metro Atlanta municipalities.

GDOT Statewide Full Design Services
Wolverton & Associates, Inc., Florence Hutcheson, and McGee Partners, Inc. are the three (3) winners of this GDOT contract. KEA Group is pleased to announce and is excited to work with each of these Prime Engineering firms for environmental and design services.

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Florida Project Wins

KEA Group opened their Florida office in Fort Walton Beach, FL in 2009.
KEA received prequalification with FDOT in a variety of area classes from Planning, Environmental, Traffic Operations, Design and Construction Engineering & Inspection.

We are now proud to announce our first project win with the Florida Department of Transportation.
KEA Group will be providing Construction Engineering & Inspection services to Hatch Mott MacDonald, LLC, in Escambia County. This project will begin in early 2011.

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Completions and Milestones

GDOT Chattanooga to Atlanta High Speed Ground Transportation Project

As a subconsultant to AECOM, KEA Group completed the Ecology Report for this high profile Tiered EIS for Georgia DOT. KEA Group prepared the ecology evaluation for the Atlanta-Chattanooga High Speed Ground Transportation (HSGT) Study Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The HSGT Study area is a 110-mile corridor following I-75 between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (HJAIA) and downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Tier 1 EIS is evaluating four HSGT alignments; each alignment includes two terminal stations, Chattanooga and HJAIA, and as many as six intermediate stations in downtown Atlanta, Cobb, Bartow, and Whitfield Counties in Georgia, and Hamilton County in Tennessee. The ecology evaluation that KEA Group prepared includes the development of ecology-related Early Coordination letters with federal and state regulatory/resource agencies, a desktop analysis of perennial streams, potential wetland areas, and areas of potential habitat for federal and state-listed species, and a field survey of potential wetland sites and areas of potential habitat for protected species. The desktop review identifying potential wetland sites was performed by examining a variety of data resources including Natural Resource Conservation Service soil survey maps, United States Geological Survey topographic maps, National Wetland Inventory maps, the University of Georgia Natural, Archeological & Historical Resource website, and aerial photography. Not all potential wetland sites identified from the desktop review were surveyed so KEA Group developed a methodology to randomly select a representative set of potential wetland sites for field survey. Field survey activities included confirmation of potential wetland sites utilizing the three criteria (i.e., hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils, and wetland hydrology) described in the United States Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual. KEA Group is prepared a project specific Ecology Assessment and the ecology-related Tier 1 EIS chapters to describe the results of the desktop analysis and field survey, identify potential Clean Water Act Section 404 compensatory mitigation sites, quantify potential impacts to the ecological resources for each alignment, present the results and identification of the alignment that has the least impact on ecological resources, and describe potential mitigation strategies to be evaluated in the Tier 2 EIS.

GDOT GA 400/I-85 Connector Ramps

As a subconsultant to HNTB, KEA Group completed the Draft Environmental Assessment that has recently been submitted to FHWA for their review for this long awaited GDOT project that will connect the missing links (GA 400 south to I-85 north and I-85 south to GA 400 north) of this Interchange in the heart of Buckhead. Approval of the NEPA document is expected in early 2011.

GDOT US 441 Widening, Rabun County

This project consists of the last widening of US 441 in the North Georgia Mountains, a popular area for tourism and retirees, between the City of Clayton and North Carolina. KEA Group as a subconsultant to KCI Technologies recently completed and submitted for FHWA review, the Draft Environmental Assessment. This document was challenging in many ways but mostly due to the number of eligible national register historic properties throughout the project corridor.

FEMA Environmental Assessment for the Butts County Fire Department

KEA Group completed its first Environmental Document for FEMA. Butts County Fire Department received grant funds from FEMA through its Fire Station Construction Grant Program (SCG) for the construction, renovation, or modification of fire stations. Due to age, poor structural conditions, mold and rodent infestation, the County has shut down Fire Station #3 on Keys Ferry Road and have relocated the services to another facility. The County proposes to utilize the grant funds received to demolish the existing structure and construct a new building in accordance with current codes and return the area’s fire and emergency response services to the location. This effort would reduce current emergency response times in half.

