Diamond Materials, LLC
Cranbury Brickyard – Remediation, Mitigation, and Sitework
What makes it interesting?
This project involved lots of danger, with unexploded ordinance, chemical hazards, and asbestos, relocation of 42 acres of wetlands, including capturing and relocating protected species of turtles and frogs, and a number of pricing changes.
How HCSS Software assisted with this project
HeavyBid was used to bid this project originally in 2007; however with the changes in the economy, the project was re-priced seven more times to include changes such as additional wetland work, reduced productions due to requirements set forth when dealing with unexploded ordinance, and overall site grading, design, and earth balance changes. The discovery of the landfill led to pricing and negotiations which were all evaluated using HCSS HeavyBid. As additional changes have been requested by the owner, Diamond Materials has consistently been able to turn pricing around in minimal time with the help of HeavyBid.
Project Description:
The Cranbury Brickyard project consists of the remediation of unexploded ordinance (UXO), wetland mitigation, and performance of site work on a 395-acre site in Cranbury, New Jersey. The site was previously used as a location where munitions and chemicals were manufactured between 1930 and 1954 for the Department of Defense.
Operations at the manufacturing facility ceased shortly after an accidental explosion that occurred on July 21, 1954. The explosion littered the site with live munitions and killed two workers, injuring several others. The New Jersey Department of Labor closed the facility on July 30, 1954, as a result of the accident. Since the explosion in 1954 there has been little to no activity on the site except for some investigational studies to determine the lateral extent of the UXO spread by the explosion.
In 2006 the current owner purchased the site with the hopes of remediating the UXO and creating commercial warehouse space along the now-booming New Jersey Turnpike Corridor. The project also includes approximately 42 acres of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection-protected wetlands that were mitigated by relocation. This project is one of the largest wetland disturbances allowed by NJDEP in its history. The mitigation included the relocation of more than 10 vernal pools. As part of this relocation, protected species of turtles and frogs were captured and relocated to vernal pools that were created during this project.
During the final stages of the UXO remediation, a historic on-site landfill was discovered, impacting the UXO efforts. Clearing this landfill of chemical hazards, munitions, and asbestos was challenging but was completed by using up-armored equipment and screening soils while using misting equipment for dust control and personal protective equipment to protect the workers.
