This month, we spoke with Ernie Robles, Vice President of Titan Environmental Solutions, Inc. (TES). Ernie is a native of Los Angeles County (born and raised in Whittier), so he is familiar with the traffic challenges of the region. That's why he's excited to be a part of the Purple Line Extension, which will offer commuters a new transportation option that will also have a positive impact on the environment.
As reflected in their name, TES is particularly focused on the environment. The firm monitors construction sites to support the health and safety of project workers. Specifically, TES prepares asbestos- and lead-related construction work safety and health plans, a site specific health and safety plan, and performs lead-related construction air monitoring.
TES is a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and is listed on the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) website, which allows prime contractors like Frontier-Kemper/Tutor Perini JV (FKTP JV) to easily find their specialty. This project presented a unique puzzle for TES, since so much work is taking place underground, but Ernie says that his team rose to the challenge. "It was rewarding to know everything went well," he says, "and we accomplished our goal."
Arellano Associates
Because FKTP JV's tunneling work takes place primarily underground, hidden from view, it can be difficult for the public to know exactly what is happening with the Project.
That's where Arellano Associates comes in. Founded in 1994 by Genoveva Arellano, the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certified firm provides public outreach and communications support for public sector projects. They work with FKTP JV to raise awareness about traffic closures in the area and generally how construction work will impact the community.
Genoveva's company gained its first foothold in the industry by competing for and ultimately winning a 10-year community relations contract with the San Bernardino Associated Governments (now the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority) on the construction of the 28-mile Route 210 Freeway. Since then, the firm has developed relationships with transportation systems like the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Orange County Transportation Authority and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). This includes work on both the Purple Line Extension Section 2 and Section 3.
"Working on a project that is an engineering and construction marvel is always exciting," Genoveva says about the Project's incredible TBMs. She looks forward to helping bring a new public transit option to West Los Angeles and knows that she cannot do it alone. Genoveva realizes that her talented Arellano Associates staff is only "one part of thousands of pieces that make this project happen."
Like the boring machines hiding under the earth, there is a lot of work being done on the Project that sometimes goes unseen. Arellano Associates bring important public updates to the surface, while recognizing all of the additional hard work taking place.
"It is very rewarding," Genoveva says, "to work alongside other such professionals."
MTGL Testing Laboratories
With so much of the work on the Project taking place deep underground, it is important to closely monitor the surroundings. That's where MTGL Testing Laboratories comes in. The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certified firm has been testing and inspecting soil and other materials for 27 years.
On the Project specifically, MTGL is tasked with daily testing of the tunnel's soil to confirm that it meets compaction specifications that ensure safety throughout construction. As the TBMs progress underground, curved pre-cast concrete walls are installed to form the interior walls of the subway tunnel. MTGL also tests and inspects the grout used during installation of these walls to check safe conformance.
MTGL has been operating in Southern California for nearly three decades and has three fully certified laboratories to conduct geotechnical analysis. The firm discovered an opportunity to work on this project through a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) newsletter (like this one!), then followed up with a direct phone call to Frontier-Kemper that eventually led to a contract. Working so far beneath the surface can be challenging, but MTGL is grateful for the chance to work on a premier project for Metro.
ANALYSIS & SOLUTIONS CONSULTANTS
DBE firm Analysis & Solutions Consultants (ASC) is conducting vital geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring work during the excavation of the Tail Track Exit Shaft, as described above. As FKTP digs their way 90 feet below the surface, ASC uses an array of sensors to detect even the most minute movement, in order to ensure the shaft is safely constructed.
Project Manager Rahul Vaishnav explained that 120 individual sensors have been placed for just this portion of the Project. ASC will be monitoring the entire length of the Project, which will include installing more sensors every 50 to 200 feet along the tunnel path. This includes monitoring the buildings along Wilshire Blvd.
Jaswanth Gummalla and Choua Yang are part of the Pre- and Post-Construction Survey (PCS) team that conducts this monitoring. Click here to read more about their innovative PCS methods, as well as some of the equipment that ASC uses for the job.
Dots Oyenuga, Ph.D., P.E., ASC Principal/Owner, has extensive experience in geotechnical instrumentation, construction noise and vibration control, and pre-construction and post-construction surveys, including work on over 20 tunnel projects. He previously worked on the design of the Metro Red Line in Los Angeles, as well as the largest excavation in the United States, for a transit project in San Francisco. His work has taken him from Utah to Massachusetts—even Hawaii.
It's hard to find a firm with more relevant experience than ASC. The company literally wrote the book on tunneling: “Road Tunnel Design Guidelines” is used by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and sold worldwide by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Dots looks forward to helping complete the Purple Line Extension and meeting the required challenge of monitoring tunneling operations in real time. Fortunately, Dots believes he has the right crew for the job.
Lowers Welding & Fabrication, Inc.