Georgia for the School for the Deaf Cave, Spring Campus

The Cave Spring Rehabilitation Center located in Floyd County was slated to be demolished and replaced with a modern structure by the Georgia Department of Labor due to poor building conditions and the prevalence of mold. Prior to the demolition of the center it was determined that the property was eligible for listing in the Georgia Register of Historic Places. The structures, which originally served as the boys’ dormitory complex on the Georgia School for the Deaf Cave Spring Campus, represent an extended period of significance for the school during the 1960s, the final phase of development at the schools’ historic campus location during the last years of racial segregation. In compliance with the Georgia Environmental Policy Act (GEPA) and the State Agency Historic Property Stewardship Program policies, it was determined that demolition of the historic structures would result in an adverse effect which could be mitigated through creation of a Photographic Permanent Archival Record of the property. Representatives for the Georgia Department of Labor contacted KEA Group to create the Archival Record for the property, which consisted of detailed photographs of each structure, as well as creating site plans, building floor plans, a brief history of the structures and a statement of historical significance. The finished product was approved by the State Historic Preservation Office in October of 2010, and is now included in their research files. As a result of the successful completion of this detailed documentation, the Georgia Department of Labor was able to move ahead with demolition of the existing buildings and begin construction of new structures associated with the Cave Spring Rehabilitation Center.

GDOT Statewide Railroad Crossing Inventory

In 2010, KEA Group assisted Moreland Altobelli Associates, Inc. in completing the federally mandated railroad inventory for the Georgia DOT. In their role as a subconsultant, KEA Group completed over 700 railroad crossings in 21 counties across central Georgia. KEA Group within just a few months performed field reviews of each railroad crossings, completed inventory checklist documenting existing safety features installed, and provided thorough photo documentation.

West Fayetteville Bypass, Phase II

KEA Group recently obtained a United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) Regional General Permit 01 for the 4.6 mile West Fayetteville Bypass, Phase II in Fayette County, GA. This project was identified in the 2003 Fayette County Transportation Plan, which indicated the need for alternate routes for traffic around Fayetteville, in order to reduce congestion, improve level of service, and decrease accident rates within the City. KEA Group coordinated the archaeological, historical and aquatic special studies and performed the ecological field studies, including delineation of all waters of the US and potential non-aquatic, threatened and endangered species habitat. After a thorough environmental review process including analysis of archaeological, historical, and ecological resources within the area, multiple route alternatives were analyzed in order to produce a cost-effective and environmentally sound design. All historical and archaeological resources were avoided and wetland and stream impacts were dramatically reduced from those in the initial preferred alternative. Upon selection of the final alignment alternative, KEA Group worked with the County’s Consulting Engineer and various mitigation banks in order to negotiate mitigation cost reductions of 43 percent, decreasing mitigation costs from nearly $425,000 to just over $240,000. Additionally, KEA Group identified a mitigation bank located within the same 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) as the proposed project; thereby enabling a 10 percent reduction in total credits purchased for the project per the USACE Savannah District’s Guidelines for Bank Credit Purchase, thus creating additional cost savings of just over $24,000 for the tax payers of Fayette County.

GDOT Transportation Enhancement Program

In 2009, Moreland Altobelli Associates, Inc. was awarded the Program Manager for the ‘Very Popular’ Transportation Enhancement Program for the Georgia DOT. This program had been on hold with the Department for several years and had an enormous backlog of projects that needed to be cleared. As a subconsultant to MAA, KEA Group assisted clearing NEPA projects for the TE Program. As a result, in 2010, the following accomplishments by the Program Management Team were recognized:

  • 57 Concept Reports Approved
  • 58 Categorical Exclusions Approved by FHWA
  • 61 Section 106 Worksheets Approved
  • 85 Ecology Reports Approved
  • 90 Air Documents Approved
  • 91 Noise Documents Approved
  • 18 CE Re-evaluations Approved by FHWA
  • 20 Right of Way Plans Approved
  • 32 Construction Plans Approved
  • 33 Transportation Enhancement Agreements Executed
  • 45 Authorization to Advertise for Bids Issued
  • 39 Bid Results Submitted to MAA
  • 41 Notices to Proceed for Construction Issued
  • 24 Supplemental Agreements Executed

MAA received numerous accolades from various GDOT Board Members for their efforts with this special Program.

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