Dawn Lowers-Davis' parents started Lowers Welding & Fabrication, Inc. in 1973. That was also the year Dawn was born, so you could say she has grown up with her family's Los Angeles City certified structural steel fabrication and machine shop. Starting when Dawn was only in middle school, her father began to teach her about the fabrication industry.
"He would let me drill, punch, drive the forklifts and taught me to weld before I was 15," Dawn recalls. She had the chance to visit job sites, meet key people in the heavy civil construction field and work side-by-side with her sisters to learn about the family business.
But in 2010, Dawn's father passed away from cancer.
The family's sudden, tremendous loss was also felt by their company, which was struggling to find work at the time. "I didn’t know how we were going to make it," Dawn says. Fortunately, their decades of experience and sterling reputation soon connected them to Metro's Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project and eventually to the Purple Line Extension.
Dawn is now the President of this 100% woman-owned DBE firm. Lowers Welding has a long history of tunneling projects and has worked on all three sections of the subway extension, beginning in 2014. The company has also worked with Frontier-Kemper since the early 1990s and Dawn is grateful for the opportunity to continue the relationship now working for FKTP JV. "Their trust and respect for our company," Dawn says, "makes exceeding their goals all worth it. Seeing our product in the ground, doing what it is supposed to be doing, makes us feel so proud."
On the Project, Lowers Welding recently built the secant piles and ring beams to support the TTES. While this year has produced plenty of challenges, Dawn always looks forward to solving problems. "Design-build projects give us a chance to shine and show people we can think outside the box."
Dawn and her sisters, Nora and Sheri, have been able to grow the family business precisely because of that creativity and determination—qualities a father would be proud to pass down to his daughters.
VALVERDE CONSTRUCTION, INC.
Joe A. Valverde brings a tremendous amount of experience to the Project. He started in the industry running a construction equipment leasing company before pursuing opportunities in underground construction and starting his own company in 1972.
Joe's namesake firm, Valverde Construction, Inc., specializes in underground systems, utilities and substructures on projects throughout the Greater Los Angeles region. One of those projects is Section 2 of the Purple Line Extension, so Joe's team is more than prepared to tackle the Section 3 Tunnels.
Recently, Valverde Construction has been working along Wilshire Blvd. to excavate and install underground concrete vaults which will protect and provide access to Southern California Edison utilities. Valverde Construction is also furnishing and installing a water distribution system, sanitary distribution system and storm drainage utilities.
Safety Vibe Inc.
This past year, the entire country was introduced to a specific three-letter acronym: PPE, or Personal Protective Equipment. While many of us may have initially been unfamiliar with what those letters meant, Lila Don has long understood the critical importance of PPE and other safety supplies.
After working for 15 years in sales for a safety supply distributor, Lila wanted to better serve her customers by founding her own company. Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certified SafetyVibe, Inc. began in 2004—out of Lila's garage, originally—and has since grown to provide industrial supplies and safety equipment throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.
In addition to the Purple Line Extension Section 3 Tunnels Project, SafetyVibe also works on the SoFi Stadium, LAX Automated People Mover and I-405 Improvement Project. It has not taken long for this small business to partner with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as 3M, DBI-SALA, ML Kishigo, Honeywell and PIP.
Lila grew up in Boyle Heights and likes to support all kinds of projects that impact her community. It's an incredible feeling, she explains, to be able to see one of these works and say, “Yup, we helped build that!”
Like many small businesses, SafetyVibe has had to adapt to the changing needs of their clients during the pandemic. Throughout the uncertainty, however, Lila tells us that her company continues to serve their customers and help them protect the most important element of any business: people.
ALAS Media
"We’ve always had a love for filming and taking photographs in our community," says ALAS Media Vice President Elizabeth Ruvalcaba Mendez. "We were able to turn this passion into a career."
Elizabeth and her sister, Rosa, own ALAS Media which was founded 13 years ago with the intention of pursuing that passion for filmmaking and photography. The name of the company was inspired by a mentor of theirs who advised that all of their projects should have alas (Spanish for "wings"), so that their work could take them places. So far, the namesake has done exactly that.
ALAS Media takes photographs and produces videos to document the construction progress and share updates with the community. Their team visits the work site regularly to capture the progression and then assembles the images to tell the Project's story. The certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) has also produced videos for other Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) projects like the Blue Line Improvements and Regional Connector.
The company is based in San Fernando and Elizabeth tells us that her crew regularly avoids traffic by riding the Metro to sporting events or trips Downtown. "We’re excited that this new extension will be expanding our Metro system," she says.
ALAS Media has been photographing construction progress at ground level, including the intricate pieces of the TBMs being lowered into the TTES. Eventually, their production crew will move underground to record the action, which will require different specialized equipment. But Elizabeth says that ALAS Media looks forward to the challenge and showcasing what is happening inside the tunnel. "It’s amazing to see the team it takes to build it.”
Soon, thanks to ALAS Media, we can see for ourselves.